Cyprus

Accessing care

With the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you can receive medically necessary treatment during a temporary stay in Cyprus. Medically necessary treatment means treatment that cannot wait until you return home. You may need such treatment, for example, due to sudden illness or an accident.

You can also receive treatment related to pregnancy, childbirth, or chronic illnesses. If you have a condition that requires regular treatment while you are staying abroad, contact a health care provider in advance to arrange the treatment.

The European Health Insurance Card does not guarantee free treatment and you will be charged the same amount as local residents. We recommend carrying additional copies of your card. If you do not have a European Health Insurance Card or if it is not accepted, you will need to pay the cost of treatment yourself. You can then apply for reimbursement from Kela afterward.

By presenting a European Health Insurance Card, you will be able to obtain care in places of treatment belonging to Cyprus´s state healthcare system. Information about health services is available from Cyprus´s Ministry of Health in English and Greek.

There are also private doctors and treatment facilities in Cyprus. If you go for treatment in the private sector, you must pay all the costs yourself. An exception to this is a situation in which you have received a referral from the Department of Health for treatment for private treatment of kind that is not available in the state hospitals.

Please note that the European Health Insurance Card is not valid in the northern part of Cyprus (“Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”).

Sudden illness

Doctor

By presenting your European Health Insurance Card and ID, you can get treatment from general practitioners in state healthcare centres. In order to consult a specialist, you need a referral from a general practitioner in the state system.

You will be charged a small standard fee. Separate surcharges are made for laboratory tests and follow-up examinations such as X-rays. Certain special groups, such as students and the chronically ill, receive treatment for free or at a reduced rate.

Dentist

The costs of dental care are not usually reimbursed, and therefore you must pay all costs in Cyprus yourself. Certain special groups, such as those over the age of 65, disability pensioners and the chronically ill, can receive dental treatment in the public sector free of charge or at a reduced rate, however.

Medication

You can obtain a partial reimbursement on medicines prescribed by a doctor in the private sector when you take the prescription to a pharmacy within the healthcare system and you present your European Health Insurance Card and ID.

Hospital care

You can access hospital treatment if you have a doctor´s referral. In an emergency, you can also go directly to a state hospital via the emergency department. In addition to any referral you may have, present your European Health Insurance Card and ID.

Emergency clinic patients all pay a small standard fee, regardless of the type of treatment they have been given. Patients over the age of 65, disability pensioners and the chronically ill receive a reduction on hospital fees.

Transport by ambulance to obtain necessary medical care is free if the patient has a European Health Insurance Card and the treatment is provided at a facility within the public healthcare system.

Read more about suddenly falling ill in Europe.

Read more about reimbursement of costs of treatment abroad.

Useful websites

If you want to travel to Cyprus to use healthcare services there, you should read our website for general information about seeking treatment abroad. You should direct your questions about healthcare in Cyprus to the Cypriot National Contact Point.

You can find the contact of information of health services on the website of the National Contact Point of Cyprus.

Quality and safety of treatment

In the event of treatment injuries, the legislation and patient insurance of the country providing the treatment is always applied. In case you are unhappy with the treatment you received, you should primarily try to sort the matter out with the treatment provider. The national contact point can help you with finding the right authority if you wish to make a complaint.

Healthcare system

The healthcare system in Cyprus is divided into public and private sectors. Both public and private hospitals can be found in all of Cyprus’s major cities. Public healthcare in Cyprus is funded by taxes and administered by the Ministry of Health. Public healthcare is either free or low-cost for EU citizens. Private healthcare generally has affordable fees for everyone.