DRIVEN UP THE WALL
● HOLDERS OF FOREIGN DRIVING LICENCES MUST TAKE LESSONS TO GET TRNC LICENCE ● INDIGNANT EXPATS SAY NEW DRIVING LICENCE RULES A ‘WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY’ ● REGULATIONS IN FORCE FOR 180 DAYS – WITH POSSIBLE STRICTER CHANGES TO COME
HOLDERS of foreign driving licences for cars and motorcycles who want to stay in the TRNC must now take driving lessons before they can obtain a TRNC licence, according to new “temporary” regulations.
Holders of driving licences from other countries are required to obtain a TRNC driving licence if they plan to stay for long periods.
Previously a TRNC driving licence could be obtained by presenting proof of the foreign driving licence, such as one from the UK, and by filling in a form, providing photographs and paying the necessary fee.
However under the new rules, which were published in the Official Gazette dated November 15, foreign driving licence holders whose “visitor status” has ended but who want to continue driving in the TRNC now need to apply for a six-month “learner’s licence”.
They must then enrol with a driving school and complete 10 hours of lessons in a driving school car – two hours of which must be at night – over a minimum of five days before they can acquire a TRNC driving licence.
To obtain the learner’s licence the applicant must first pass a brief theory test based on the TRNC Highway Code.
After the foreign driving licence holder has completed the required lessons and obtained a certificate from their driving school, they must then apply and pay to “convert” their foreign driving licence into a five-year TRNC driving licence, without the need for passing a practical driving test.
Holders of Turkish driving licences are exempt from the new rules, likely because regulations relating to them are covered in separate reciprocal arrangements between Turkey and the TRNC.
The new rules, which will be in place for 180 days, only apply to first-time applications, and not renewals.
The British Residents Society (BRS) said it had “internal discussions” with Public Works and Transport Ministry officials about
the new regulations, after they were initially published earlier this month but then temporarily suspended.
The BRS advised its members to book a driving course “then submit an application for a TRNC driving licence, or book and complete your course, and then immediately submit your application for a TRNC driving licence, as you will then be able to submit your Driving Instruction Certificate showing that you have completed the course, with the application itself.”
The BRS added: “Upon completion of the course, the certificate given to the applicant that they have successfully attended the course needs to be either submitted to the Driving Licence Office where the application was originally submitted or submitted at the same time that the application is submitted.
“We would suggest that the latter makes more sense, but this should be doublechecked with the driving school that the instruction is booked with.”
‘PACKAGE DEALS’
Some driving schools have already begun offering “package deals” for those who come under the new rules. A spokeswoman for the “Gerçek Tilki” driving school told Cyprus Today that they are offering a fixed package price of 5,000TL, which includes the cost of the theory test, the driving lessons and the five-year TRNC licence.
She said the theory test, a verbal test involving a “few questions about road signs”, can be conducted in English as well as Turkish.
She welcomed the new regulations, saying that driving schools have been waiting for the last “five to six months” for them to be implemented.
The spokeswoman said it is important that people who have learned to drive abroad accustom themselves with driving in North Cyprus, regardless of the standards in their own countries.
She also said the lesson requirements are the same as those for non-foreign driving licence holders applying for their first TRNC driving licence.
The spokeswoman added that the regulations could be extended at the end of the 180 days or replaced by tougher rules whereby foreign driving licence holders would have to start “from zero” – meaning they could also be required to pass a practical exam.
The spokeswoman noted that the length of each lesson is 45 minutes, which she said is the same for other driving schools.
It is not clear if one lesson will be counted as an “hour” under the rules or if 13 or 14 lessons in total will be required to meet the 10-hour rule.
The new rules have been met with disbelief and indignation by some on social media, particularly among those with driving licences from the UK who feel they have nothing to learn by taking lessons in the TRNC.
Others accused the government of seeking new ways to make money from those planning to move to North Cyprus.
One British person, who said he has received advanced driving training and who has held a driving licence for 40 years and who has never had an accident or points on his licence, wrote of his “disgust” at having to “go through a sham procedure to demonstrate to a lower-trained individual that I can drive”.
He described the new rules as “nothing more than a stealth tax” that will “no doubt prevent some people from staying on this island”.
Others made comparisons between the general standard of driving in the TRNC and the UK and European countries, but some defended the new driving licence regulations by pointing out that similar rules exist in other countries.