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GeSY Registration: How to Register for Healthcare in Cyprus, Step by Step

07 Nov 2026

How to register with GeSY (GHS), Cyprus' national health system: who can join, the two steps (beneficiary registry and personal doctor), what you need, and how to change doctor.

GeSY (ΓεΣΥ, in English the General Healthcare System, GHS) is Cyprus' national health system. To use it you need to complete two steps: join the beneficiary registry, then register with a personal doctor. Until both are done, GeSY doctors cannot see you under the system.

This guide follows the official process published by the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO), which runs GeSY. Rules change from time to time, so check the official GeSY website or call the GeSY contact centre (17000, free from Cyprus) if anything here does not match your case.

Who can register with GeSY

You can join GeSY if you ordinarily live in the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and you are:

  • A Cypriot citizen.
  • An EU citizen who works in Cyprus or has permanent residence under the EU free-movement law.
  • A non-EU citizen with a permanent residence permit, or with the right to equal treatment in social insurance under the Aliens and Immigration Law (in practice, many people who work in Cyprus with a valid permit).
  • A refugee or a person with subsidiary protection.
  • A family member (dependant) of any of the above. Family members of a non-EU beneficiary with permanent residence also need permanent residence themselves.

If you are not sure which category you fall into, the HIO lists them on its beneficiary categories page.

Before you start

To register, you must already be in the government records: the Civil Registry and Migration Department and/or Social Insurance Services. For non-Cypriots this usually means a valid residence permit (for EU citizens, the registration certificate, often called the "yellow slip"; for others, the ARC or residence permit) and, if you work, your social insurance number.

The HIO may ask for extra certificates to confirm you meet the criteria.

Step 1: join the beneficiary registry

You have two ways to do it.

Online, through the Beneficiary Portal

  1. Create an account on the GeSY website and activate it.
  2. Log in to the Beneficiary Portal and follow the instructions on screen. You fill in the details that identify you in the government registries, plus your address and phone number.
  3. If the system cannot match you to the registries, it asks you to submit a request online, print it and post it to the HIO with the supporting documents.

If you do not use the internet, someone with a portal account can register you, with your consent.

At a personal doctor's practice

If you cannot do it online, visit a GeSY personal doctor of your choice. The doctor fills in the application for you, and in the same visit you can also complete step 2.

Step 2: register with a personal doctor

Your personal doctor is your first stop in GeSY: they treat you, prescribe, and refer you to specialists.

  • Children under 15 register with a personal doctor for children (a paediatrician).
  • From 15 to 18 you can choose a doctor for children or for adults.
  • Adults register with a personal doctor for adults. Over 65, you can also choose one who specialises in geriatrics.

There are two ways to register:

  • Online: send a request through the Beneficiary Portal to the doctor you choose. When they accept, you get an email, and you visit the practice once to confirm your details and sign the Form of Mutual Acceptance.
  • In person: go to the doctor's practice. They find you in the registry, add you to their list, and you both sign the form.

Finding a personal doctor near you

Not every doctor takes new patients, so it helps to have a few names. DocCy lists the GeSY personal doctors in each district with their clinic address and phone number, so you can call before you go:

For children: paediatricians in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos.

Changing your personal doctor

  • From the age of 2, you can change personal doctor once six months have passed since you registered with the current one.
  • Under 2, you can change whenever you want.

After you register

  • See your personal doctor first. For most specialist visits under GeSY you need a referral from your personal doctor. Ask them, or the contact centre, about the co-payments that apply to your visit.
  • Keep your residence documents valid. Your access depends on them; renew your permit before it expires.
  • Emergencies do not wait for registration. In a life-threatening emergency, call 112 or go to the nearest A&E.

GeSY contact centre

They handle questions about registration, personal doctor lists, covered services, contributions and co-payments.

Information only: DocCy is not part of GeSY or the Health Insurance Organisation. This guide summarises the official process as published by the HIO; for your own case, the HIO has the final word.

This guide was written by the DocCy team to help people in Cyprus find care faster. Find any doctor or specialist in Cyprus.