How Long Can You Stay in North Cyprus If You Buy a Home?

Without a residence permit, a British passport holder can stay in North Cyprus for up to 90 days at a time and no more than 90 days in any 180. Buying a home lets you apply for a property-based residence permit. Under rules changed on 2 and 5 October 2026, that permit runs for five years, or ten years once the title deed is in your name and the property is worth at least £300,000.

What you can do changes at each stage of a purchase: while you are a visitor, once you have signed a stamped sales contract, and once the title deed (the koçan) is registered to you. If you have been asking "How long can you stay in Cyprus if you own a property?" or "Can a UK citizen live in Northern Cyprus?", the answers are below. We checked every rule against the North Cyprus Official Gazette on 13 October 2026. The rules have changed several times this year, so check them again before you apply.

How long can a British visitor stay in North Cyprus without a permit?

A British visitor can stay for up to 90 days on the visa given on entry, and the total cannot go over 90 days in any 180-day period. Short trips where you leave within 72 hours of arriving do not count towards that total. Owning a home makes no difference to this limit; for that you need a residence permit.

The rule is in Article 7(2) of the Residence Permits and Visas Regulation, made under the Aliens and Immigration Law. An amendment published on 24 August 2026 brought in electronic visas, but the e-visa decision taken the same day applies to nationals of Nigeria, Armenia and Syria. It does not affect British visitors.

If you own property, there is one extra route. If you can show a title deed, or a sales contract stamped and approved by the Revenue and Tax Office, you can be given a visa of up to 90 days for the specific purpose of applying for a residence permit.

Does buying a home give you the right to live in North Cyprus?

Buying a home does not give you an automatic right to live in North Cyprus, though it is one of the grounds on which you can apply for a residence permit. Article 14(2)(b) of the Residence Permits and Visas Regulation covers foreign nationals who own property, and how long the permit lasts depends on whether you hold the title deed or only a stamped sales contract.

Two amendments in early October 2026 rewrote that article. The first, in Official Gazette issue 193 on 2 October 2026, deals with owners who hold a title deed. The second, in issue 194 on 5 October 2026, deals with buyers who have a stamped and approved sales contract but no deed yet. You apply to the Ministry of the Interior.

How long is a property-based residence permit valid?

A property-based residence permit now lasts five or ten years. Title-deed holders face no income test: ten years if the property is worth £300,000 or more, five years if it is worth less. Contract holders get five years, and below £300,000 they must also show a monthly income equal to one minimum wage.

These figures come from Article 14(2)(b)(iv) and (v) as amended on 2 and 5 October 2026, and on Article 7(2) for visitors. For deed holders, the regulation looks at the total value of the properties bought. For contract holders, it looks at the value stated in the stamped contract.

The 2 October amendment also allowed family residence permits to be issued for up to ten years at a time. Whether your spouse is covered by your property-based permit or needs a family permit of their own is something you will need to ask the Ministry when you apply.

Can you get a residence permit while your home is still being built?

Yes. If your home is still under construction, you can apply with a stamped and approved sales contract instead of a title deed. The regulation also requires you to have paid at least a third of the purchase price and to have applied to the Council of Ministers for permission to buy.

That one-third rule (Article 14(2)(b)(iii)) survived the October changes. Below £300,000, there are two ways to meet the income test: an apostilled document from your home country showing a regular monthly income equal to one minimum wage, or a document from any bank, in North Cyprus or abroad. The regulation does not give a figure for the minimum wage; what counts is the amount in force on the day you apply.

Off-plan homes can take years to finish, so the contract route matters most to people buying new builds. As of 13 October 2026, our catalogue lists 156 new-build developments in North Cyprus: 69 in Girne (Kyrenia), 47 in İskele, 28 in Gazimağusa (Famagusta), 8 in Güzelyurt and 4 in Lefkoşa (Nicosia).

What has to happen before you can apply?

Before you can apply for residence, you need a stamped sales contract registered at the district land office within one month, with the taxes and fees paid, and you must have applied for permission to buy. Miss that deadline and the contract is void. Permission comes from the Council of Ministers and is published in the Official Gazette.

These steps are set out in Decree 119/2026, published on 6 October 2026, which replaced the August 2026 decree. A British buyer may buy up to three flats. Nationals of states that recognise North Cyprus and give its citizens the same right may buy six. The UK does not recognise North Cyprus, so the limit for UK nationals is three.

1. Sign a sales contract and have it stamped under the Stamp Law.
2. Within one month, register the contract at the district land office, pay the taxes and fees due, and apply to the Ministry of the Interior for permission to buy.
3. Wait for the Council of Ministers decision to be published in the Official Gazette.
4. Pay the title transfer fees within 75 working days of publication, then complete the transfer at the land office within one year.

You can apply for permission in person, through a representative or through a lawyer. Permission is being given in practice. In August 2026 the Council of Ministers approved purchases by 430 foreign nationals in one decision and 573 in another; both decisions came in a single gazette issue, so they are not yearly figures.

How does the £300,000 threshold work?

The £300,000 threshold decides two things: whether a deed holder gets ten years rather than five, and whether a contract holder has to prove an income. The regulation gives the figure in sterling "or its equivalent in another currency", so a contract priced in euros or Turkish lira can also meet it.

Both October amendments use the same wording, and neither says which exchange rate, or which day's rate, is used to convert a price in another currency. If your price is close to £300,000, ask the Ministry how it does the conversion before you count on the ten-year term.

Bear in mind too that the threshold is based on the value of the property. Fees do not count towards it. Transfer fees on a first property bought by a foreign national are currently 4% (3% transfer, plus levies of 0.5% and 0.5%), under a schedule in force until 5 January 2027.

What should British owners know about travelling to the south of the island?

According to the UK government's travel advice, time spent in North Cyprus counts towards the Republic of Cyprus's own 90-day visa-free limit. The same advice says that if you enter the Republic through the north, for example by flying into Ercan Airport, the Republic's authorities treat that as illegal entry.

According to the advice, you could be fined, refused entry to or exit from the Republic of Cyprus, or stopped from crossing back into the north. A North Cyprus residence permit does not let you live in the Republic of Cyprus, which has its own legal system and is an EU member. If you plan to spend long periods on both sides, keep a separate count of your days on each.

What are the risks and limits of this route?

The main risk is that the rules keep changing. In 2026 the purchase rules were set by a series of temporary decrees, and the residence regulation was amended several times between August and October. A decision on your permit depends on the text in force on the day you apply, so don't rely on what an agent or an older web page tells you.

• Decree 119/2026 was issued because Parliament had not yet passed the amending law, and it replaced the decree of 7 August 2026. Its own text gives no end date. The preamble to the August decree referred to a 90-day constitutional validity for decrees of this kind, which would point to early January 2027. That is our inference; the decree itself does not say so.
• Some official web pages still carry older wording. The Civil Registry and Migration Department's page on property-based permits described one-year permits for the first three years, whereas the regulation now provides for five- and ten-year terms.
• Permission to buy can still be refused after a security check, and the contract becomes void if it is not registered in time.
• A residence permit is not citizenship. Permanent residence and citizenship are separate matters with their own rules.

Who is this route suitable for, and who should think twice?

The property route suits British buyers who want to spend more than 90 days in every 180 in North Cyprus and who either have the title deed or can show the income needed for the length of permit they want. It suits less well anyone who needs to be sure that today's terms will still apply when their off-plan home is finished.

If you are still choosing an area, our comparison of Girne and İskele and the guide to buying a new-build home in North Cyprus look at individual developments. The full list is on the North Cyprus new-build projects page, where each project has a "Request Current Prices" button.

Frequently asked questions

These answers follow the regulation and decree texts published in the North Cyprus Official Gazette up to 13 October 2026. Before you commit, check the rules for your own purchase with an independent lawyer, and with the Ministry of the Interior when you apply.

How long can I stay in North Cyprus with a British passport?

Up to 90 days at a time and no more than 90 days in any 180, unless you hold a residence permit.

Can I get residency in North Cyprus if I buy a house?

Yes, owning property entitles you to apply for a residence permit. With the deed in your name, it is issued for five years, or ten years if the property is worth £300,000 or more.

Do I need an income to get residency as a property owner?

Not if you hold the title deed. If you only have a stamped contract and the property is below £300,000, you must show a monthly income equal to one North Cyprus minimum wage.

Can I apply before my off-plan home is finished?

Yes, with a stamped and approved sales contract, once you have paid at least a third of the price and applied for permission to buy.

Does a North Cyprus residence permit let me live in the Republic of Cyprus?

No. The Republic of Cyprus has its own rules, and it counts time spent in the north towards its 90-day visa-free limit.

Sources and method

We read the legal rules in the North Cyprus Official Gazette and the consolidated regulation text on 13 October 2026. Project counts are from our own catalogue on 13 October 2026.

• Residence permits for title-deed holders: Official Gazette issue 193, 2 October 2026, Residence Permits and Visas (Amendment) Regulation.
• Residence permits for contract holders: Official Gazette issue 194, 5 October 2026, Residence Permits and Visas (Amendment) Regulation.
• Purchase rules for foreign buyers: Official Gazette issue 196, 6 October 2026, Decree 119/2026.
• Title transfer fees: Official Gazette issue 197, 7 October 2026, Land Registry fees schedule.
• Stamp duty on contracts: Stamp Law 19/1963, consolidated text, Revenue and Tax Office.
• Visitor stays and the property-owner visa: Residence Permits and Visas Regulation, consolidated text of 25 May 2026 (Central Legislation Department) and the amendment in Official Gazette issue 154, 24 August 2026.
• Travel between north and south, and non-recognition: UK government travel advice for Cyprus, read on 13 October 2026.
• Projects: North Cyprus new-build projects on satisofisi.com, count as of 13 October 2026.