North Cyprus Trevor’s Tips for February 2020

By Trevor Hughes ….

Vehicle Log Book/Koçan

You can now make logbook alterations at the Tax Office in Girne, without the need of going into Lefkoşa eg; change of ownership, adding or deleting a person’s name. The cost of this transaction was 242TL and is now 395TL. On successful completion, they will retain your old logbook and issue a new, very smart looking one. In addition, you now need to enter your Mother and Father’s first name on the photocopy of your passport, before submitting your logbook.

Driving Licence Increases WEF 01/01/2020

• 1 Year (age limit and exam passers): 240 TL                259.90 TL
• 2 Years:                                               350 TL               384.80 TL
• 3-year:                                                 470 TL               514, 70 TL
• 5 years:                                                720 TL               789.50 TL
• 10 years:                                           1,195 TL                 1,314 TL
• Student Licence:                                   350 TL                   385 TL

Liquid Petroleum Gas Tank Permits WEF 01/01/2020

Liquid Petroleum Gas Tank Permits are now available from the Girne Offices. There are small fines for late applications.

All 10kg gas tanks have risen in price to 73TL per bottle, this is the second increase in less than a month.

Absolutely Unique

Because the price of insurance premiums are going through the roof, Capital Insurance is seeking ways to reduce the repair costs for their customer’s cars, which will affect the renewal premiums when they are due.

We are the only company in Northern Cyprus who are offering the following;-

Small scratches/ scuffs.

The large majority of processed claims are due to damage caused when the vehicle is parked in a car park and the person who damages your car drives away.

The Insurance Federation here, have in place a no claims bonus scheme which will be rigidly enforced. If you suffer any damage in these circumstances, it is very annoying when your car is damaged by someone else and leaves you with the cost of repair and the loss of your no claims bonus.

Capital Insurance is now offering their customers the opportunity to keep their no claims bonus intact.

By bringing your car to our Capital Bank in Alsancak and have the damage assessed, a price will be given for you to choose between claiming through your insurance and suffering the loss of any no claim bonus, or pay a small fee yourself. These repair rates are based on a commercial rate.

Now here is the “icing on the cake”. If you choose to pay for the repair yourself, Capital Insurance will provide you with a courtesy car free of charge for up to 3 days maximum, whilst the damage is being repaired.

If you suffer an expensive accident, call me on +90 533 844 34 03 and the police. All claims must have a police report. Police Officers sometimes say that you have Full Comprehensive insurance, so a report is not needed. If you wish to save money, insist the police do their job and ask for a report.

Now, that’s the way to look after your customers.

M.O.T

The price of an MOT has risen to 265TL.

Child Safety Seats

If you wish to hire High-Quality Child Safety Seats, we are already accepting bookings for the summer period.

First come, first served.

Electronic Hand Brakes

These days, most modern cars have electronic hand brakes.

The downside of these devices is, if your battery goes completely flat and you have applied your hand brake, it can be impossible to get it released. This can cause problems if your car is being put on the flat-bed of a breakdown vehicle because with the wheels locked it may damage your car whilst loading it onto the truck bed. This damage is not the responsibility of the tow-truck company.

As I have one of these devices fitted to my car, only occasionally do I apply the handbrake which keeps the mechanism well lubricated at all times.

UK Passports

We, Capital Insurance Alsancak, now have the facility to apply for UK Passport Renewals requesting Digital Photographs. This also applies to lost passports as well.

This system helps you avoid the postal tariff, saving you money and a more rapid application procedure.

Yet another service to our customers.

Permanent Residence (White Card)

This is an alternative to the Temporary Residency, for Ex-pats who reside here in excess of 90 days in 180, each is eligible to apply.

Firstly, my contact in the Ministry informs me that there are several changes in the “pipeline” and people who qualify should hold back until April 2020.

Apparently the changes being made will make it easier for the applicant to fit into the parameters necessary, increasing the chances for a successful application.

According to Government figures, there is an excess of 12,000 people who could qualify so this could be for you.

1. Your property must hold a value of at least 125.000 Euros.
2. You must have a valid koçan for the property.
3. An application can be made by visiting the Ministry of Interior and by-passing the need to go to the main Police Station.
4. The documents you need to support your application are the same as those needed when applying for Temporary Residence, however, you must hold a recent report showing your “In’s and Out’s”.
5. An application can be made for an initial 2 year period with renewals every 2 years.
6. The initial cost is 2000TL + 250TL per year for renewals.

These are some of the requirements, so it may be a little early to contemplate your application.

As I see it, there is little advantage in applying over and above the Temporary Residence application. But maybe, the Government changes currently under revıew will reveal all.

On-Line M.O.T. and Road Tax License Application

Go into the website

1. http://bub.gov.ct.tr/ which is the main page.
2. Click on Araç Kayıt Harç Ödemeleri (Vehicle Registration Fee Payments)
3. Enter the details required which are;-

• Plate No.
• Passport No. (Ensure you put the letter P before your passport number. This will ensure successful completion.
• Log Book Date of Reg. (which is on the front part of your blue log book)

4. Fill in the security checkbox on the bottom left of the page. There are a number of letters which you must enter in the box provided. (confirming that you are not a robot and continue).
5. The next page will read Road Tax Evaluation at the top of the page.
6. You will see 5 tabs at the top of the page. Click on the Seyrusefer Borcu Ödeme tab in order to see if you have any outstanding payments. If you see the following text “Ödeme yapılabilecek borç bulunamadı” you have no outstanding payments due.
7. If you owe money then the amount due will show up on the page. Click “Ödeme Yap” to be taken to the payment page.

Enter your Credit Card Details and click “Ödemeyi Tamamla”.

GB Driving Licence Renewal

Capital Bank in Alsancak are now offering to renew GB Driving Licences for those people who are 70 years of age or older. This service is completely free of charge.

It will be done via the e-mail and when a successful application has been made you will be informed in only a few minutes.

I renewed mine for a 3 year period and within 48 hours it was in the post to my UK address. The cost of my renewal is zero (no charge).

It is a requirement from the DVLA office that when you are in possession of your new licence you should cut the old license in half and return it to them.

At the moment, holders of British Passports are havıng difficulty making their applications, probably due to the holder not informing the Authorities about their latest passport renewal so the system cannot process the application.

Green Line Border Crossing

There is general confusion on whether people holding a UK passport will be allowed to drive a TRNC registered car over the border on the 1st of February, 2020. There is still no definitive answer and we wait with bated breath until February 1st this year. There is a way forward, by having a person’s name entered onto your log-book, whose passport is from an EU country (Spain, France etc.) a cross border application can be made successfully. For more information contact Trevor Hughes on  +90 533 825 67 53.

Temporary Residence/Private Health Requirement

One of our readers, who has successfully applied for a Temporary Residence Permit and decided to have the Government Health Insurance requirement needed to put and test the system. He needed to go to the State Hospital and Girne was his choice for treatment. He submitted his State Health receipt and after 20 minutes he was leaving the hospital fully satisfied AND NOTHING TO PAY! This beats the alternative, surely?

Capital Bank awarded International Quality Certificates

Capital Bank, Capital Finans, Capital Insurance and Trust Capital Reinsurance, are pleased and proud to have been awarded international quality certificates in the fields of ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Management System, ISO 10002: 2014 Customer Satisfaction Quality Management, and ISO 27001: 2013 Information Security Management.

This award indicates that our divisions offer quality service to all our customers and systems can prove that the service can be substantiated.

Bayram Holidays

There are no Bayram holıdays in the month of February.

Do take a look take a look at the most recent CyprusScene.com weekly enewspaper

For any further information please email me through the contact box below or at Capital Bank in Alsancak.