Healthcare in North Cyprus: State Hospitals, Private Care and Insurance

This page explains how healthcare works in North Cyprus for people settling here — retirees, remote workers, families. It covers the state hospital network, who pays what, the health fund levy you will meet at your residence permit application, private hospitals and the insurance market. Students have their own flow (health reports, university insurance, emergency numbers, on-duty pharmacies) in the Student Health Process guide. Nothing here is medical advice.

The health fund levy at your residence application

Under article 15(8) of the Residence Permits and Visas Regulation, any foreigner applying for any type of residence permit pays a levy under the Health Fund Law (8/2012), scaled to the duration of the permit requested — unless one of two exemptions applies (below). It is usually the first health-related cost newcomers meet, since it arrives with the residence permit paperwork:

1. Social insurance coverage. If you are entitled to public health services through the social insurance system (typically because you work in North Cyprus with a registered employer), you do not pay the levy.
2. An accepted private health insurance policy. If you hold a private health insurance policy "accepted by the Ministry" in North Cyprus, you do not pay the levy. No published list exists of which insurers or policies count as accepted, and the online immigration portal does not accept foreign or Turkish policy numbers as proof of exemption. In practice this means your international health insurance — however comprehensive it is back home — will not satisfy the residence-permit requirement. Almost every foreigner without local social-insurance coverage ends up meeting the condition by paying the state Health Fund levy below instead. If you still want to try for an exemption through a private policy, verify with the authorities before applying — do not rely on what a policy seller tells you.

If neither applies, you pay the Health Fund levy. Per secondary sources, under the Health Fund Law (8/2012) this levy is 10% of the current gross minimum wage, paid yearly in advance; there is no student/non-student distinction — the same central rule applies to workers, retirees and family members. It is paid online, directly to the Ministry of Health, during the residence process (after district-police approval).

The levy's coverage follows a clear split:

• 100% free: outpatient consultations, laboratory tests (blood/urine/ microbiology/biochemistry), imaging (X-ray/ultrasound/CT/MRI), and inpatient stays and surgery.
• Medicine is split by setting. Medication given in hospital or to an admitted inpatient is 100% free. An outpatient prescription filled at a state pharmacy is 80% state-covered and 20% patient-paid; the same prescription filled at a private pharmacy is 100% patient-paid.
• Prostheses and implants follow a similar logic: life-essential, standard items (if in stock) are free or capped at 20% patient cost; private, imported or advanced-technology devices are fully patient-paid. Dental prosthetics and implants are also fully patient-paid — basic fillings, extractions and root canal treatment are the exception and stay free.

High-cost items such as oncology medication or open-ended prosthetics can hit a limit under the student fund specifically; a campus health centre referral can help in that case (a Famagusta State Hospital student notice confirms this framework). Still, confirm coverage details at the hospital.

For the residence permit types themselves, including the rule that the health condition is waived for applicants over 60, see Residence Permit Types and Income Thresholds.

How the system is organised

The state side sits under one roof: every state hospital and the network of primary-care health centres ("sağlık ocakları") belong to the Ministry of Health. Private hospitals are entirely separate commercial operations. There is no NHS- or GHS-style universal scheme: entitlement on the public side runs through citizenship, social insurance or the Health Fund levy, and everyone else pays out of pocket or through private insurance.

Note that almost all official health information — ministry site, hospital sites, regulations — is published in Turkish only. The English-language official overview is the Public Information Office's Health page.

Ministry contact: Bedreddin Demirel Caddesi No:142, Nicosia (Lefkoşa); switchboard (0392) 228 31 73; info.saglik@gov.ct.tr.

State hospitals

The state hospitals on the Ministry's Hospitals page, with contact details confirmed from their official sites:

• Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital (BNDH) — Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu Caddesi, Nicosia; switchboard +90 392 608 5441; info.bndh@gov.ct.tr; bndh.gov.ct.tr
• Emergency Hospital (Acil Durum Hastanesi, ADH) — Barış Caddesi 8, Nicosia (a separate hospital on the BNDH campus, opened February 2021); switchboard (0392) 612 0500; info.adh@gov.ct.tr; adh.gov.ct.tr
• Famagusta State Hospital (GMDH) — Salamis Yolu, Famagusta; switchboard +90 392 630 8900-29; info.gmdh@gov.ct.tr; gmdh.gov.ct.tr
• Girne Dr. Akçiçek State Hospital (GAH) — Mustafa Çağatay Caddesi No:68, Kyrenia; switchboard +90 392 815 22 66 / +90 392 816 04 24; info.gah@gov.ct.tr; gah.gov.ct.tr
• Lefke Cengiz Topel Hospital (CTH) — Ecevit Caddesi, Yeşilyurt (Lefke); switchboard +90 392 723 63 51 / +90 392 723 63 29; cth.gov.ct.tr
• Barış Mental and Neurological Diseases Hospital — on the Ministry list; contact via the Ministry switchboard. It is the central institution for mental health services; for details and crisis guidance see Mental Health Support.

Outpatient appointments at state hospitals go through the Ministry's shared 1101 appointment line (Monday-Friday 08:00-17:00, Saturday 08:00-14:00, per the Ministry's contact page). Each district also has Ministry-run primary-care health centres; the Ministry publishes the address and phone list.

Numbers and hours change; confirm current details on the institution's own page.

Who pays what at a state hospital

The official framework, from the Public Information Office: public healthcare is free of charge for TRNC citizens, or covered by the state at amounts set out in the Health Institutions Fees Tariff Regulation (legal basis: article 20 of the Inpatient Treatment Institutions Law). Non-citizens are charged under the same regulation. In practice the line is clear: anyone with social-insurance coverage, retiree status, or student status gets a routine outpatient consultation free (beyond a small co-payment); anyone uninsured — including a short-term tourist — is billed under the tariff regulation's fee list.

The practical catch: the regulation's full text and its current tariff amounts are not published anywhere publicly accessible. The Ministry's own legislation pages do not carry it, and the outdated figures visible on some hospital sites contradict each other. A 2026 amendment to the tariff is also disputed under Article 75 of the Constitution (which reserves the power to levy charges to the legislature, not a regulation); a court case is under way, but the tariff provisions continue to apply while it proceeds. This page therefore quotes no amounts — confirm the current fee at the hospital cash desk (vezne) before any procedure, especially if you are visiting on a tourist basis and have no Health Fund coverage.

Emergency care: access versus cost

All visitors can access emergency treatment at state hospitals regardless of status, but whether it is free depends on that status: free care is documented for citizens and Health Fund levy payers, and official sources do not support the common claim that "emergency care is free for everyone". What can be verified:

• Access: the Public Information Office states that all visitors can receive emergency medical treatment in state hospitals. In an emergency, go — whatever your status; call 112 for an ambulance.
• Cost: free treatment is tied to status. It is documented for citizens and for Health Fund levy payers; whether a foreigner without levy coverage is billed after emergency treatment is not officially published — it varies, confirm with the hospital.

Nicosia also has a dedicated Emergency Hospital (listed above); the other state hospitals run their own emergency departments too.

Private hospitals

Private hospitals operate independently of the Ministry; consultations and treatment are paid, out of pocket or through a contracted insurer. English (and often Russian) is more widely spoken than in state hospitals, which is why many international residents default to them. This page recommends no institution; the following are examples whose contact details were verified from their official sites (alphabetical):

• Kolan British Hospital — Nicosia (Gönyeli, Atatürk Caddesi No:13) and Kyrenia (Ziya Rızkı Caddesi); switchboard 0392 680 80 80; kolanbritish.com
• Near East University Hospital — Near East Boulevard, Nicosia; switchboard +90 392 444 0 535; further sites in Kyrenia (Dr. Suat Günsel University of Kyrenia Hospital, +90 392 444 99 39), Famagusta (Yeniboğaziçi, +90 392 444 4 535) and İskele (Bafra); neareasthospital.com

Other private hospitals and clinics exist; this list is not exhaustive. Numbers and addresses change; confirm on the institution's own page.

Private doctors' fees: the KTTB tariff

The semi-official reference for private consultation and physician fees is the minimum-maximum tariff of the Turkish Cypriot Medical Association (KTTB), which the association sets under its statutory powers and publishes by speciality at kttb.org. Each procedure has a fixed minimum and maximum unit price, multiplied by a coefficient updated yearly (sometimes mid-year) to give the lira fee. Check the tariff page for current figures; this page quotes none.

One caution: tariff figures are the physician's fee only. A private hospital bill adds operating-theatre/hospital charges, anaesthesia, medication and VAT on top, so the total can far exceed the tariff consultation fee. Ask the hospital for a total price before a procedure. KTTB contact: 0 (392) 223 39 80; info@kttb.org.

The private insurance market

Insurers in North Cyprus operate under a local licensing regime, but the state publishes no list of licensed companies. In practice the most comprehensive list is the membership of the sector association KKSRSB (member list): 40 non-life companies, 3 life and pension companies and 2 reinsurers — a mix of local firms (Creditwest, Gold Insurance, Near East, Kıbrıs Sigorta, Limasol Sigorta and others) and North Cyprus entities of Turkish groups (Anadolu, AXA, Zurich, Türkiye Sigorta and others).

A distinction that matters for anyone arriving with an existing policy:

1. Will my policy be accepted at a hospital? Quite possibly, at private hospitals. The Public Information Office notes that most international health insurance is valid in private hospitals, and Near East University Hospital's contracted-institutions list includes Turkish insurers (Acıbadem, Allianz, Mapfre, Anadolu and others) and some forty international insurers and assistance companies (BUPA, CIGNA, Allianz Global and others). Check the contracted-institutions list of the hospital you plan to use.
2. Does my policy exempt me from the residence-application Health Fund levy? No — in practice, no. Note that Allianz and Acıbadem are not KKSRSB members — a hospital accepting a policy commercially does not make the insurer locally licensed, and the Ministry's list of "accepted" insurances is not published; the online immigration portal does not recognise foreign or Turkish policy numbers either. The only exemption path that reliably works is local social-insurance coverage; everyone else pays the state Health Fund levy. If you want supplementary private cover beyond the levy, do not rely on a foreign policy seller's claim that it is "valid for residence" — choose an insurer licensed locally instead (for example Near East Life, Kıbrıs Sigorta, Güven Sigorta).

For local policy prices, request quotes from the companies directly; this page quotes no premiums.

Turkish citizens with SGK coverage

Per secondary sources: Turkish citizens covered by Türkiye's SGK (workers, retirees, self-employed, etc.) and their dependants can receive care at North Cyprus state health institutions with no extra document, using their Turkish ID number; in emergencies no cover/registration is checked. A protocol in force from 5 June 2026 also opened the Girne Military Hospital to SGK-covered/ public-servant Turkish citizens (and families) for outpatient consultation and tests by appointment. In the other direction, North Cyprus citizens' treatment at Türkiye's state/university hospitals requires a Health Board referral for conditions that cannot be treated in North Cyprus; those who go directly without a referral pay as "foreign patients" except in emergencies. Confirm your own situation with the hospital and with SGK before planning treatment.

Students and next steps

Student-specific health matters — the health report, university insurance, emergency numbers and the on-duty pharmacy system — are covered in the Student Health Process guide. For permit categories and application conditions, see Residence Permit Types and Income Thresholds.