# Working/Healthcare



## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Hi l'm moving to Paphos in the next few months and wondering whether l can work straight away or if l need any paperwork? Also if we fall ill (me or my husband) and need to stay in hospital whether there are costs? Any feedback greay appreciated! Many thanks


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## Torto (Jan 4, 2014)

Are you EU member ?
If yes,the hotel jobs are the easiest .


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

You will need to go to immigration within 90 days to get your residence papers.
However you should be able to get a job (provided you can find one) straight away.
To qualify for free health care you must make that you pay into the social fund. You need to be sure that your employer pays into it for you as many will say they have registered you and are paying but do not pay and then employees find themselves with problems later.

It would help us if you let us know where you are from as many things can depend on whether you are an EU citizen or not.


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Hi Veronica we are from the UK. My husband is now retired but l am still working.
Many thanks as we need as much information as possible!!


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## JonandGaynor (Jun 8, 2009)

If your husband is retired and receiving a UK state pension then before you come here he should get a S1 form completed from the DWP ensuring you are listed as a dependant.
Then when here he applies for a medical health card for you both which covers you under the reciprocal health cover scheme, what will happen after the UK leaves the EU is yet to be defined!
After arrival you will both need to, within 90 days, make an appointment with the areas Immigration Dept. to obtain your MEU1 residency permit (yellow slip). There are several categories of residency, in your case i would imagine your husband will apply as a retiree and will need to prove income from pensions, rental or savings sufficient to be able to live without being incumbent on the state. Your application may be a little more difficult as you say you want to work, in which case before the immigration meeting you will need to have found employment and started making contributions to the social fund. HTH


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Thanks for the information! My husband is retired but only 60 so not yet receiving a state pension. He has regular medication so wondered about prescriptions and also worried about healthcare. I'm still working as only 47. Currently l work for the Local Authority and hoping to get employment in a British School working in administration. This is dependent on the sale of our house. Hopefully it will be in the next 6-12 months. People have advised to rent which we intend to initially. Again thanks for all your support and any tips about moving would be greatly received.


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## JonandGaynor (Jun 8, 2009)

www.moh.gov.cy/Moh/phs/phs.nsf/dmlpricelist_en/dmlpricelist_en?OpenDocument
This is a link to the current medications available in Cyprus, and cost, your husbands medication may not be listed but could be available under a different name.
As neither of you are in receipt of a state pension then unless you manage to find employment and pay into the social fund you will need to take out private health insurance and depending on your husbands condition he may not get cover for that specific problem.


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Thanks Gaynor. My husband has a pacemaker and has Apixiban. Fingers crossed l will secure a job! Many thanks for your quick responses. I will keep you posted on any news!


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Hi again Gaynor somebody told us that prescriptions were around £1 per item looking at the price list it would cost a fortune for my husband's regular meds. Is this wrong?


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Hi again everyone my husband only receives a private pension for another 6 years before he gets his state pension. Will he have to pay full price for prescriptions and medical care? Other forums and people we have spoken to say that its a few euros to visit the Dr and 50 cents for an item on prescriptions. We cannot afford private health care can anyone advise? Also what happens if we need to stay in hospital will you need private insurance. Does any of this change if we become residents of Cyprus?


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

*Tax*

Hi just wondering about how tax works? If l get a job and am paying Cyprus income tax do l get credited with a UK pension stamp or do l get a Cyprus one? 
My husband is retired but not yet receiving state pension. He gets private pensions. Does he pay tax in Cyprus or the UK as the pensions are paid into a UK bank account.


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## JonandGaynor (Jun 8, 2009)

Spoonster said:


> Hi just wondering about how tax works? If l get a job and am paying Cyprus income tax do l get credited with a UK pension stamp or do l get a Cyprus one?
> My husband is retired but not yet receiving state pension. He gets private pensions. Does he pay tax in Cyprus or the UK as the pensions are paid into a UK bank account.


Its difficult to comment on all this as each persons circumstances differ but to generalise:
The medical prices you quote on your previous post are for those who are in possession of a state medical card. If not then you pay full price for medicine and visits to doctors are charged at €30 and specialists charge around €40-€60 although repeat visits regarding the same condition are not charged for (at least that's what happens where we live).
You can get basic health insurance which covers immigration requirements for €170/person but you need to appreciate the cover is limited and for a serious condition or prolonged hospital stay this would probably not cover the full costs.
Regarding income tax:
1. You do not receive a UK pension credit but you would be entitled to a Cypriot pension dependant on the value paid into the fund.
2. Income tax is payable as follows
up to €19500 nil tax
€19501-€28000 20%
€28001-€36300 25%
€36301- 30%
3.For expats receiving pensions etc you can opt for €3420 non taxable and 5% thereafter but this is your decision as to which option is beneficial.

Your husband will need, as you will also, to contact the Inland Revenue and explain you are moving to Cyprus and will be paying income tax there. When you receive the forms from them you take it to your local Cypriot tax office who complete the paper work and return the forms to the UK, you then pay tax here. Assuming you find employment you will be deducted income tax here anyway, also social fund contributions will be deducted which i believe are around 10%. 
Transferring funds from a UK bank in euros to a Cypriot bank is simple and cheap, we transfer the required funds to a company called Currency Fair who exchange it to euros and send on to our bank here, charge is €3 but there are several companies around who do similar transactions.
I don't want to put a damper on your dreams but Please do not move to Cyprus with the expectations of finding decent work straight away, employment is getting better now compared to a few years ago but still difficult to find. Also a lot of the higher paid jobs still tend to go to those with family connections not those most qualified for the work. You also need to appreciate that Greek is the national language and almost all business transactions, legal matters and government affairs are conducted in Greek. Our son works in an international English curriculum school and reports the majority of the teachers and practically all of the admin staff are Cypriot for that very reason.
Please think very carefully about what you can afford, if you have the available funds life is good but terrible if not.


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Thanks that is really helpful and honest. Much appreciated!


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Sorry Gaynor meant to ask you mentioned basic health insurance is around €170 per person is that per month? Sorry for all the additional questions!


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## JonandGaynor (Jun 8, 2009)

Spoonster said:


> Sorry Gaynor meant to ask you mentioned basic health insurance is around €170 per person is that per month? Sorry for all the additional questions!


Just checked and the cost is actually now €175/person/year. We took this out as it meets all immigration requirements which then gave us time to shop around for a more comprehensive policy.


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Great. Sorry to keep bombarding you with all these questions. Can l ask again about the medical card? Do you get one after 3 years if l pay into the system from working? It says on websites its one card per household? My husband wouldn't have paid in. Would he still get covered? I'm sure l will be asking more questions soon!


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Ooops meant to ask who did you get your insurance with? Some people recommend Atlantic?


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## JonandGaynor (Jun 8, 2009)

Spoonster said:


> Ooops meant to ask who did you get your insurance with? Some people recommend Atlantic?


The insurance is Anytime Insurance and purchased through Trust Insurance who have offices all over the island.
I believe you can apply for your medical card as soon as you commence payments into the Social fund but cannot advise as to what and who this covers as we ourselves are 'early retirees' and, as not yet receiving a UK state pension, are not entitled to be enrolled into the medical card system. Attached is a copy of actual insurance, sorry i can't get the picture bigger so you could read the benefits payable.
If you go down the private insurance route be careful you choose a company recognised by the Cypriot authorities and includes in and out patient treatment; our local Immigration Officer also demanded we had death repatriation cover!


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Hi Gaynor thanks that is really helpful. I will be in touch with more questions over the next few weeks if that's OK??!! You have been really helpful and my husband and l really appreciate your support and guidance. Best wishes.


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Hi again Gaynor! Just wondering about bills. Is gas, electricity etc cheaper than the UK?


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## JonandGaynor (Jun 8, 2009)

Spoonster said:


> Hi again Gaynor! Just wondering about bills. Is gas, electricity etc cheaper than the UK?


To be honest we don't know what the prices are in the UK but here the costs are:
Gas no natural gas so bottled LPG 10kg bottles are around €12/bottle. We have a large tank for central heating and hob, we had a delivery last week of 116kg (205lt) and cost was €120 incl vat. 

Electricity, bills here are not straight forward as there are lots of add ons but consumption, network usage, ancillary services, supply charge, adjustments, public service obligations and VAT works out to €0.1836/kWh

Internet is very expensive, we have a 20Mbps supply so subscription, line rental and telephone call charges come to €50.66/month. We tend to use mobiles more as calls tend to be cheaper.

Water is metered and charges are approx. €1.54/m3, as an example our bills are normally around €30/month. We have a bore hole well and fill our pool from that but if we used mains water the cost would be much higher.

Rates are significantly cheaper than the UK, where we used to live our rates were around £2500/year, we pay approx. €225/year here.

Imported food such as Waitrose or Tesco lines are more expensive than the UK due to transport costs but local produce, especially fruit and veg (which is excellent) are much cheaper and on the most part equally as good.
Please note all Cypriot costs are in euros so you will need to convert to sterling for a comparison.
HTH


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## Spoonster (Apr 28, 2018)

Thanks Gaynor! Forming a real picture of costs. It's difficult when you don't live CV there to do a like fir like comparison so this has really helped.


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