Foreign-buyer rules in Northern Cyprus: dated change log

Official sources

Source: TRNC Official Gazette No. 194, Annex III, 5 October 2026 — Residence Permits and Visas (Amendment) Regulation, A.E. 943 (replaces art. 14(2)(b)(v); in force on publication); Official Gazette No. 193, Annex III, 2 October 2026 — amending Regulation A.E. 932 (replaces art. 14(2)(b)(iv)). Checked 10 October 2026.

Source: TRNC Official Gazette No. 196, Annex I Part II, 6 October 2026 — Decree-Law 119/2026 on the rules for foreigners' acquisition of immovable property (in force); it repealed and re-enacted Decree-Law 89/2026, Official Gazette No. 147, 7 August 2026, which had re-enacted Decree-Law 63/2026 (No. 87, 11 May 2026), itself repeating the purchase limits of Decree-Law 11/2026, Official Gazette No. 28, Annex I Part II, 12 February 2026. Checked 11 October 2026.

The rules are temporary. Decree-Law 11/2026 (TRNC Official Gazette No. 28, Annex I Part II, 12 February 2026; made under Article 112 of the Constitution) already set today's purchase limits. Decree-Law 63/2026 (No. 87, 11 May 2026) kept them and added a one-month deadline to register a stamped contract at the Land Registry (otherwise void), the licensed intermediary investor, and an apostilled criminal record and military clearance check. Decree-Law 89/2026 (No. 147, 7 August 2026) re-enacted 63/2026 as its validity was ending, without the criminal-record and military-clearance requirement. Decree-Law 119/2026 (No. 196, 6 October 2026) repealed 89/2026 (art. 14) and re-enacted its provisions, in force from publication (art. 16). A decree-law is temporary unless Parliament enacts it; your lawyer confirms the text in force on the day you sign.

What it means for buyers: within 1 month the stamped contract must be registered at the District Land Registry Office and the purchase-permission application made to the Ministry of Interior (in person, through a lawyer or an authorised representative), with the taxes and fees on the sale paid; otherwise the contract is void by operation of law (Decree-Law 119/2026, art. 4; Law 52/2008, s. 8(6)(1)).

What it means for buyers: a licensed intermediary investor holds homes under a written agreement without owning them and markets them to foreign buyers; your stamped contract with it must be registered at the Land Registry within 1 month, with taxes and fees paid, and the law requires it to transfer the home to you within 2 years of the final approval certificate (Decree-Law 119/2026, art. 3(1); art. 5, new s. 8A(4)–(5)).