15 months, 3,810 foreigners - permission to buy real estate.

According to fresh data from the Ministry of Interior, the Council of Ministers granted permits to 2,810 foreigners to buy property in northern Cyprus in 2022 and only 1,000 foreigners in the first three months of 2023. According to the data, 90% of the permits in 2022 and 80% of the permits in 2023 were granted to citizens of the Republic of Turkey, while the remaining permits were granted to citizens mainly from Israel, Russia and Iran. However, according to information circulated in the real estate industry, in a much larger number of cases, real estate is being acquired by "secret foreign partners" of local companies.

The Fileleftheros newspaper, published in the south of Cyprus, reported that the number of transactions for the purchase and sale of real estate for foreigners in the north''country has exceeded 7 thousand since 2021. The newspaper also states that Russian investors who moved to northernCyprus after the imposition of sanctions, Iranian investors who have good relations with Turkey, and investors from Israel make up the bulk of foreign buyers.

According to northern Cypriot law, foreigners wishing to purchase real estate must obtain a permit from the Council of Ministers, and companies investing in real estate must be 51% owned by a KCTCS citizen. Under the construction law, a company engaged in construction must also be 100% owned by a KCTR citizen... However, according to Hüseyin Sadeghi, a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Real Estate Agents, some multinational''companies set up "shell" companies in the north of Cyprus or enter into contracts with citizens of the ACCT to avoid the restrictions imposed by the Council of Ministers and have an "unlimited" right to acquire real estate.

These are jointly owned investment companies.

This is according to Interior Minister Zia Ostürkler, who also added that they have received such reports, but the necessary investigation can be handed over to the police...

The chairman of the CyproTurkish Builders' Union, Jafer Gürjafer, confirmed that the companies are actually local companies on paper, saying: "I don't know if there are secret partners, but it is possible. Why not?". He added: "I look at the founding documents'. 'Companies.

"If there is a hidden agenda, it is very important. "

Talking about the negative consequences of such a situation, Sadeghi said: "We need to protect domestic entrepreneurs and investors who protect them? We require that a real estate license be issued to a person who is a citizen of the KCTCS. This helps prevent possible misperception of the desire of locals to purchase real estate. Could they have a political agenda? Or are they only using such methods because of the laws in our country? The authorities should look into the background of this issue.".