Income requirements

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boothstownred
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Income requirements

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Post by boothstownred »

Myself and my partner are considering the possibility of retiring to North Cyrus. Can anybody tell me what income we would need to show to legally make this move, and can this be in the form of a lump sum of money in a bank account.

Many thanks

Simon

come_on_aylin
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Re: Income requirements

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Post by come_on_aylin »

To obtain temporary residency you are required to show an income of 3 times the monthly minimum wage if you are renting or the minimum wage if you own a property. Current minimum wage is 3820TL per month which is approximately £380 so 11460TL/£1140 per month if renting. You can demonstrate a monthly amount, e.g. pension or savings equivalent to annual minimum wage, so 137,520TL/£13700 if renting.
Only one person needs to show this as one can sponsor the other as a family member.

See https://www.infonorthcyprus.com/temporary-residency for further information.

boothstownred
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Re: Income requirements

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Post by boothstownred »

Many thanks. The link is extremely helpful too :+1:)

EnjoyingTheSun
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Re: Income requirements

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Post by EnjoyingTheSun »

The minimum wage is a bit of a moveable feast but tbh if you are bang on the minimum in income or savings or a mixture of the two then you should be aware that the inflation out here is much higher than the UK so whilst you might be ok now you might be struggling to meet requirements in a few years so have some fat in your budget.

There is a lot to look at but this forum is a mine of information.

Whether to rent or buy. If you buy what are the pitfalls. A lot of people have been had over in the past especially buying property so do a lot of research.
If you have savings whether to leave them in the UK or to have some here and take advantage of the higher interest rates.
You may be dazzled by the higher interest rates if you convert your savings into TL but look at the historical movement in the value of the TL to GBP.

A lot of people have different views on the above but you should get as much information as you can and take a view.

boothstownred
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Re: Income requirements

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Post by boothstownred »

I cannot thank you enough for your help. I should not be tight on the minimum wage thing as long as I can use a lump sum. I will have the sale of my house, unless I decide to rent it out here, and rent over there. I should have around 40k I think. It will probably be a couple of years before we do it. Again many thanks for your help.

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Re: Income requirements

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Post by EnjoyingTheSun »

boothstownred wrote:
Mon 14 Dec 2020 6:26 pm
I cannot thank you enough for your help. I should not be tight on the minimum wage thing as long as I can use a lump sum. I will have the sale of my house, unless I decide to rent it out here, and rent over there. I should have around 40k I think. It will probably be a couple of years before we do it. Again many thanks for your help.
None of my business but personally I would rent out your house for at least a year and rent out here before even thinking of selling up and going all in. For all the hyperbole from estate agents here prices do not go up at anything like the rate in the U.K. and properties are difficult to sell. So don’t be too hasty selling up in the U.K. because if you find you don’t like it then you might find yourself a bit stuck.

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Re: Income requirements

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Post by boothstownred »

I am happy for anybody to make it their business, any help or advice is hugely appreciated. My first choice was always to rent initially, maybe indefinitely. I think I would get around £650 - £750 a month for my house. Is that likely to get me something over there with a private pool. It is not a country I know particularly well, certainly the North. Covid allowing I plan to have a couple of weeks holiday there next year to have a good look around.

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Re: Income requirements

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Post by EnjoyingTheSun »

We have a three bedroom bungalow for which we pay £550 a month for. That includes pool maintenance of £65. You’ll comfortably find something with a pool for up to £650.

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Re: Income requirements

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Post by EnjoyingTheSun »

I would suggest if your retirement is a couple of years off you should try and take as many holidays here as possible and take them in different parts. Some here live East of Girne and some West and both probably wouldn’t live the other side as their part is best. Some live in Esenteppe which would be a bit remote for me but others love it.
We have been here 5 years and had been coming here twice a year before we took the plunge. It is a lot different living somewhere to going on holiday there. A lot is better than the U.K. some things are worse

As I say search the forums and ask questions because this is a big decision. We have no regrets but some go home after a short or long time.

forestpixie
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Re: Income requirements

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Post by forestpixie »

Also holiday at different times of the year, it's not 365 days of sunshine! Take today for example grey, wet, and depressing here in Lefkoşa.

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Re: Income requirements

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Post by EnjoyingTheSun »

forestpixie wrote:
Tue 15 Dec 2020 8:25 am
Also holiday at different times of the year, it's not 365 days of sunshine! Take today for example grey, wet, and depressing here in Lefkoşa.
Yes and the heat and humidity can be quite oppressive in the summer. Don’t forget you aren’t just sitting by a pool you are living a life now, going to the supermarket etc.
I wouldn’t put anyone off there are always some niggles but I have no regrets moving here. Some of the older residents here will moan about changes here and I couldn’t comment on what it was like 20 years ago but everywhere changes, U.K. included.

boothstownred
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Re: Income requirements

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Post by boothstownred »

I am really grateful for the help and advise. Sorry that it is wet and grey today, I live in Manchester so it is like that everyday. We will endeavour to visit several times over the next couple of years and try to get a better handle on it. Who knows we may meet whilst we are there.

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Re: Income requirements

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Post by boothstownred »

Yeah the more I think about it the more I am convinced renting is the best option, especially if I can rent something out there for the same or less than I am earning from my house here. It means I keep my house to fall back on if it does not quite work for us out there.

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Re: Income requirements

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Post by EnjoyingTheSun »

boothstownred wrote:
Tue 15 Dec 2020 9:21 pm
Yeah the more I think about it the more I am convinced renting is the best option, especially if I can rent something out there for the same or less than I am earning from my house here. It means I keep my house to fall back on if it does not quite work for us out there.
I think that would be wise. The house market out here moves very slowly there is a lot of property on sale. Also if you are not careful you can get stitched up with the deeds. Also they do like to develop. That lovely peaceful field you had in front and your mountain view might get built on.

A problem I think is people would sell their UK house for say £250,000. Then buy a lovely villa out here for £150,000. They would then convert the £100,000 left into Turkish lire at 4 to the pound and collect the 15-20% interest. Life was lovely.

Problem is the rate changes and 4 years later that 400,000 TL (£100,000) nest egg is now worth £38,000 and the interest isn't 15-20% anymore its 7%.
So your interest income has gone down from £15,000-£20,000 to less than £3000.

Now you think let's go back to England but your old house that you sold for £250,000 is now worth £350,000+. You manage to sell your Cyprus home, not an easy task, and get your money back or lets be generous £160,000. Stick that with your £38,000 and that's what you've got to buy a house with.

Keep the house in the UK. Rents out here go up. Put the rent up there. You are getting sterling which is generally going to outperform the TL.
And you have a safety net. You have a way back.

But like I say have some fat in your budget. If you are relying on that rent, what if your tenant leaves and you cant replace them for 6 months?

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Re: Income requirements

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Post by boothstownred »

This is fantastic advice. People with genuine experience. I cannot thank you enough.

EnjoyingTheSun
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Re: Income requirements

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Post by EnjoyingTheSun »

boothstownred wrote:
Wed 16 Dec 2020 6:50 pm
This is fantastic advice. People with genuine experience. I cannot thank you enough.
Some people might give different advice and it’s not to say they are wrong. Just research read up and do what you are most comfortable with.
I think if you have only been here a couple of times I think you need to come a lot more and explore before making such a big commitment.

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