Retire in Cyprus: pension tax, residence and health cover

You can retire in Cyprus on income from abroad. EU citizens register for a Yellow Slip (MEU1). Retirees from outside the EU usually take a visitor permit (Pink Slip), issued for one year and renewable, at €70 plus €70 for first registration, with no work allowed; or Category F permanent residence, which asks for a secured income of at least €9,568 a year plus €4,613 per dependant and a €500 application fee. Once you are tax resident, after more than 183 days a year, a foreign pension is taxed either at 5% on the amount above €5,000 a year or on the normal scale, where the first €22,000 is tax-free; you choose each year. Tax residents also pay 2.65% GESY on pensions. Category F holders are covered by GESY; a Pink Slip is not a GESY category, so keep private health insurance. A pensioner whose pension comes from another EU country can usually register an S1 form instead.

EU citizens register for the Yellow Slip (MEU1). Non-EU retirees have two routes with the Migration Department:

• Visitor permit (Pink Slip). For people who live on their own means. The first permit is for one year and is renewable; it costs €70, plus €70 for first registration in the Aliens' Register. Holders may not work or run a business in Cyprus.
• Immigration Permit, Category F. Permanent residence for people with a secured income from abroad and no work in Cyprus. The department asks for at least €9,568 a year for the applicant plus €4,613 for each dependant; pensions, dividends, interest and rents count. The application fee is €500 for everyone on it, plus €70 per person for an Alien Registration Certificate. The right of residence is unlimited, the card is renewed every ten years, and the permit lapses if you do not settle within a year of approval or stay away for two years. Applications are submitted only at the department's offices in Nicosia.

GESY. The national health system covers non-EU citizens who live here and hold a permanent residence permit, which includes Category F. A visitor permit is not one of the GESY categories, so pink-slip holders should keep private health insurance. EU citizens are covered if they work here or hold permanent residence (MEU3). A pensioner whose pension comes from another EU country can usually register an S1 form, issued by the country that pays the pension, with GESY. Tax residents pay a GESY contribution of 2.65% on pensions.

For how the pension itself is taxed, see the sections above and the pension tax calculator. We prepare the residence file and keep the steps in order; a licensed advocate submits it where a representative is required. See Category F and visitor permits and GESY and health insurance. Figures checked 23 October 2026.

A pension for work done abroad is taxed at 5% on the part above €5,000 a year. Instead you can put it on the normal scale with your other income: 0% to €22,000, then 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% above €72,000. A small pension is often cheaper on the scale, a larger one at 5%.

Compare both with the foreign pension tax calculator.

Both examples are for a Cyprus tax resident in 2026 with no other income. They match the pension tax calculator.

Pension of €30,000 a year.

• Special rate: 5% × (€30,000 − €5,000) = 5% × €25,000 = €1,250.
• Normal scale: nothing on the first €22,000, then 20% × €8,000 = €1,600.
• The special rate is €350 cheaper, so you choose it for that year.
• GESY: 2.65% × €30,000 = €795, whichever tax option you choose.

Pension of €20,000 a year. The special rate gives 5% × €15,000 = €750. On the normal scale the whole pension is within the tax-free €22,000, so the tax is €0. Here the scale is cheaper. GESY is €530.

Other income changes the comparison. Under the special rate, the other income is taxed on the scale on its own; under the scale option, it is added to the pension. That is why the choice is made again every year.

You choose the option on your personal income tax return (TF1), filed on the Tax For All (TFA) portal. The return for tax year 2026 is due by 31 July 2027. You need a Cyprus tax number first; from 2026 every tax resident aged 25 to 70 must register.

Keep the pension statements from the paying country and proof of any tax withheld there. If the paying country also taxes the pension, the double tax treaty between it and Cyprus decides who taxes it, and credit may be given for foreign tax. Cyprus has treaties with more than 60 countries; the Ministry of Finance publishes the list.

The 5% option needs Cyprus tax residency: more than 183 days here, or the 60-day rule with work and a home in Cyprus. Check with your home country's tax office how it treats your pension after you leave; double tax treaties decide who taxes which pension.

Most retirees use the 183-day rule, because the 60-day rule also needs work, a business or a directorship in Cyprus. The day you arrive counts as a day in Cyprus and the day you leave as a day outside. A retiree who spends five months here and seven months at home is usually not Cyprus tax resident, and the 5% option is then not available. See the 60-day rule for how days are counted.

EU citizens register for the Yellow Slip (MEU1) within four months. Others usually apply for a visitor permit (Pink Slip): one year, renewable, living on your own income without work.

GESY, the national health system, takes 2.65% of the pensions of Cyprus tax residents, on income up to €180,000, unless an exemption is granted. Until you join GESY keep private cover.

1. Check with the tax office of the country that pays your pension how it treats the pension after you leave, and read the treaty with Cyprus.
2. Choose the residence route: Yellow Slip for EU citizens; visitor permit or Category F for others.
3. Order documents from home: criminal record certificate and civil certificates with an apostille. Category F also needs medical tests done abroad from 1 September 2026.
4. Rent a home and open a Cyprus bank account. Pink Slip applicants show transfers from abroad of at least €2,000 a month, plus 20% for a spouse and 15% per child.
5. Arrange health cover: an S1 form from an EU pension country, or private insurance with inpatient and outpatient care and repatriation of remains (Plan A) for a visitor permit.
6. Register for a tax number and file the first return, choosing the cheaper pension option.