Reports circulated in Turkish-Cypriot media on 3 July claimed that people carrying only documents issued by the unrecognised ‘TRNC’ were being turned back at Green Line crossings. The Republic of Cyprus police quickly denied any ban but confirmed that new document scanners—installed as part of Schengen preparations—can only read Republic of Cyprus and European Union identity cards automatically. Holders of local north-issued IDs therefore face manual checks, lengthening processing times. The police statement recommends that Turkish Cypriots who possess dual documentation present their EU-compliant IDs to avoid queues. Roughly 110 000 Turkish Cypriots are entitled to Republic of Cyprus citizenship and many already carry the biometric card, but cross-community NGOs say thousands of daily commuters still rely on north-issued papers and are now experiencing delays of up to 40 minutes at peak times. For employers in the south who hire Turkish-Cypriot staff or subcontractors, the practical implication is the need to adjust shift schedules until the learning curve settles. Companies are also reminded that, once Cyprus joins Schengen, the crossings will become an external border of the passport-free area and electronic entry/exit records will be generated. HR teams should pre-emptively brief north-based employees on acceptable travel documents. Government sources insist there is “no policy change” and that manual clearance remains available to all, but they concede that throughput per lane has dropped by 20 % since the scanner rollout. A feasibility study on retrofitting the machines to read TRNC IDs is under way, though that would raise legal and political complications. (Source: Philenews)
Source: Philenews
