North Cyprus Entry Requirements, Step by Step (2026)

Getting into North Cyprus is easy if you do things in the right order. Here is the whole job in ten steps, from booking to flying home. We are KARTAL, a tavla and PlayStation café in Famagusta, and “what do I need to get in?” is often the first question newcomers to Famagusta ask. Short answer: less than you think. Long answer: below.

Entering North Cyprus in ten steps

1. Decide if you will visit the south too. If not, fly to Ercan; flights reach it only through Türkiye. If you will, think about Larnaca instead, because the Republic of Cyprus treats Ercan as an illegal port of entry.
2. Pick your document. The table below shows who travels on what. Every traveller needs their own valid one.
3. Check the dates. A passport should be valid for your whole stay with a margin. Six months is the safe advice; sources range from two to six.
4. Plan for anyone under 18. Every child needs photo ID. If only one parent, or neither, is on the trip, the child may need a consent letter signed before a notary (muvafakatname); ask the airline or Türkiye’s migration office, Göç İdaresi.
5. Sort your phone before you fly. The north is outside EU roaming rules. Look at your tariff, or plan on a local SIM or an eSIM.
6. Hand over your document at passport control. The officer sets how long you may stay. For most Western passports there is no visa and the usual limit is 90 days, yet the officer decides the exact figure.
7. Ask for the entry slip. The north usually stamps a separate white paper slip instead of your passport. Heading to the south or abroad later? Tell the officer and request one.
8. Keep the slip until you leave. Tuck it inside your passport and take a photo of it too.
9. Stay within the period you were given. The number the border gave you counts, not the one a website promised.
10. Going south? Get your papers out again. At the crossing you show your passport or ID on both sides. Turkish citizens have different rules; see below.

Step 2, up close: which document is yours?

One trap for Turkish travellers: the old paper ID, the nüfus cüzdanı, no longer works. Several Turkish guides put the end date at 30 June 2021. If yours is still the old type, renew it or travel on a passport.

Step 4, up close: coming with kids

No child travels without ID: anyone under 18 needs a photo document. Things change if one parent stays at home, or a grandparent or an aunt brings the child. Then a notarised consent letter may be asked for. The airline and Göç İdaresi know the current rule best, so ask before you leave home rather than at the check-in desk.

Step 7, up close: the white entry slip

If you arrive on a passport, the officer usually stamps a separate slip rather than the passport itself. Don’t lose it; it stays with you until you leave the island. Planning to visit the south or other countries later, and want no northern stamp in your passport? Say so clearly at the desk.

Step 10, up close: from north to south

An EU citizen crosses on an ID card or a passport. A Turkish citizen cannot cross on an ID card: the south wants a passport from them, plus, in most cases, a Republic of Cyprus visa. The south sets these rules and may change them, so check the Republic of Cyprus’ rules before you go. If you landed at Ercan, EU citizens are usually let through in practice, but you could still be fined, turned back or questioned when you leave. Where each crossing is lies in our border guide; how to get from Ercan into town is in our airport guide.