Jerry wrote:The law is already applied in an arbitrary manner, in practice EU citizens know they can cross over without problems but illegal settlers know they cannot, I expect the same would apply to mainland Turks. Presumably not all settlers have "trnc" passports so how would the ROC tell the difference between a mainland tourist and a settler. Besides, why should the ROC allow entry to citizens from a state that doesn't recognise it? "Sorry, we don't recognise your passport" could be a valid reason for refusal.
The law is not applied at all as far as I understand it and has not been since EU accession. Do you know of anyone of any category, that has been prosecuted under this law since the RoC joined the EU ?
Illegal settlers - as far as they are from countries that require a visa to enter the RoC, can not cross, unless they have said visa - that is the whole point. They can not cross because they do not have the required visa. It is not the case that they choose not to cross because if they do so they will be prosecuted for having entered the RoC via an illegal port of entry. They do not cross because the RoC does not let them them cross, physically, exactly as per the Green Line regulations, agreed between the the RoC and the EU. Not just Turkish settlers, this is true of any settler than requires a visa to enter the RoC. A citizen of Pakistan that resides in north Cyprus for example can not cross the Green line from north to south unless they have a visa. If such a person applied for such a visa from the RoC they would not get one if they answer honestly where they reside - which is part of the visa process. Sure they could lie but that is a big risk. A Pakistani might get away with such a lie. A Turkish citizen you can be sure will be 'vetted' thoroughly to ensure they have not lied to the question 'do you reside in north cyprus' and I believe the RoC can refuse to give a visa merely if they suspect the person has lied about where they reside.
I am 95% sure that I know of a Turkish citizen, that lives in Turkey, that got a RoC tourist visa and then was able to enter Cyprus via the north and cross the Green line (as the Green line regulations say he should be able to) and do so without being prosecuted for having entered Cyprus via an illegal port of entry once he had crossed (as in theory the RoC could do under national law but in practice do not do). Not 100% sure - I will have to do some 'checking' but am pretty sure. Getting the visa was not an easy task at all, it was in fact very very difficult process but once they had it and for the life of it, they then could cross the Green line from north to south, as per the Green line regulations agreed with the EU. In theory they could also then have been arrested once they had crossed and prosecuted for illegal port o entry under national law, but that would open up a can of worms for the RoC legally, given that they systematically do not do that for other people that have also crossed the Green line in accordance with the rules agreed with the EU. They could as I understand it bring a strong case (eventually to the ECHR if necessary) that such prosecution of them purely because they were Turkish was unfair discrimination based on nationality.
As to how does the RoC know that he was a tourist and not a settler, they know because part of the process of obtaining the tourist visa involves proving to the RoC that you are not an illegal settler living in the north. If you can not prove that they do not give you the visa and you can not cross the green line from north to south. It is the granting or not granting of the visa that is the effective control that the RoC has, as I understand it. Just as I had to prove that I was not a settler but a 'real' Cypriot in the eyes of the RoC the first time I wanted to cross the Green line using my North Cyprus issued kimlik card (ID Card), as opposed to my British passport. I can now cross with either, but only because I have proved that I am the son of a Cypriot according to the RoC and not the son of a settler and that is now on the border 'computer'. In practice I tend to use my kimlik card on the north side of the crossing and my UK passport on the South but only because it is easier and quicker. I could and have in the past used my UK passport on both sides, as I have done with my kimlik card (having to the first time I used this on the RoC side also prove that I was a 'Cypriot' according to RoC law).
