How to register for social insurance in Cyprus and what comes off your salary
Checked: no change to the rule has been established since the check
In short
- Who it applies to
- Everyone who works in Cyprus — as an employee or for themselves. Every worker is compulsorily insured: private and public employees, apprentices, traders, freelancers, farmers. Citizenship plays no part.
- What it costs
- An employee pays 8.8% of earnings, the employer another 8.8%, and the state adds 5.2%. A self-employed person pays 16.6% alone. GESY contributions are separate, on top of these.
- How long it takes
- The department names no time for issuing the number. It names another deadline — for the employer: the certificate of commencement of employment must be made out BEFORE your first working day and sent to the district office by the end of the month.
- Where to apply
- At the district office of Υπηρεσίες Κοινωνικών Ασφαλίσεων, on form ΥΚΑ 1-008 — one form for employees and the self-employed. It can be signed with an electronic signature and emailed to the district office.
- If your case differs
- The number of your alien registration card (ARC) must be on your social insurance record — GESY finds you by it later. Registered with a passport and got the ARC afterwards — have the number added at the district office or a ΚΕΠ.
Deadlines and conditions
| Condition | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| the employee pays 8.8% of earnings, and the employer the same | Social Insurance Services announcement “Social insurance contributions from 1 January 2024”: for employees 22.8%, of which the employee pays 8.8%, the employer 8.8% and the state 5.2%. |
| the state adds another 5.2% | The same announcement: the share of the Consolidated Fund is 5.2% for both employees and the self-employed. |
| a self-employed person pays 16.6% alone | The same announcement: for the self-employed 21.8%, of which 16.6% is paid by the self-employed person and 5.2% by the state. |
| under voluntary insurance you pay 15% | The same announcement: a voluntary insured person in Cyprus pays 15%, the state 4.7%. |
| these rates apply from 1 January 2024 | The same announcement: the rates apply from 1 January 2024. The next step under the law is from 2029, but its size depends on an actuarial study (gap `next-step-2029`). |
Your case
If you are employed by a Cypriot employer
You are compulsorily insured. Before your first working day the employer fills in the certificate of commencement of employment, you both sign it, and the yellow copy is handed to you at once — a social insurance inspector may ask to see it. 8.8% is deducted from your pay, and the employer pays another 8.8%. The registration itself is made on form ΥΚΑ 1-008 with the employer's details and registration number.
If you work for yourself: your own business, freelancing, a private practice
You are compulsorily insured and register yourself — on the same form ΥΚΑ 1-008, filling in the self-employed part with your business address. You pay the 16.6% contribution yourself. By default it is calculated not on your actual income but on the insurable earnings of your occupational category — the Social Insurance Services publish the category tables; paying on actual income takes a separate application.
If you have stopped working
Compulsory insurance ends with the work, but you may continue it voluntarily — provided you already have actual insurance of at least one insurance unit, that is, earnings at least equal to the annual basic insurable earnings. The voluntary contribution is 15%, paid by you.
The start-of-employment certificate must be handed to you before your first day — it is your proof that you are on the books
What follows from this:
- the certificate is made out in three copies of different colours: yellow for you, pink kept by the employer, white sent to the district social insurance office
- failing to issue it before work starts is an offence by the employer, not a formality
- if you are already working and have no yellow copy, that is a reason to ask your employer directly
- take the contribution rate from the Social Insurance Services announcement, not from the consolidated text of the law: from 2024 it shows a higher figure that the law allowed not to apply
- GESY is a separate system with its own contributions and registration, but it finds you through the social insurance record — a foreigner by the ARC number
Who files form ΥΚΑ 1-008 for an employee
The form is the employee's application and carries the employee's signature, but it has a part with the employer's details. Whether you file it yourself or your employer does is not stated by the department. Ask your employer when you are hired, and if they do not know — the district social insurance office.
You live in Cyprus but work remotely for a foreign company
Whether you are insured in Cyprus depends on where the employer is, whether you hold an A1 certificate from an EU country and whether Cyprus has an agreement with that country. The department publishes no ready answer for this case — ask the district social insurance office, naming the employer's country.
Sources
- Social Insurance Law Ν.59(Ι)/2010, consolidated text on cylawwww.cylaw.orgThe rate schedule in steps from 2019 to 2039, and the proviso that the increase may be smaller if an actuarial study so concludes.
- Social Insurance Services, “Social insurance contributions from 1 January 2024”www.gov.cyThe rates in force: employee and employer 8.8% each, self-employed 16.6%, voluntary insured 15%, the state's share.
- gov.cy, service “Insured persons categories”www.gov.cyWho is compulsorily insured (employees and the self-employed, with a list), the condition for voluntary insurance, district office email addresses for electronically signed applications.
- Social Insurance Services, form ΥΚΑ 1-008 “Application for registration of employee/self-employed” (5/2019)www.mlsi.gov.cyOne form for employees and the self-employed; ARC and passport fields; home-country insurance number for EU and EEA citizens only; a part with the employer's details and number; the A1 certificate for work in another EU country.
- Social Insurance Services, form ΥΚΑ 5-019 “Certificate of commencement of employment — instructions” (8/2014)www.mlsi.gov.cyThe employer fills in the certificate BEFORE work starts, both sign, the yellow copy goes to the employee, the pink stays with the employer, the white goes to the district office by the end of the month; failure is an offence.
- gov.cy, service “Registration of Employers at the Social Insurance Services”www.gov.cyAn employer must register and pay contributions for each employee to several funds, GESY among them separately.
- ΟΑΥ — Διαδικασία Εγγραφής Δικαιούχων (Beneficiary Enrolment Process)www.gesy.org.cyThe ARC number must be on the social insurance record, or GESY will not recognise a working foreigner; it is added at the district social insurance office or a ΚΕΠ.