Alien Worker Medical Insurance in Cyprus
The compulsory medical cover your non-EU or domestic worker needs before the Migration Department issues their permit. DigiCare arranges it same-day, from €120 a year, in English, Greek and Russian.
- Licensed Cyprus insurance agency since 2009
- Same-day CRMD-accepted certificate
- Group scheme for companies
What it is
What is Alien Worker Medical Insurance in Cyprus?
Alien Worker Medical Insurance is the compulsory private medical policy a Cyprus employer must arrange for a non-EU (third-country-national) employee or domestic worker before the Civil Registry & Migration Department will issue or renew their residence and work permit.
In practice, Cyprus insurers issue the same Plan A cover shape the authorities accept, though the euro limits differ a little from one insurer to the next. Call it alien worker medical insurance, health insurance for foreign workers, or immigration medical cover, and you are talking about the one policy the authorities check before they stamp the permit.
The cover pays the worker's hospital and doctor bills while they live and work here. It also pays to return their remains home if the worst happens. It runs for the full permit period, usually 12 months, and you renew it each year for as long as the worker stays with you.
Already know the drill and just want the certificate? We can issue it today. First time doing this? The sections below cover the questions we get asked most.
Plan A immigration medical cover is the employer-facing version of this product.
Is it mandatory?
Is it mandatory, and whose responsibility is it, the employer or the worker?
Yes, it is mandatory by law. For a domestic or household worker, it is the employer's responsibility to arrange and pay for the cover. It is a prerequisite for the permit's issuance and renewal under the Aliens and Immigration Law (Cap. 105), enforced by the CRMD.
Short answer: if you hire a live-in helper, carer, or nanny from outside the EU, the policy is yours to buy. If you are a company taking on a non-EU employee, the medical cover is a permit condition you arrange as part of the stamped employment contract.
Here is the point that trips people up. This is medical insurance for the worker's permit. It is not unemployment cover, and it is not social-insurance or pension contributions. Those are separate matters entirely. This one policy exists to satisfy the health-cover requirement the Migration Department attaches to the residence and work permit.
Miss it, and the application stalls. The permit will not be issued or renewed until a valid certificate is on file.
Who needs it
Who needs it? Domestic workers, carers, and non-EU employees
You need this cover if you are the employer of any of the following:
- A live-in domestic worker or maid from outside the EU
- A carer or nanny on a work-and-residence permit
- Any non-EU company employee applying for or renewing a Cyprus work permit
- Foreign students or visitors where the cover is written into their permit conditions
This is the policy behind searches for domestic worker insurance in Cyprus, and it is the one the Migration Department wants to see.
Who does not need it? EU citizens. If your worker holds an EU passport, this product does not apply to them. They register for the Yellow Slip and use GeSY or an S1 form instead. This page is strictly for third-country nationals.
What it covers
What does the policy cover?
Here is the useful part. Cyprus insurers write the same cover shape the authorities accept, so the certificates look alike at a glance. The amounts are not identical, though, and a couple of insurers apply a deductible, so read the schedule as well as the price. A CRMD-accepted certificate states benefits along these lines:
| Cover item | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Inpatient (hospital) treatment | about €8,600 per incident / €13,700 per year |
| Daily hospital room | about €70 per day |
| Intensive care | about €170 per day |
| Outpatient (doctor visits) | about €1,710 per year / €20 per visit |
| Childbirth benefit | about €515 (payable only 10 months after the start date) |
| Repatriation of mortal remains | about €3,420 |
| Reimbursement rate | 90% |
A few practical notes. Some insurers round the hospital figures slightly higher, to around €8,750 and €13,750, but the amounts above are the figures the CRMD-accepted certificate states. Illness claims carry a waiting period of about 30 days from the start date, so buy the cover before you need it. Repatriation of remains is not optional either. It is a required line in the certificate.
Get your certificateHow much it costs
How much does it cost?
Because the cover shape is much the same everywhere, insurers compete mainly on price, with small differences in the limits themselves. DigiCare's Alien Worker cover, the same as our Plan A immigration policy, starts from about €120 a year for a standard-occupation adult under 65.
Across the market, prices run roughly €80 to €430 a year, depending on the worker's age and occupation. Two things do not move the price: the worker's medical history, and the type of work they did back home. So there are no health questions holding up the certificate.
Run a company with five or more foreign staff? Ask us about the group scheme, which brings the per-person premium down.
We will not print a fixed quote here, because your exact figure depends on the worker's age and job. Send us the details and we will give you the real number the same day.
Insuring a team?
Companies, schools and universities
Put your employees or students on one policy — people who are not related to each other. From three insured the price drops by €10 each, and from 100 people it is €120 each. One adviser, one invoice, and certificates emailed the same business day.
How to arrange it
How to arrange cover for a domestic worker or foreign employee
Four steps, and we handle the insurance part start to finish:
Sign and stamp the employment contract
For a domestic worker, this is the Department of Labour contract. It comes first, before the permit file.
Buy the medical certificate
Send us the worker's passport copy and a Cyprus address (a utility bill works). No medical exam is needed to price the policy. We issue the certificate, or an interim Cover Note, the same day.
Submit the permit application
File the certificate with your application to the Civil Registry & Migration Department or the District Aliens and Immigration Unit of the Police. First-time applicants also complete the residence medical examination.
Renew each year
The cover is annual. Renew it while the worker remains employed with you.
One clarification, since these get mixed up. The medical insurance sits alongside the Department of Labour employment contract, but they are two separate documents. If you have questions about the contract itself, the salary, holidays, or a release paper, our guide on domestic-worker employer obligations covers those. For the first-time health check, see the residence medical examination guide. Your cover starts on the date of the immigration appointment.
The medical certificate is one document inside a much longer permit file, and our guide covers the rest: what the employer files for a Cyprus work permit, from the labour market test to the four-week and four-month decision clocks.
How it compares
Alien Worker cover vs GeSY, travel insurance, and Employers' Liability
Three things get confused here, so let us clear them up.
GeSY is not enough. The public health system on its own does not satisfy the permit requirement for a non-EU worker at application time. You still need the private certificate.
Travel insurance is not accepted. A holiday travel policy will not be recognised for the permit. It has to be the standardized medical cover.
Employers' Liability is a separate cover you also need. This is the accuracy point that catches employers out. The medical policy protects the worker's health. Employers' Liability Insurance protects you if the worker is injured at work, and it is a separate mandatory cover of at least €160,000 per employee under Law 174(I)/1989.
| Alien Worker Medical | GeSY | Travel insurance | Employers' Liability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satisfies the permit? | Yes | No | No | No (separate rule) |
| Covers worker's illness | Yes | Partial | Limited | No |
| Covers workplace injury liability | No | No | No | Yes |
| Who buys it | Employer | Automatic on GeSY | Traveller | Employer |
If your worker is an EU citizen, none of this applies to the medical side, they use the Yellow Slip route.
Need both the medical and the liability cover? We arrange Employers' Liability Insurance too, so you can sort both in one call.
Which Cyprus residence permit are you applying for?
Most Cyprus residence routes ask for proof of medical cover, but the wording, limits and price change from one permit to the next.
Pink Slip
Non-EU nationals applying for or renewing a temporary residence permit.
from €120/yr
Yellow Slip
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens registering MEU1 who are not working in Cyprus. Workers are usually covered through GeSY.
from €120/yr
Category F
Retirees and other non-EU applicants for permanent residence on secure income from abroad.
from €120/yr
Student visa
Non-EU students at a Cyprus university, college or school. They apply for a pink slip.
from €120/yr
Work permit
You are hereEmployers arrange and submit the medical cover for non-EU employees and domestic workers on a Cyprus work permit.
from €120/yr
Digital nomad & other permits
Digital Nomad Visa applicants, anyone on another permit route, and anyone unsure which applies.
Priced by permit
Work permit, not in scope
Does the 1 September 2026 medical test rule apply to a work permit?
No. The rule reaches applications for an Immigration Permit, Categories A to F, and an employment permit is a separate permit type, so it does not change what you file for your worker. It touches you only where you are also sponsoring someone onto an Immigration Permit route. Either way, the standardised Plan A certificate you have to provide for the worker is unchanged by this rule, and still starts from €120 a year.
If you want to check the scope yourself, the Migration Department release of 25 June 2026 names the categories the requirement covers.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Get a compliant certificate today with DigiCare
DigiCare issues the CRMD-accepted certificate the same day, from €120 a year, in English, Greek, and Russian. As an independent Cyprus insurance agency, we get you the standardized cover at a competitive price, and we run a group scheme for companies with several foreign staff.
Send us the worker's passport copy and a Cyprus address, and we will have your certificate ready today.
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