Most of the immigrants come from the Anatolia region of Turkey, but a few others from the United Kingdom come to live in Northern Cyprus in order to take advantage of property sales.

It is estimated that Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus and their children currently make up about 50% of the population in the de facto state,[1] but the number of naturalizations remains unknown.

They, therefore, officially regard any naturalized Northern Cyprus citizens as 'illegal settlers', who would be subject to deportation in the event of Cypriot reunification[citation needed].

Furthermore, the government of the Republic of Cyprus[2] considers the immigration policy of Northern Cyprus to be in violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 ("Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War"), which prohibits the transfer by an occupying power of its own civilian population into the territory it is occupying.

Also, in Resolutions 33/15 (1978), 24/30 (1979) and 37/253 (1983), the United Nations General Assembly deplored "all unilateral actions that change the demographic structure of Cyprus".