Healthcare in Cyprus
Since Cyprus joined the European Union in 2005 there appears to be much confusion about what you can expect from health care services here in Cyprus. This article is based on my personal experiences when trying to negotiate medical treatment in Cyprus and I cannot take responsibility for any incorrect information or healthcare procedures which may have changed.
Registering as an Alien in Cyprus
If you have decided to buy a property in Cyprus and make Cyprus your home, the very first thing you need to do if you want healthcare in Cyprus is to register as an Alien, and you cannot do this without your E121 form or private health cover. A good tip is to apply for your E121 before you leave the UK.
To register you need a passport, a driving licence, a contract of your house purchase or tenancy agreement, and Cypriot bank statements which need to be stamped by the bank as Registration will not accept a print out. If you have any pensions paid to you from the UK, Registration will need proof of this. If you are not of pensionable age you will need to provide financial evidence that you will not be a burden on the state; this can be employment of course, or if you don't have a job yet then a Cypriot bank savings account balance of more than about €7,000 will suffice. You will need proof that you have some form of health or medical cover, such as your E121. You will also require four passport photos and about €85 in cash.
Take all of this to the Cyprus immigration department, which is along the strip in Mackenzie Beach. Get there nice and early, 7.30 am is a good time. You enter the building and take a ticket from the office on your right. (Cypriots do not queue, so be aware.) You will be seen by a person who will check your documentation and, if all is in order, tell you that you can proceed to the next stage. If you are lucky and get through (it took me two attempts) you will be seen by a second person who will go through all of the documentation again, and then stamp it.
You will be issued with a temporary beige coloured booklet with a photo and ID number, which is your Alien card, and a small pink card with ID number which you must present to the hospital before any medical treatment or healthcare will be granted.
If you get this far, the person who has just stamped all of your documentation will tell you that you are now registered as a resident of Cyprus for the next five years. Congratulations.
Free medical treatment and healthcare in Cyprus
If you are a male aged 65 or over, or a woman aged 60 or over, then it appears that you can take free and full advantage of the Cyprus medical healthcare service (similar to the NHS in the UK).
So this is how it works.
The very first thing you need to do is contact the Medical Benefits department at The Pension Service in the UK on +44 191 218 1999, or visit the The Pension Service web site where there is a form you can use that deals with queries about United Kingdom benefits payable to overseas customers. The Pension Service will inform you whether or not if you are entitled to any free health care and medical services in Cyprus, and they will send you the E121 forms.
It may also be the case that on form E121 a male age 65 or over can claim healthcare for any dependents, such as his spouse. Only The Pension Service can tell you whether or not this applies to you and your family. My personal experience is that as my husband had reached 65 and I claimed healthcare as his dependent as I had not reached 60 years of age.
If you have certain medical conditions or an illness such as diabetes, or if you have been medically retired in Britain, I believe that regardless of your age you can claim free healthcare in Cyprus, but first check with The Pension Service in the UK as each case is different.
When you receive the E121 forms, do not fill them in, take them to your nearest hospital in Cyprus.
Take them and lots of patience to the hospital reception desk which says Registration. A person will then fill in the E121 forms for you. Explain that you have registered as an Alien and produce your little booklet and pink card. The person will then photocopy the E121 forms, stamp one and give one back to you. Then send off all the other forms to the Ministry of Health in Nicosia.
You may wait several months before you receive your formal residency forms, but do not worry, as long as you have the temporary booklet, the small pink card and a copy of the E121 you will get health care. Remember to take all of these forms etc with you if you are trying to get medical treatment at a government hospital; without all three you will have a wasted journey. Make a note of your ID numbers and put them in a safe place in case you lose the booklet.
After a couple of months you can go yourself to the Ministry of Health in Nicosia and ask for your residency documentation.
Ok, so now you have all the necessary documentation and you need to see a doctor. I learned that, unlike in the UK, if you are requiring free healthcare then you cannot register with any old doctor, you can register only with a government doctor, and they all operate from government hospitals. It doesn't matter what is wrong with you, you will be required to take yourself off to the nearest hospital, and don’t forget your documentation as you will not get seen without it.
Go to the area where you previously registered, except this time you will see that there are separate queues for men and women. If you are not yet of retirement age, go to the relevant queue with €2, produce your documentation and tell the receptionist that you want to see a doctor. (You cannot make a formal appointment with a doctor in advance.) You will be issued with a small green ticket which you must keep until after your consultation with a doctor. You will then be sent to sit outside a cubicle with a number; wait your turn and enter.
By the time you get to see a doctor the reception department will have made up a file and taken it to the doctor. Thereafter you will always follow this procedure, except that on subsequent visits the receptionist will hand you your file to take to the doctor.
If you require any special medical treatment in Cyprus, such as a blood test for example, the procedure is the same but remember that if you have to go back to the hospital the following day then you will need to pay your €2 and produce all of your documentation again. Trust me, I learned the hard way.
If you need to go the new hospital in Larnaca for x-rays or similar, follow the same procedure. Unlike the UK, in Cyprus if you have an x-ray you must wait for it and take it with you the next time you see the government doctor. If you require a prescription and have survived the queues, seen the doctor and not lost you temper, the doctor will give you a prescription to take to the pharmacy department at the hospital; there should not be a charge for this but, remember, at each and every step take all of your documentation with you.
Returning to the UK for healthcare or medical treatment
When you receive your E121 from The Pension Service in the UK there is a paragraph headed "Planned Treatment form E112". If you want to return to the UK for any planned healthcare treatment, this is how it works.
Basically, you cannot just decide that you want to go back to UK with your E112 form for any treatment or healthcare.
Let’s say that you do not fancy having an operation in Cyprus but you are now registered as a resident here. You want to go back to the UK, but do not want to pay in the UK. In such a circumstance you will be requested to have full medical examination by a Cypriot doctor, private or otherwise, who will write a report to state what treatment you require. This report is put before the Medical Board at the Ministry of Health in Nicosia (which sits every Tuesday) to decide whether or not they will accept the cost of your healthcare back in the UK.
The rule of thumb is that if the operation can be performed here in Cyprus at a government hospital then you will not be given the right of expenses paid to have the operation performed outside Cyprus.
There is another procedure if you work in Cyprus, and I believe that if you continue to pay National Insurance contributions in the UK you will receive free healthcare any time in the UK, regardless of your residency status, but then you will need some form of private medical cover while in Cyprus.
Private healthcare in Cyprus
If all of the above sounds too much to bear, then you have the option of private medical cover, monthly payments etc, on which I cannot comment as I have taken my chances with the free healthcare in Cyprus. And I have to say that I have received excellent medical treatment, notwithstanding the queues.
As well as private medical insurance, in Cyprus you can also opt to use any private doctor of your choice and pay for each consultation and medical treatment if needed. My own experience is that private doctors request between €17 and €25 per consultation. Any specialist healthcare or treatment will depend on what you want.
What I can say is, if you opt for this procedure then it is swift and you can get to see a specialist the following day, no waiting for months here!