Student found to have been living in north Cyprus illegally for more than 7 years

An individual has been detained for 3 days after he was arrested for living in north Cyprus without a resident permit.

The individual named only as VA, a Nigerian student in Cyprus was arrested by the police on Saturday March 8 in Lefkosa. He was brought to court on Sunday charged with "Residing Without Permission" in the TRNC.

Police officer who spoke in court said the individual was identified and arrested at around 6:00PM on March 8 during checks conducted by the Crime Prevention Branch teams on Girne Street in Lefkosia.

During immigration check, it was determined that the suspect had been residing in the TRNC without a residence permit for 2,599 days since January 25, 2018.

The police stated that necessary correspondences would be made for his deportation and that it must be investigated whether the suspect was involved in any crimes during his stay in the TRNC. 

The police requested that the suspect remain in custody for 3 days.