How Does Immigration Insurance work in 2022?
What is immigration health insurance for?
Medical insurance for the Immigration Service is the minimum medical insurance required for all foreigners residing in Cyprus.
Foreign nationals who intend to reside in Cyprus, either temporarily or permanently, must apply for the corresponding residence permit through the Immigration Service.
The most popular types of permits issued by the Immigration Office are:
- Permit for temporary residence in Cyprus, which must be renewed annually (Residence Permit).
- Category F visa (Yellow Slip or Residence Permit for an Unlimited Period of Time) - a permanent residence permit that does not need to be renewed, but for which you must meet more stringent immigration requirements.
One of the documents required for obtaining a residence permit is a special medical insurance (Plan A). This insurance must be issued for each family member residing in Cyprus.
It is not possible to replace the specified insurance with any other type of health insurance.
Features of health insurance for the Immigration Service
The immigration insurance policies provide limited insurance coverage.
It usually covers outpatient care up to €1,700, and hospitalization costs of €8,544 per year.
In all cases the insurance company will pay only 90% of the medical expenses of the insured. If these costs exceed the maximum limits specified in the Insurance Contract, then the company will pay only the maximum amount of the limit.
For example, if you are hospitalized and the cost of your operation is € 10,000, then the insurance company will cover only €8,500 (for 1 insured event), and if the operation costs €5,000, then the insurance company will pay only € 4,500 Euro (90% of € 5,000).
The maximum amount of coverage for the insured person during the insurance period is approximately €13,700 Euro.
So, if during the year you had two operations, and the first operation cost €7,000, and the second, performed a few months later, cost €15,000, then the insurance company:
- Will pay € 6,200 (90%) for the first operation.
- Since the client has already incurred costs of €6,200 Euro, the insurance company will pay only € 13,700 - € 6,200 = € 7,500 for the second operation, even if the surgery cost €15,000.
The coverage limits for the various outpatient and inpatient care cases are shown in the coverage chart of your health insurance policy.
The main difference between medical insurance for the Immigration Service and ordinary medical insurance, is the presence of a clause on the transportation of the body of an insured foreigner to his homeland in the event of his death, and this particular clause is one of the most important for the Immigration Service.
Usually, in the event of the death of the insured person in Cyprus, the insurance company pays €3,418 for the transportation of the deceased's body to the country of burial or cremation.
In addition to the fact that the limits of coverage provided by an Immigration Health Insurance Contract are not high enough, there are many exceptions to receive the insurance benefits.
Therefore, after obtaining a temporary or permanent residence permit, we recommend that our clients additionally take out a Private Health Insurance Contract; check out packages here.
How long does it take to get health insurance for the Immigration Office?
Typically, a Health Insurance Contract for the Immigration Service is drawn up and provided to the client within 1 (one) business day if the client has provided Pitsas Insurances with all the information necessary to conclude the Contract and a document confirming the payment of the insurance premium.
In exceptional cases, at the request of the client, the time for drawing up the Contract can be reduced to 1.5-2 hours.
To obtain health insurance for foreigners, you must provide the following:
- Passport.
- A document confirming your residential address in Cyprus (a copy of the Lease Agreement, invoices for payment of utilities in your name, etc.).
- The date of your interview with the Immigration Office (insurance must be issued for a period of one year from the date of submission of the documents).
- Your phone and email.
- Indication of your profession.
- If you intend to work in Cyprus, indicate your occupation and position, if not, select the status corresponding to you: visitor, student, pensioner, housewife, businessman.
When drawing up an Insurance Contract, your location in Cyprus does not matter as we can carry out all the necessary operations online.
All that is required from the client:
- Provide us with all the requested data in a timely manner, sign the insurance offer and pay the insurance premium.
- Print the insurance policy or Cover Note received by e-mail (Cover Note - a document confirming the conclusion of the Insurance Contract before the issuance of the insurance policy) on a colour printer and present it to the Immigration Officer along with the rest of the documents.
**Attention! **For immigration health insurance, the validity period of the Cover Note corresponds to the validity period of the insurance policy. Therefore, for the Immigration Service these documents are equivalent and are accepted without restrictions.
How much does immigration insurance cost?
The cost of the immigration health insurance depends on the age of the insured person and the nature of his activity and ranges from €150 to €280- €300 per year, per person.
Do I need to take a medical examination before concluding an Insurance Contract?
No, a medical examination is not required before entering into a Health Insurance Contract for the Immigration Service.
Age restrictions
An Immigration Health Insurance Contract cannot be concluded with a person who has reached the age of 80 at the time of the conclusion of the Contract.