How do I get GESY in Cyprus?

Register on the Beneficiary Portal at gesy.org.cy with your ARC number, then sign on with a personal doctor. You must first fit an eligibility category: employed, permanent resident, S1 holder, refugee, or family member of a beneficiary. The GESY registration guide has the steps.

Not entirely. GP visits and inpatient hospital care are free, but specialists, prescriptions, tests and A&E carry small co-payments, capped at €150 a year (€75 for children and low-income pensioners). Contributions are also taken from income.

Is the GESY co-payment cap €150 or €300?

€150 a year for most people, according to the Health Insurance Organisation's financing page. Some older summaries, including Wikipedia, still quote €300. The cap is €75 for children up to 21, low-income pensioners and Guaranteed Minimum Income recipients.

Glossary

What Is GESY?

Q: When did GESY start?

Contributions began on 1 March 2019, GP and outpatient specialist care on 1 June 2019, and hospital care on 1 June 2020. The laws creating it were passed in 2017.

GESY is Cyprus's General Healthcare System (GHS), the national health insurance scheme run by the Health Insurance Organisation. Registered residents pick a personal doctor and get GP, specialist, hospital and pharmacy care for small co-payments, capped at €150 a year. UK movers qualify only if they work here, hold permanent residence or have an S1.

JJason 4 min read Last verified 27 September 2026

Read the full GESY guide

Sunlit clinic corridor in Paphos with an olive tree by the window

Fact-checked27 September 2026

Definition

GESY: Cyprus's national health insurance system, run by the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO). Registered beneficiaries choose a personal doctor and get GP, specialist, hospital, pharmacy, lab and other care from contracted providers, paying small co-payments capped at €150 a year. It is funded by contributions on income.

Why GESY matters when you move to Cyprus

GESY decides whether your healthcare in Cyprus costs a few euros a visit or a private insurance premium every year. If the system is new to you, a Cyprus healthcare navigator can walk you through registering and choosing a doctor.

Older couple walking along a palm-lined avenue in Paphos on a winter morning — GESY depends on your residence status, not just your address.

For UK movers, the important part is eligibility. You're a GESY beneficiary if you live in the government-controlled areas and you're employed, hold permanent residence (for example a Category F permit), have refugee or supplementary protection status, are insured elsewhere with an S1, or are the spouse or dependent child of a beneficiary.

UK nationals who lived in Cyprus before 2021 follow the EU-citizen rules. A UK national on a temporary residence permit who doesn't work here is outside GESY and needs private insurance; we can introduce you to a health insurance broker. GESY is one of the first jobs in settling in Cyprus.

How GESY works

GESY launched GP and outpatient specialist care on 1 June 2019 and hospital care on 1 June 2020.

Register once on the Beneficiary Portal at gesy.org.cy, using your ARC number (EU citizens get theirs with their yellow slip registration certificate).
Choose a personal doctor, who treats you and refers you to specialists. You can switch after 6 months.
Pay co-payments: GP visits free, specialists €6 with a referral (€25 without), prescriptions €1 per item, A&E €10. The yearly cap is €150, or €75 for children and low-income pensioners.
Contributions come from income: 2.65% for employees and pensioners, 4% for the self-employed, up to €180,000 a year. Employers add 2.90% and the state 4.70%.

Your right to care doesn't depend on how much you've paid in. The helpline is 17000.

GESY vs the NHS

GESY is closer to a national insurance scheme than to the NHS. The table shows the differences UK movers notice first.

	GESY (Cyprus)	NHS (UK)
Who's covered	Registered beneficiaries who meet an eligibility category	Anyone ordinarily resident
Getting in	Register online, then sign on with a personal doctor	Register with a GP
GP visits	Free	Free
Specialists	€6 with a GP referral, €25 without	Free, via GP referral
Prescriptions	€1 per item	Charge per item in England; free in Scotland, Wales and NI
Hospitals	Public and private, if contracted with the HIO	Mostly NHS hospitals
Funding	Income contributions (2.65% for employees and pensioners) plus the state	General taxation and National Insurance

The big difference is the first row. Living in Cyprus doesn't give you GESY on its own; you have to fit a category.

Watch out

Paying in doesn't make you eligible

GESY contributions are a tax on income; eligibility is a separate test. A Cyprus tax-resident UK retiree on a temporary permit can owe 2.65% on their pension and still not qualify for care. See GESY contributions explained.

Yellow slipEU citizen registration certificate (MEU1).

MEU1The yellow slip form and certificate.

Category FPermanent residence permit for people with foreign income.

CRMDThe civil registry and migration authority that issues your ARC.

Non-domTax status that doesn't remove GESY contributions.

Full glossaryEvery Cyprus relocation term in one place.

GESY: quick answers

GESY is short for Γενικό Σύστημα Υγείας, the General Healthcare System. In English documents it's usually called the GHS. It's the national health insurance scheme run by the Health Insurance Organisation. It's one of many acronyms explained in our Cyprus relocation glossary.

Full guide

Find out if you qualify and how to register

Our GESY guide covers eligibility after Brexit, the registration steps, co-payments and when you still need private cover.

Read the GESY guide Get my relocation plan

Sources checked for this page

1.GESY — Beneficiary eligibility FAQGovernment
2.GESY (Health Insurance Organisation) — Financing, contributions and co-paymentsGovernment
3.GESY — 10 things you should know about the GHS (brochure)Government
4.GESY — Beneficiary enrolment processGovernment
5.Wikipedia — General Health System (Cyprus) (quotes an outdated €300 cap)Experience

Written by

Jason

Founder, Paphos Advisor

British founder who moved his family from the UK to Paphos in 2025. I write down what I learned doing it properly — the tax, the residency and the living-here detail — and introduce people to the specialists I’d use myself.

How I research and fact-check

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What Is GESY?

Why GESY matters when you move to Cyprus

How GESY works

GESY vs the NHS

Related terms

GESY: quick answers

What does GESY mean in Cyprus?

How do I get GESY in Cyprus?

Is GESY free?

When did GESY start?

Is the GESY co-payment cap €150 or €300?

Sources checked for this page

Keep reading

Why GESY matters when you move to Cyprus

How GESY works

GESY vs the NHS

Related terms

GESY: quick answers

What does GESY mean in Cyprus?

How do I get GESY in Cyprus?

Is GESY free?

When did GESY start?

Is the GESY co-payment cap €150 or €300?