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Registering for Health care using GESY

Last activity 10 August 2022 by ricolo

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MacGeorge8035
Our move to Cyprus is gathering pace and we now have somewhere to live when we arrive in September. Both me and my wife are entitled to a UK issued S1 form. We intend to apply for temporary residency status as soon as we arrive, but I know this can take a number of months before it is issued.

At what point can we register with the GESY health system, do we have to wait until our temporary residency has been granted or can we register as soon as we apply for temporary residency. I will of course have health insurance cover as soon as we arrive and will continue this for an extended period even after we have registered with GESY.
Toon
You will need to get an appointment online first and that can take a while as they only release new a appointment availability every 20 mins .. currently appointments are I believe running between 3 months to 6 months behind ....
Toon
All citizens, who are permanent and legal residents in Cyprus can register to, and access the GHS. All expatriates living in Cyprus and who are holders of a Cypriot ID or Alien Card, are entitled to enrol in GHS.

Toon
As you need to be resident to be entitled to apply for gesy I think you need to do that .. however what I would suggest is apply online for the appointment and when you get that you will get an acknowledgement by email then maybe try to apply for gesy using that and your S1.. worth a punt i would say . You got nothing to lose by trying
MacGeorge8035
Thanks, I have a meeting with Melanie Osborne on Wednesday to start the residency process. If I start now I should get an appointment in Mid October. I will see what Mel says about GESY.
Toon
Any doctors clinic will tell yoy what you need to register and apply .. they will even help you do it

I wouldn't worry too much anyway as your UK Ghic will suffice for emergency treatment for 90 days from entry

Also when you register and apply make sure you request your Cyprus  tax exemption certificate as an S1 holder  similarly to have your New ghic issued as part of the S1 entitlement
Chris Yorkie
On your last point Toon, who issues the tax exemption certificate. I've been contacting the tax office but they're pointing me to the ministry of health? Can my GP  do this?
Toon
The Cyprus tax dept liaise with gesy to issue it .. and you need that unique reference number to avoid the 2.65% tax on declared income on the online tax return on taxisnet

Let me look at my document and will get back to you.later
Chris Yorkie
Thanks Toon !
Toon
Yes issued by the ministry of health Cyprus

00357 22605349 Nicosia 1448

Fax 0935722605485


TASOULA MICHAEL
acting for permanent secretary of minister of health
Toon
Yes issued by the ministry of health Cyprus

00357 22605349 Nicosia 1448

Fax 0935722605485


TASOULA MICHAEL
acting for permanent secretary of minister of health
Chris Yorkie
Once again you are the font of all knowledge!


Thanks
Toon
No not really ... Just know what we have had to do over 8 years here ..  and if I don't know I try to find out from people I know to have gone through whatever the matter concerns ....
Chris Yorkie
Well I appreciate the benefit of your knowledge and I'm sure many others do!
MacGeorge8035
Chris, that very true.
TERI ALLERTON
@Toon we are moving over from UK next month after getting our Temporary residency approved for 5 years which states we can live and work in Cyprus.

We will both be retired and our only income will be our UK state pension.

Will we need to fill out a tax return and ask for the form you mention if only on state pension? Or should we ask for the form just in case we take a part time job?

I have applied for our S1’s from Newcastle and they have been posted to Cyprus ready for our arrival. We will then take them to the office in Polis to register for GESY and then a GP I presume?

Thank you in advance for your advice!
Toon
As a resident ... Currently, you wont be required to complete an online tax return if income is below €19500 each however the requirement to do so wil happen at some stage ( it was meant to happen 2020/21 but COVID came along and halted it but the plan to make it mandatory for everyone irrespective of income level is still in place and then it will be necessary)....we have always done one manually and now online. For example when it kicks in fully you would ..complete one this year 2022 for the year ending Dec 2021....
Am not sure what form you refer to . I assume you mean the official Form S1 you will get that sent to you at your Cyprus address they won't send it to any  other address... Once you've got that you can with your residency certificate and S1 register and apply to join Gesy either online by or in a local clinic to you . Its a simple process but if you need help go to a clinic with your documents and they will help you. Make sure you ask for the NHS Ghic as part of the S1 entitlement and on applying to Gesy make sure you ask for the Cyprus tax exemption cert from gesy ministry for health.

The form S1 has no bearing on working it is required just to obtain healthcare under state  rules and at state rates of payment capped at €150 per yr excluding specialist service which on referral is a max cost per treatment at €6-10.
Toon
Temporary residency doesn't normally entitle the holder to working here as non eu nationals ....... depending on what route you took to apply ... For example if cat F as self sufficient then the holder usually is not entitled to work....  non EU need a work permit and a job unless you are 100% self sufficient..... it's not so easy now to get work as non-EU nationals are third inline for work after Cypriot nationals first and EU nationals second....unless it's specialist work for which no local Cypriot or EU national is available or capable of doing.. Be mindful that any work that you may take will be accountable with your pensions as tax declarable but not necessarily taxed for income tax and gesy depending on income level and any tax exemptions held

Both replies as far as I am aware may be subject to rule changes that I may not be aware of 
Chris Yorkie
You will also need your white medical card before you are fully accepted into GESY.

Good luck You can obtain this from the citizens service centre (CSC)( you might need to make an appointment, phone first) and you will need your S1 and your residence details. There is a single page form that they will give you at the CSC or you can download it . The CSC will send your application off for you and they will tell you that the ministry of health will post the medical card to you in 4 weeks but if you make another appointment for the CSC after 4 weeks they can see that your card has been approved and they will issue it there and then. We're still waiting for ours to arrive through the post after 3 months!

Good luck!
Toon
Do they still issue the white cards Chris I thought they had been done away with... I guess if you had one before gesy like us then yes you are right .. .. we have one but i had forgotten about that so thanks for the reminder
Chris Yorkie
Yes after we submitted our GESY we rang up the helpline to make sure they had received the application and they told us we needed to get the white medical card, otherwise we'd still be in limbo. That was in March this year.
Toon
Thanks Chris didn't know that .. still learning something new everyday

Don't really understand why they should retain it as we have been in gesy since day  one and yet never ever been asked for it at clinics or hospitals..

I suspect its a habit they haven't got out of .... As can't see the need for it but clearly there is ??????
Chris Yorkie
Yes Toon I've no idea, no-one has ever mentioned it since, but you have to get your medical card and then scan it and email it to GESY! You would think that the ministry of health and GESY might be a bit more joined together but apparently not.
Toon
Welcome to Cyprus...a small price to pay for a little piece of heaven
Kyriakos T

Access to public healthcare can be done online via the GESY (NHS) platform, the access to this is determined by the residency of each individual.

Below is the procedure that you need to follow in order to enrol in the healthcare system of Cyprus:

Step 1: Documentation needed by foreigners.
If you have a valid (not expired) Alien registration certificate (ARC) which is used for identification purposes you are able to apply for GESY. This is obtained by the migration department. If you are employed in Cyprus or if you are a sole trader you need to register with the Social insurance services, on your social insurance record you need to include your ARC number, if you haven’t include this number on your social insurance services you need to contact someone from that department to add this number to your record, take your ARC with you as you will need it.

Step 2: Submit a GHS enrolment request
Visit the Gesy website www.gesy.org.cy
Choose the Beneficiary Portal and create a User Account
You will be given instructions online how to activate your User Account

Step 3: Sign in the Beneficiary Portal
Once you create and activate your portal User Account, you can sign in the Beneficiary Portal and proceed with the submission of a GHS enrolment request.

Step 4: STEP 4 - Enrol to a Personal Doctor
You can do that either online, or visit the Doctor’s office. 

ricolo
Hi Toon, hope you are well. Got a question about GESY. I am non eu national getting MVIS3 every year, sometimes it approved and sometimes it is denied. Am I required to register for GESY?
If not, does that affect my tax filing? Thanks for any input
Toon
Does the MVIS3 allow working? I don't think it does. I assume on that basis that you have private healthcare cover in which case you don't need to join gesy

To be eligible and benefit from gesy you need to register with gesy and register with a medical practitioner as a legal resident assuming

A.   you work and pay social insurance and gesy contributions

B.  you are state pensioned with a form S1 or equivalent if there is a reciprocal agreement between your country and Cyprus

Even if you don't or can't register  with gesy then yes tax filing via taxisnet wil impact upon your online tax return  declaration to the tune of 2.65% unless you have a tax exemption.. Strangely and unfairly people who cannot benefit or join Gesy must pay the 2.65%  even if all they have is private pensions to live on .. and this is declared on the tax return.... Even if you have and pay for private healthcare
ricolo
Not sure if MVIS3 allows working,  but I am retired from USA and receive social security.
Seems unfair to have to pay 2.65%  for Gesy and have private health insurance as required for MVIS3.
Toon
Am pretty sure MVIS3 doesn't allow working... So paying Social Insurance via work is not possible..

I would check if USA has a reciprocal agreement with Cyprus for healthcare. If it has then It may still be possible to join gesy but you would need to sort out the paperwork...

I totally agree that it is unfair .. there are lots of people caught in that trap
Toon
This may be of some interest ......
At WeCare they take care of you even though you are not registered within GeSY . Their NEW Executive Membership Plan (179euro/year), will cover all your (unlimited) visits/consultations with your  General Practitioner for NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.‼️

visit their website 🌏 wecare.com.cy/memberships and find out about other benefits included in the Membership Plans.

For appointments, simply:
26 813 950
info@wecare.com.cy
📝contact them via their social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Linked-in
MacGeorge8035

@Toon I am not sure if this good value or not. We mostly need a GP to get our prescriptions each month. How much does a GP cost outside of GESY per visit. Can you get a prescription on repeat the same as in the UK.

Toon
It was mainly aimed at ricolo ...... But the last time I visited a doctor pre gesy it cost me €35....  A hospital visit was €10... Not sure what it is now.. ...

Gesy co payments are capped at €150 per year. So specialist is usually €6 and other specialist at €10 maximum and that's at gesy rates..  scripts are free but you pay a much lower amount for the meds than you would if outside gesy ...eg I pay €1-1.50per item but normal cost is between €6-10 obviously that depends on the meds best to check that they are readily available


Remember also that anyone and that means quite a lot of early retirees who are not state pensioned and dont or can't work legally cannot join gesy or benefit from it but will still be required to pay for it through a 2.65% tax of declared income as declared on the online tax return via taxisnet platform
MacGeorge8035

@Toon We should be OK to register for GESY, my wife has already requested her S1 as she is past state pension. I join her in Feb next year. So I only need to cover us for around 6 months after we arrive until we get our “pink slip”

Toon
Its entirely possible that there is no script charge and the patient may just pay full charge for the meds.... But thinking about it I can't see a doctor issuing any prescription to a stranger without a consultation....
Toon
If the missus has her S1 then you will covered by that too irrespective of your status or age just get yourself added to it easily done by email.or phone call
Toon
Are you saying you cannot get gesy unless you physically have the pink slip in your possession and receiving the pink slip is currently sitting at 6 months after application
MacGeorge8035

@Toon that is my understanding. I hope I am wrong. I have been told I can expect to wait between and 5 and 6 months to get my residency status confirmed after my appointment. This could of course be my complete ignorance and misunderstanding of the whole process.

Toon
So many things have changed for Brits  being TCNs now ..... yellow slips were issued immediately and you walked.out with them.... And now its pink slip long waits for the biometric cards and the knock on impacts and a new appointment system too with a three month wait.
Toon
Dr Molly's in Coral Bay Surgery has just confirmed a €10 charge for a prescription and you pay full price at pharmacy
ricolo
Hi Toon sorry for the late reply. Thanks for the tip on health care. I do have health insurance as required
for MVIS3. I am sure it is the minimal required. I am in good health(knocking on wood) and the costs so far here are so minimal, ( I had a doctors visit, urinalysis and ultrasound for kidney stone all for 80euro).
In the USA that would have cost 2500 dollars. I guess I will just have to suck it up and pay the 2.65%.
At least it is a tax deduction. Thanks again for the info.

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