Health insurance question

Welcome! Exciting times for sure and you will not be disappointed :-)

I am sure there will be some suggestions on the health insurance front from others here. I had medical cover with my job but would expect you will have a bigger cost given your medical history.

If you are non European have you prepared all the docs you need for the immigration in Cyprus? Some you will be best to obtain before departure as it will be easier.   The default here for professionals is very laid back so I recommend you be proactive on the immigration and get everything in order in advance or you will be running about after arrival :-/ If you need a heads up just ask as I am going thru this now since early Dec2022 so have details of the new requirements that came into play from the 1st Jan.

We used a local insurance agent Svetlana. Please pm me if you need her number. I tried to get coverage for my mother in law who lives with us. We could not get coverage due to pre-existing conditions for mother in law. We are paying 110 euros per month for wife and myself. The provider is Met Life.

For mother in law I extended her travel insurance through LLyods . I bought the Llyods travel insurance through an online portal insbuy . We paid around 800 dollars for one year coverage for her for fifty thousand dollars and it covered pre-existing conditions. Usually travel insurance plans cover you for a year and you can rough it out for another two years till you get your permanent residency approved in case you cannot get a local provider to cover your pre-existing conditions.

It is better to take a local insurance plan even though it may not cover your pre-existing conditions so that other conditions and any complications due to your pre-existing conditions are covered. Then you can negotiate with the hospital for a payment plan for the balance due.

I heard that it is taking 3 years to get Category F slow track permanent residency approved. Till you get you category F you cannot enroll in the government medical insurance GESY plan. Toon and others will give you more advice.

Try Status they do a no questions asked health cover policy for about €200 per year each it is limited cover but it does satisfy immigration ..also a chap called Antony Nicodemus in Paphos. He has a Facebook page for business https://www.facebook.com/CyprusInsuranceAdvisor

And

https://www.facebook.com/antony.nicodemous.

Fast track permanent residency is achievable by buying property of a value in excess of €300 plus vat usually new property. . but a good lawyer with contacts can probably get round some of that ..

Thanks everyone - some useful info there.  We are on the F class visa track so know that it can take upto 3 years to get permanent residency but our lawyer said we should be looking at perhaps 18 months (ish) at the moment.  We've got our GHIC cards which cover us for the first 90 days (plus our annual travel insurance) so will check out the suggestions above and see what comes from that.  Sure I'll be here a fair bit with a barrage of questions.  Thank you

@phildraper hi there - yes they do like their paperwork don't they!  Got a list from our lawyer so we are already on the case with quite a bit....but may ask you later in case we're missing anything (so far it's been CVs, birth certs, marriage cert, bank and pension statements, utilities bills, and I believe we'll need a DBS check doing).  Thanks, Sam

X-rays blood tests for hiv hep A hep B and TB but you can get that done here

@Toon oh lordy....after all the needles and poking I've had done in the last few years, not looking forward to more   Our lawyer is helping us sort out the pink slip when we sign our contract so guess we'll be needing a clinic visit when we land

Health insurance can be a bit confusing as there are multiple options.

As @Toon mentions, there are local policies which satisfy the immigration department when you're applying for residence. Or (I'm not sure about Cyprus, @Toon will know for sure) some EU countries accept an EHIC/GHIC instead of this policy. Such a policy is principally for emergencies and repatriation (so you won't be a burden on the local health service), rather than elective surgeries or ongoing care.

Full private healthcare cover is expensive, and gets more expensive based on age and pre-existing conditions. And level of care and geographic scope of care. The very international policies advertised online will be the most expensive. More reasonable will be a local insurance company's policy covering you for Cyprus only.

If you are a Cyprus resident, and have cover here (only, to reduce the cost), then, when you travel, you can supplement this with a typical travel insurance or an EHIC/GHIC.

GHIC/EHICs are a little complicated, and I don't know the exact coverage and conditions. But this is a form of public health insurance. The GHIC is a UK card, and funded by the NHS. But, officially, you are not (although many still do) entitled to use this on an ongoing basis, when you have left the UK and are resident elsewhere. Instead, you should get a Cyprus-issued EHIC (but you can't do this unless you're in the Cyprus healthcare system, GESY).

Where possible, I strongly recommend for new residents to join GESY, as a replacement for the UK's NHS (or other public health system). Public health coverage is particularly good for very serious (expensive) conditions and ongoing care/treatment (also expensive). Not only is it good to have in its own right, but it should reduce the cost of a private healthcare policy (if you choose to have both).

Many EU countries (including Cyprus) have some barriers to non-EU citizens (like Brits) joining their public system. When you become a permanent resident they cannot discriminate, so you can definitely join then. Before that, you can, for example, join if you're employed (even for a short while).

While you are retired, you are younger than the UK state retirement age. When you receive a state pension you are entitled to an S1 form, and this entitles you to free public healthcare throughout the EU (including Cyprus).

Personally, I have an EHIC which has not expired. But it would be very naughty to use (it would be considered a form of "NHS fraud"). I was briefly teaching in Bulgaria, so I ended up in the Bulgarian public health system, and when that job finished I switched my status to "unemployed" and I continue paying 14 euros per month to NIF. They gave me a Bulgarian-issued EHIC which I can use (if/when required) when I am in Cyprus or Spain. In addition, I have an annual, multi-trip travel insurance for extra coverage when travelling (both inside and outside the EU).

What are the rules to get GESY then if not at UK retirement age? I would expect not possible given nothing being paid in

You must have a valid S1 either as a pensioner in receipt of a state pension or an S1 as a cross border worker

You must pay social contributions as a legitimate registered work permit taxpaying worker.

If not then you cannot. Join or benefit from GESY.. so it's private healthcare cover.. but again be careful.a friend of mine took out a good private policy and they wouldn't accept it. ..she had to go back to the provider to make changes for acceptance.. sorry can't remember why they refused it

Be careful if and when completing Cyprus tax returns as if you aren't S1 and declare you private pensions or indeed any other income you will pay GESY tax at 2.65% and still not be able to join GESY or benefit from it

@gwynj cyprus immigration do not accept ghic or ehic as healthcare cover for residency...also as you have said these ehic ghic cards are for emergency cover only and for tourists covering 90 day stays max.... Further as Brits are now non EU.. and residency is generally only issued on a temporary basis via the annually renewed pink slip.which requires continuous healthcare cover .... It would not be a good idea to not have healthcare cover or take that risk ...

Also bear in mind if one does have a major health care issue involving ambulance transport be sure to be taken to the general hospital (assuming you don't have a good private care policy).. As a friend of mine in a panic got taken to a private hospital and ended up with a €42k bill.. (€10k of that was for oxygen) ..this sadly wiped them out and eventually returned to.uk...

@phildraper

Absolutely, you can't get treatment if you're not covered. And you're not covered if you haven't paid in anything. :-)

And you can't make contributions until you've joined. However, most folks CAN join. Your contributions depend on whether you are employed, self-employed, or unemployed.

Coverage starts after x months of contributions (3? 6?).

I believe any EU citizen (and non-EU Cyprus permanent residents) can join and start making contributions, regardless of their status. Non-EU citizens would have to be employed. (Or maybe self-employed, not sure on this one.)

I got into the BG system because they let me join when I was employed in Plovdiv as a high school teacher. And once I was "in", they let me change my status when I stopped working. My partner (also non-EU) got in once she received her permanent residence card.

I believe there are no mechanisms currently in place to make voluntary contributions

I believe there are no mechanisms currently in place to make voluntary contributions
-@Toon

Ooh, that is interesting! And disappointing.

The EU mandates a lot of these residence and health cover issues, but each country has some implementation leeway (in certain aspects). Hence, while broadly similar, there is some variation between countries. Spain and Bulgaria (where I am currently registered) both allow you to be "unemployed" (if you're not employed and not self-employed) and pay the lowest rate of contributions. Which is extremely useful: it lets me keep full public health coverage, and get an EHIC for EU travel.

In any case, in most EU countries there's typically no issue if you're employed or self-employed (and hence paying local income tax). And there's no issue if you're in receipt of a state pension (there's separate cross-border health care coverage as a result of this). The only problematic ones are those who are younger than state retirement age and "economically inactive" (not working, and live on savings, passive income, or a private pension if they've taken early retirement).

bear in mind if one does have a major health care issue involving ambulance transport be sure to be taken to the general hospital (assuming you don't have a good private care policy).. As a friend of mine in a panic got taken to a private hospital and endedcupmwith a €42 k bill.. €10k of that was for oxygen) ..this sadly wiped them out and eventually returned to.uk...
-@Toon

This is a really important point! People relax thinking they've got their EHIC/GHIC, but then end up at a private hospital. And they do NOT (usually) check if you've got a GHIC, and then send you over to the nearest public hospital. :-)