Eligible for GESY?

[Poster12]

Does anyone know if I will be eligible for healthcare under GESY?

I moved to Cyprus on a permanent basis at the start of this year. I have applied to the Immigration Department for a Temporary Residence Permit, and I have an Alien’s Registration Certificate (MRC1).

I am fully retired and not working, but I have not yet reached the UK state pension age and so I have no S1 form.

[Lofos-Jan]

You will qualify once you receive permanent residency status or state retirement (S1). You can apply for permanent residency status after 5 years of continuous extensions to temporary residence permits. Info here - click on the third option ‘I am a 3rd country national…’ https://www.gesy.org.cy/sites/Sites?d= ... ibilityfaq

Jeanne

[Jb1960]

Hi,

As per Lofos Jan’s response the answer is no. You need to have an MEU3, pay Cyprus Social Insurance or have an S1 if you only have am MEU1. The worst thing thing is you still have to pay the GESY charge of 2.65% of your worldwide income as well.

jason

[Poster12]

So it looks like I will not be eligible for GESY for another 5 years.

That is very disappointing.

So is there any healthcare help given to someone in my situation in Cyprus?

If I want to go and see a GP for example, what kind of fee will I need to pay for a GP consultation, or a blood test, or prescriptions?

And what about emergency situations? Can I call an ambulance if needed and will the hospital treat me? What about emergency operations? What if a person gets cancer and needs cancer treatment?

Is there any good value local health insurance package that I can buy that would cover all of these things?

[daveg]

€30-€50 for a docs consultation,blood test costs depends on which one same for prescription drugs
Private Health Insurance is the way forward until you get onto GESY.....
From personal experience do NOT risk not having insurance...
Before GESY we were paying around €2500 a year for us , in patient care only,in our early 60's , previous health problems not covered....

[Kili01]

When my husband and I arrived in Cyprus, we were both below pensionable age. As well as needing proof of an acceptable annual income, we were told to arrange private health insurance. which we did. Ours covered hospital inpatient care, operations, etc. and we paid for any GP consultations ourselves. If you go for this type of health care insurance, the premium should be more affordable. Depending on your age and previous health record.
Try Atlantic Health insurance, or Pacific Insurance. (Different companies) You will need this until you reach retirement age in the UK, when you should receive your S1.
Sorry, but UK is no longer in the EU, we are now regarded as citizens of the third world here.
Dee

[WHL]

So it looks like I will not be eligible for GESY for another 5 years.

That is very disappointing.

So is there any healthcare help given to someone in my situation in Cyprus?

If I want to go and see a GP for example, what kind of fee will I need to pay for a GP consultation, or a blood test, or prescriptions?

And what about emergency situations? Can I call an ambulance if needed and will the hospital treat me? What about emergency operations? What if a person gets cancer and needs cancer treatment?

Is there any good value local health insurance package that I can buy that would cover all of these things?

I was under the impression everyone not on GESY had to have health insurance to live here

[fishbeardsunset]

Hi Poster 12

As someone that has experienced exactly the same situation as you, i.e. having retired below the age of 66 (it was originally 65!) but as you know increased to age 66 for men (being a 1954 vintage lol:) ! Let me give you an insight into my own personal experience of things- just as an illustration then

I did some phoning about to various Insurance Companies - Cypra Life, So Easy Insurance, Top Quotes etc and took out the basic "Aliens medical Insurance" which I think in 2016 was about €165 per annum, however this only covered the very basics and dependant upon your present individual health situation and whether you are a keen sportsman, or partake in extreme sporting activities- such as mountain biking, then that would be a separate issue for you to consider as there are a whole myriad of add-ons that can work out extremely expensive.

Luckily, I was fortunate with my health and did not need to visit a GP apart from once and had to pay I think €20 for a 15 min consultation and then extra for the medication/prescription at the chemist l know that at the time (2016) everyone was supposed to register with the Immigration Dept within 3 months of their arrival, and start the procedure for obtaining their yellow slip (MEU1)

I enlisted the help of Gwenny from Gwenny's Red Tape service, who was a real lifesaver because she could cut right across all the "RED TAPE" (excuse the (pun) and provided me with a list of documents that I would need to present to the Immigration Dept. One of them being a basic insurance policy

Well, I am so glad that I used her, because she made an appointment and accompanied me to the Immigration Dept in Paphos- which was heaving with people, very noisy, and frustrated individuals having arguments with the lady at the reception desk for whatever reason- so she told me to not say anything- when we went into the processing room and I had my photo taken- and she presented all the documentation I had previously supplied to her and did all the "talking" on my behalf and in less that 20 mins I was out complete with my yellow slip.
Naturally I had to pay her but worth every cent.

Her details are here
https://www.paphoslife.com/directory/en ... y_red_tape

Also, here was the original list of things that she requested which may be slightly out of date but you can always e-mail her and get an update
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Passport
2. Contract of Sale for house purchase or Tenancy Agreement.
3. Pension details private and/or State/Investments/Savings
4. Latest UK bank statement (or account in any other country).
5. Printout of Cyprus bank accounts showing sufficient funds
stamped and signed by the bank.
6. Medical cover which can be a) Private medical insurance*,
or form S1 from the Department of Work and Pensions, Newcastle. (NOTE: You have to be in receipt of the state pension from the U.K to qualify)
Telephone number – 0044 191 2181999
7. Marriage certificate if applicable.**

* We can give you a quote for a basic medical insurance which is sufficient for Immigration.
**Any documents that are not in English will need to be translated and Apostile in the country they were issued in.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She deals with all manner of requests and also helped me with my S1 forms- albeit in your situation, it won't apply just yet because of your age-

WHL's comments about everyone not on GESY having to have medical Insurance to live here is partly true to comply with obtaining a "yellow slip", but then I'm sure some people don't bother to renew their annual premium when it expires, which is very stupid as someone else has commented, DO NOT risk having NO insurance !!

I realise that some of the stuff I have detailed here won't directly apply to you as you state that you have applied for an (MRC1) Aliens registration certificate already, whereas my yellow slip was issued in 2017 as a "certificate of registration as a Union citizen" (prior to Brexit being formally ratified) so I guess things have changed as we are no longer a member of the E.U.

Anyway, I hope that some of the information has been helpful and I wish you all the best with your retirement