Migration Management Center Opens in Northern Cyprus

A formal opening ceremony was held for the new Migration Management Center in Northern Cyprus. As part of the initiative, Turkish Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya handed over six mobile vehicles to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to support efforts in combating illegal migration.

The ceremony, held across from the Ministry of the Interior, was attended by TRNC President Ersin Tatar, Speaker of the Republic’s Assembly Ziya Öztürkler, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, Turkey’s Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya, Turkish Ambassador to Nicosia Ali Murat Başçeri, as well as ministers, members of parliament, and other officials.

The event began with a moment of silence followed by the national anthem.

During the ceremony, Minister Yerlikaya stated that Turkey’s mission is to actively support the registration of foreigners arriving in the TRNC through legal channels and to help ensure border security.

President Ersin Tatar emphasized that the new Migration Management Center, along with the mobile vehicles, will enable necessary inspections to be carried out, thus “ensuring peace and security across the country.”

According to TRNC Minister of the Interior Dursun Oğuz, this is the first center of its kind in the country, and it will take on several vital responsibilities. These include combatting illegal immigration, identifying and deporting foreign nationals involved in criminal activities or threatening public order, and overseeing repatriation procedures.

“This center will also enable the systematic and secure registration of foreigners—especially those with work permits, student visas, or residence permits—through the collection of biometric data on criminal offenders, a process being introduced in our country for the first time,” the minister explained.

Dursun Oğuz and Prime Minister Ünal Üstel expressed their gratitude to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister Ali Yerlikaya for their contributions to what they described as a historic step forward.

Following the speeches, guests toured the mobile units and participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially inaugurate the center.

To conclude the event, a “Security Cooperation Agreement” was signed between the TRNC and the Republic of Turkey.

The agreement was signed by TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, Interior Minister Dursun Oğuz, and Turkey’s Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya.