Part III: Schooling in TRNC: Cyprus International University (CIU).

This article attempts to answer some of the questions you may have about it. CIU (and other universities in Europe) are far more affordable than universities in the United States or Canada.

I have already written previous articles about

Part I: Questions to ask before moving abroad/ relocating from Nigeria

Part II: Study Abroad Advisory Service for Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC).

Now for the Pros and the well…Cons.

The Pros:

A. The school does not require IELTS, GRE, GMAT et al. The school only requires;

• WAEC or NECO Results
• Degree Certificates
• University Transcripts

B. Registration process is really quick. Registration for the 2019–2020 Academic Year Spring Semester opens from 24 January to 21 February 2020. The late registration fee will be €25 per day onwards 24 February 2020 and students will be charged up to the maximum of €150 late registration fee.

C. School Buses are available, have WiFi, run all through the town and free from Monday to Sunday. From 6:50am to 10pm.

D. The Fees: The pricing strategy is lit. Like, they got ready for Nigerians. lol. Undergrad fees are about € 6000 and MBA about € 3500. I would recommend checking the school’s site for the detailed pricing though. The point here is that the fees are far more affordable than the United States and/or Canada. Here are other interesting things to know about the fee system:

1. After paying initial deposit (which is like 50% of your fees), you can choose the number of courses you want to take per semester (Each course = €350). So if (for example), you paid €2000, you can take 5 courses at once in one semester OR stretch it at 3 semesters at 2 courses each. This gives you more time to raise money to pay the balance.

2. If you are owing fees at the start of a new semester, the school allows you reduce your debt to a minimum of €500 so you can register for the new semester.

3. If you are still not able to reduce your debt to less than €500, you are allowed (depending on the amount) to reduce it to €1000 so you get provisional (not full) admission and attend classes.

4. If your debt is still too much, the school allows you to restructure your debt and be paying in bits with small simple interest added (no compounding).

5. During the summer holidays, the school does not add interest on your debt till school resumes again.

6. If you fail any course, you just redo the course for €350.

The Cons:

1. The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus does NOT issue permanent resident permit to immigrants. They also do NOT issue temporary residence for more than a year. You will be required to renew your permit and pay every year.
2. Your residence permit is tied to your school registration OR work permit: This means that if and when your residence permit is expired and you are owing school fees more than €500, you will not be able to apply for residence permit. Also, if you have a falling out with your employer and he/she terminates your work permit, You will have 60 days to resolve either one after which you will be declared illegal and may be deported if you are unable to.
3. As a follow-up to (2); if you intend to stay in the country after your academic program has ended, you will need to apply for another course/ program and get registered OR get a job where your employer is willing and able to file for a work permit for you in order to obtain a residence permit.
4. Immigrants are not allowed to run businesses of any sort unless they partner with a citizen, pay as much as $10,000 and go through the loads of paperwork required.
5. Immigrants are restricted on the kind of Jobs they can get: they can only get informal/ brown-collar occupations. Examples of brown-collar occupations include childcare workers, construction laborers, waiters’ assistants, cooks, gardeners, maids, apparel assemblers, furniture assemblers, painters, and farm workers.
6. The condition for the foreign students who want to transfer to the universities in Turkey is that they must be active and regularly educated student for 2 years in the university they registered in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

If all of this sounds like something that fits your profile, please reach out and let us have a conversation about what other information you might need. Other things we can help you with are:

• Accommodation
• Flight Booking from Nigeria
• Transportation from the airport upon arrival
• Getting a job on the Island

Interested? Please send an email to hello@extrafemi.com

Please be advised that Information is money. We do not consult for free.