Cyprus-Forum.com

[gjd]

Hi all,

I am planning to retire and move to Cyprus in Jun 13. I am 54 years and will not be working in Cyprus. My girlfriend is 47 and in the same position.

I am hearing conflicting stories as to accessibility to medical facilities. Some are telling me that as I am under state retirement age then I am not entitled to use local facilities as a NHS EU member and will require private international medical insurance cover. When I reach state retirement age then it is free. On the other hand I am being told that as an EU member moving to another EU member state then when registered as a resident and with the necessary E form from the Uk, then I will be entitled to free local medical care.

I would be very grateful for some clarification as to which stories are correct !!

[B25]

Hi all,

I am planning to retire and move to Cyprus in Jun 13. I am 54 years and will not be working in Cyprus. My girlfriend is 47 and in the same position.

I am hearing conflicting stories as to accessibility to medical facilities. Some are telling me that as I am under state retirement age then I am not entitled to use local facilities as a NHS EU member and will require private international medical insurance cover. When I reach state retirement age then it is free. On the other hand I am being told that as an EU member moving to another EU member state then when registered as a resident and with the necessary E form from the Uk, then I will be entitled to free local medical care.

I would be very grateful for some clarification as to which stories are correct !!

If you register under retirement age as a permanent resident, you need to have private medical cover.

When you become of pensionable age, you can apply for the health service.

[gjd]

Thank you for answering that.

Can I now ask for peoples opinions on recommended companies that provide such cover. Should I get it in the UK (very expensive!) or can it be taken out through local insurers ? Any advice greatly appreciated.

[Svetlana]

You are better off with a local insurere, who will be cheaper and settle claims more quickly (yes, I know there is the occasional horror story). Some bills are passed directly to the insurer form the hospital etc, without you being involved.

[rotate]

AXA PPP Cyprus offer exactly the same medical cover as PPP do in the UK for a lot less money (its the same explanatory book), however you have to check the policy very carefully both in Cyprus and the UK to ensure that diagnostic medicine, out-patient treatment and out-patient prescription medicine costs are covered by the policy as these can be very expensive.

If you remain domiciled in the UK and are not known to be out of the country for three months or more and continue to pay UK tax and reduced NI contributions there is no reason for you to be refused a EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) by the UK authorities. To obtain these you will need to retain a permanent UK address and be registered with a UK NHS Doctors surgery. If you are leaving the UK for Tax reasons in addition to enjoying the benefits of living in the RoC then you should carefully weigh up the costs of private medical insurance X 2 etc, against any UK Tax/NI cost savings.

Reaching retirement age will not entitle you to a UK EHIC card as it is your final three years NI contributions that count and if you do not pay them and leave the UK before retirement age you will not get the cards. Currently this is being challenged in the courts.

Any private medical insurance cover costs will increase with your age, as a rough estimate consider that your costs will increase by 50% by the time you reach sixty four in ten years time and that's excluding any possible inflation. Remember you and your partner will not be covered for any pre-existing conditions. For example anyone suffering from high blood pressure will be excluded from ALL heart/circulation treatments by the policy.

If you are cutting all your ties with the UK and are going onto the Cyprus taxation system then you should apply for Permanent Resident status, certain criteria must be met to obtain this which will include proof of income, once obtained permanent residence will give you certain rights over and above the normal registration of EU citizens, as to if you can join the RoC Social Insurance scheme (for medical cover) when not working is something that you should investigate very carefully as I believe that this is not possible (maybe I am wrong). My experience of the RoC Health Service has been good to excellent, understanding the system and how it works is the hardest part but you can get help and advice at any of the Citizens Centres in the main towns, worth investigating.

Finally, although most private clinics/hospitals in the ROC operate to a high standard they do on occasion transfer patients to the state system for specialist/intensive care treatments in much the same way as private medicine does in the UK. This happened to my wealthy Cypriot sister in law who went from a state of well ordered luxury in a private clinic to a busy no frills RoC Government hospital, quite a shock for her but at least they got her well enough to complain loudly about the lack of service and having to share a side ward with three other patients

Good Luck

Nearly forgot, try down loading RoC Government forms MEU1A and MEU3A to find all the criteria that must be met for EU Citizen Registration and Permanent Residence, last pages of each refer to medical cover.

[Hyder]

There is a good chance that you can apply for an S1 in the UK which means the NHS will agree to pay your (public sector) medical bills in Cyprus for 2 years or so after leaving the UK. There are certain criteria to qualify (mostly having paid 3 years NI continuously prior to leaving) & a form to fill in. It is far from an automatic smooth process, it takes 6-8 weeks to get a decision from the govt on whether they will grant the card so I strongly suggest applying well before leaving the UK as you can't get your Cyprus residents card without it (or proof of private cover).
After the S1 expires you are on your own & will need private cover.

[36510]

Just reanimating this old thread: Is there such a thing as mandatory health insurance ( and/or pension fund contributions, unemployment insurance etc.) if you are employed in Cyprus? If so, does it depend on your income or is there a threshold below which you don't have to pay social security (like for so-called "mini-jobs" in Germany).

[Tim Drayton]

If you are employed or self-employed in Cyprus, then, to the best of my knowledge, you must contribute to the social insurance fund. If you are self-employed then it is proportional to your income, although for the first ten years you can pay based on a standard rate for the line of business you are in, and I would imagine that it is proportional to your income for employed people, too.

[Tim Drayton]

From the horse's mouth:

Your contributions to the Social Insurance Fund

In case you work for someone you are an “employed person”. The person you
work for is your “employer” and he is responsible for your registration under the SIS. Your employer will take from your gross wages 6,8% and pay it to the Social Insurance Fund. At the beginning of every contribution year you will receive from the Social Insurance Services a statement which indicates your total earnings and contributions for the previous contribution year.

The rate of your contribution is 17,9% on your wages and it is divided to
contributions paid by your employer, yourself and the State in the proportion of 6,8%, 6,8% and 4,3% respectively.

In case you work for yourself you are “self-employed person” and you will be
responsible to register yourself to the SIS and pay your contributions directly to us every three months.

The rate of your contribution is 16,9% on your notional income. Out of 16,9%,
12,6% is paid by you and 4,3% by the State. You are also have to pay extra 2% to the Social Cohesion Fund.

http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/sid/sidv2.n ... 0FINAL.pdf

[36510]

Thanks for the info. Even though it's not what I has hoped for because it means that my German health insurance would fall away if I started working in Cyprus. Weirdly enough, the lady from the Cypriot embassy in Berlin told me there was no mandatory insurance in Cyprus.