By Trevor Hughes……
TRNC Driving Licence
In an effort to try and reduce the number of road traffic accidents in the TRNC, the Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Tolga Atakan has signed a notice on 17th April 2018 ordering foreign citizens who arrived in the TRNC as students or reside in the TRNC through obtaining work/residency permits, to take a written and a practical exam to be able to change their driving licence to that of the TRNC.
According to the notice, citizens of Turkey, EU member states, Switzerland, Norway, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan will be exempt from the new practice.
The Law in the TRNC states that if you spend more than 
90 days in the country you must apply for a TRNC driving licence. Making the occasional trip out of the country makes no difference to the licence requirement!!
Foreign citizens, excluding those who are citizens of the above-mentioned countries will have to make an application to the Licence Branch of the Traffic Department and pass required exams in order to be able to change their driving license to the corresponding licence provided by the TRNC.
Just how this requirement will affect UK citizens when they leave the European Union remains to be seen.
Vehicle Licence Plates
The deadline for changing vehicle license plates to show the blue 
flash on the left-hand side has been set as 31 January 2019, following a change in the regulation decided by the Council of Ministers.
Vehicle owners now have been given until January 31, 2019 to change their vehicle licence plates according to the amended regulation.
Residence Renewals
The cost of Residence Renewal has been increased to
345 TL for one year.
690 TL for 2 years.
New Phone Registration
If you bring a newly purchased mobile phone into the country, you have 90 days to register it or risk it being cut off until you have paid the registration fee.
You can, if you so wish, register your phone at the customs office in the Girne harbour, which will help you avoid going into Lefkoşa and registering it at the office there. However, you will need to take a completed registration form with you as they do not supply the forms from this office. We at Capital Bank in Alsancak have these forms awaiting collection, so do call in to see us and ask for Mary.
Bayram Holidays
Bayram holidays for the month of June this year are:
Thursday 14th June close at 1.00pm
Friday 15th June
Saturday 17th June
Sunday 18th June
Where all Government, Local Government offices, Banks, schools and some private businesses will be closed.
For any further information please email me through the contact box below.
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