Unable to leave North Cyprus due to NOT having correct papers

MoneyMad

Hi,
I am in the unusual position of complaining about my mother countries practices. We went on Holiday to North Cyprus for 2 weeks with my wife and youngest son. We are british born and all have british passports. On arrival at the airport we were all allowed in without any question. However on departure we were stopped from going through Passport Control because my son who is 17, did not have the relevant papers to exit! apparently the laws in North Cyprus are strict on ALL males (who have a turkish name and who are reaching the age of 18). If they do not have the relevant entry / exit papers they cannot leave. In our case we were denied exit and were told to go and sort it out then come back once this was all done. We were NEVER told this would be required by either the Travel Agent (who specialises in flights to the NORTH, or the Airline Company who are also Turkish or the Passport immigration control in the NORTH). There was a sign written in Turkish that apparently explains this when you arrive, but unless you are fully conversant in the language written & spoken you are in trouble. As our flights were cancelled, the airline said we had to buy new tickets even though i paid what appears to be over the odds for the ticket. It transpires that the Travel Agent buys the cheep tickets issued by the airline (in advance) and then adds an exorbitant mark-up on them and re-sells them to un-suspecting customers. So when we were told we had to pay the difference based on the value of the ticket as sold to the travel agent and not what we paid i was fuming, we ended up being out of pocket in terms of having to re-buy tickets to leave the country, re-hire of car to sort out this mess and also additional stay for 2 days as all flights leaving cyprus were full. What i need to know is, WHO is to blame, who can i claim from and what else can i do to get compensation. Unfortunately i paid cash for the original tickets but paid with credit card for the re-purchase from the airline company. Can someone help? As a side, issue i think the system in North Cyprus that catches British Citizens born to Turkish Parents or have a Turkish Name is ridiculous and should be done away with. My sons was being treated as someone who was attempting to illegally leave the country and avoid doing military service. All this boils down to is getting money out of British Turks and causing them hassle when visiting there own motherland.

rubbishreply

MoneyMad wrote: »

Hi,
I am in the unusual position of complaining about my mother countries practices. We went on Holiday to North Cyprus for 2 weeks with my wife and youngest son. We are british born and all have british passports. On arrival at the airport we were all allowed in without any question. However on departure we were stopped from going through Passport Control because my son who is 17, did not have the relevant papers to exit! apparently the laws in North Cyprus are strict on ALL males (who have a turkish name and who are reaching the age of 18). If they do not have the relevant entry / exit papers they cannot leave. In our case we were denied exit and were told to go and sort it out then come back once this was all done. We were NEVER told this would be required by either the Travel Agent (who specialises in flights to the NORTH, or the Airline Company who are also Turkish or the Passport immigration control in the NORTH). There was a sign written in Turkish that apparently explains this when you arrive, but unless you are fully conversant in the language written & spoken you are in trouble. As our flights were cancelled, the airline said we had to buy new tickets even though i paid what appears to be over the odds for the ticket. It transpires that the Travel Agent buys the cheep tickets issued by the airline (in advance) and then adds an exorbitant mark-up on them and re-sells them to un-suspecting customers. So when we were told we had to pay the difference based on the value of the ticket as sold to the travel agent and not what we paid i was fuming, we ended up being out of pocket in terms of having to re-buy tickets to leave the country, re-hire of car to sort out this mess and also additional stay for 2 days as all flights leaving cyprus were full. What i need to know is, WHO is to blame, who can i claim from and what else can i do to get compensation. Unfortunately i paid cash for the original tickets but paid with credit card for the re-purchase from the airline company. Can someone help? As a side, issue i think the system in North Cyprus that catches British Citizens born to Turkish Parents or have a Turkish Name is ridiculous and should be done away with. My sons was being treated as someone who was attempting to illegally leave the country and avoid doing military service. All this boils down to is getting money out of British Turks and causing them hassle when visiting there own motherland.

MoneyMad wrote: »

What i need to know is, WHO is to blame, who can i claim from and what else can i do to get compensation.

You. Yourself. I don't know, sue your son?

You are responsible to know the requirements for countries you choose to travel to.

MoneyMad

Thanks for nothing! as a 'newbie', you should learn to reply with something a bit more constructive, I am after serious replies please, not jokes.!

lovesgshp

If the TA specialises in trips to Northern Cyprus, then I would think you may need to take it up with them, as they should be aware of what regulations are required.
Anyway, it is a great place to visit as have been there a couple of times, so hope you enjoyed the stay, apart from the problem of getting out.

silvercar

I don't know the rules for Northern Cyprus particularly, but I know friends with dual nationality for other countries and they all say you have to enter and leave any country on the passports of that country if you have that nationality.

Did you enter Northern Cyprus on your British passports?

rubbishreply

MoneyMad wrote: »

Thanks for nothing! as a 'newbie', you should learn to reply with something a bit more constructive, I am after serious replies please, not jokes.!

Your whole post seems about the need to want to sue someone. As an individual YOU are ultimately responsible for your own actions. If it ultimately down to you to make sure you meet the criteria for travel. You are ultimately to blame.

Can't see where the joke is in that.

richardw

Have a thorough read of the travel agent's terms and conditions before contacting them.

lea2012

I am presuming from what you have said that you travelled into the country and tried to leave again by using your British passport, and that you don't have a turkish passport or kimlik? (ID Card to the non turkish people) Could you read and understand fully the writing that was displayed and pointed out to you on leaving?
Could it be that you have been duped slightly by passport control in a bid to extradite money from you? I worked in Turkey for several years and saw this happen many times at Dalaman airport, when officials tried to get money from tourists by saying that there visas etc had run out.

I would say that if you did travel with British documentation then the first port of call would be the travel agents terms and conditions. I suspect you will find a section in their that states something along the lines of ' it is your responsibility to check the visa requirements and entry regulations of the country you intend to visit for the most up to date information'. If it doesn't then address the issue with them and ask why you were not informed. It

If however you do have dual nationality and decided to enter the country using turkish documentation to avoid paying the £10 tourist visa fee on arrival then I am afraid there is nothing you can do. It is perfectly correct that Turkish nationals who are nearing national service need to provide evidence of their intention to return and the correct documentation to avoid them escaping their military duties.

duchy

MoneyMad wrote: »

Thanks for nothing! as a 'newbie', you should learn to reply with something a bit more constructive, I am after serious replies please, not jokes.!

Why is it not constructive to point out that you are responsible for making sure you have the correct documentation ?
It's a pretty standard thing to do ........and the fact you were visiting your "home country" makes it all the stranger you didn't do so as you more than the average tourist would be aware that Turkey has a requirement for national service and that your son is now of an age to attract their attention.

Why are you looking for someone else to blame ? It's not like you are a "newbie" to travelling to Turkey after all !!

[Deleted User]

MoneyMad wrote: »

Thanks for nothing! as a 'newbie', you should learn to reply with something a bit more constructive, I am after serious replies please, not jokes.!

I doubt there is anything more constructive newbie or not, even i (who has never been to and never would go to cyprus)knows you should be fully conversant when you do

benjus

silvercar wrote: »

they all say you have to enter and leave any country on the passports of that country if you have that nationality.

Again, don't know about Cyprus but it's certainly not the case for all countries - I know people from a couple of South American countries with local and EU nationality who don't bother to keep their local passports renewed and visit their home countries using their EU passports.