Turkish Cypriot police arrest illegal residents trying to leave the country at the airport

It's now too dangerous to exit the TRNC as an illegal resident.

A student who was about to leave north Cyprus was arrested and detained by Turkish Cypriot police after it was determined that he had been in the country without a resident permit. 

The student named only as CO, a Nigerian student in north Cyprus was stopped at Ercan airport in Lefkosa, north Cyprus at around 8:30pm on Wednesday May 29 for passport control while he was about to exit the country.

He was arrested after it was determined that he had been living in the country without a resident permit.

He was taken to the Lefkosia district court on Thursday May 30 charged with illegal residency.

Police told the court that the student who was arrested while trying to exit the country was determined to have been living illegally in north Cyprus without a resident permit for 912 days since November 29, 2021.

Police said this was confirmed in an investigation conducted by the Immigration Department.

Noting that the investigation was completed, the police requested that the suspect be detained in prison for a period not exceeding 20 days until his cases are heard.