Student Healthcare: Reports, Insurance and Emergencies

As an international student in North Cyprus, you have access to both state and private healthcare. This page explains the process in outline and points you to official sources. Nothing here is medical advice; always consult a health professional for diagnosis and treatment.

Note for students coming from Turkey: North Cyprus has its own health system, separate from Turkey's. Do not assume your home arrangements (such as SGK) carry over — confirm your own situation with your provider before relying on it.

The big picture: state and private providers

Healthcare in North Cyprus is delivered on two tracks: state hospitals and health centres under the Ministry of Health, and private healthcare providers. Both exist side by side; which one you use depends on your need, your insurance coverage, and how urgent the situation is.

The state hospitals listed on the Ministry of Health's Hospitals page are:

• Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital (Nicosia / Lefkoşa)
• Emergency Hospital (Acil Durum Hastanesi)
• Gazimağusa (Famagusta) State Hospital
• Girne (Kyrenia) Dr. Akçiçek State Hospital
• Lefke Cengiz Topel Hospital
• Barış Mental Health Hospital (Barış Ruh ve Sinir Hastalıkları Hastanesi)

The Ministry also runs local health centres (sağlık ocakları). Institution names and services can change over time; treat the official page as the current list.

For state hospitals, the Ministry runs an official 1101 appointment line with set weekday and Saturday hours; confirm the current hours on the official contact page.

English-speaking care

English is widely spoken in the university towns and at many private clinics, and a large share of practitioners use it day to day. Even so, it is not guaranteed at every state facility or with every provider or pharmacist. For anything that matters:

• Confirm in advance whether a clinic or practitioner works in English.
• Bring a short summary of your medical history and current medication (ideally in English) so you are not translating under pressure.
• If a language barrier could affect care, ask your university's student or international office whether they can help arrange interpretation or refer you to an English-friendly provider.

Health report

You may be asked for a health report as part of university enrolment and the residence process. Whether it is mandatory, and what it must contain, varies by university and by procedure.

• Where to obtain the report is directed by the online system during the residence application (per secondary sources, a regional state hospital or a Ministry-approved lab). The required tests (HIV, Hepatitis B/C, tuberculosis) and the exemption for Turkish citizens are covered in the Student Residence Permit guide.
• For documents that the residence process may require, see the Student Residence Permit guide, and confirm the exact list with the relevant office and your university.
• Plan the report early: appointments and processing can take longer in busy enrolment periods.

Residence health report: the process differs between BNDH and GAH

If you are also going through the residence permit process, the state hospitals do not use one uniform procedure for the health report; the two that were checked directly are:

• Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital (Nicosia / Lefkoşa) — Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu Caddesi, Lefkoşa; switchboard +90 392 608 5441; outpatient appointments 1101; email info.bndh@gov.ct.tr. Process: bring your police clearance certificate, a photocopy of your passport, and your ID to the hospital cashier's desk, pay there, then take the request form to the laboratory for tests; results go to the health board room after 3 days, and the final report is collected from the results room after 10 days (BNDH — residence health report).
• Girne (Kyrenia) Dr. Akçiçek State Hospital — Mustafa Çağatay Caddesi No:68, Girne; switchboard +90 392 815 22 66 / +90 392 816 04 24; email info.gah@gov.ct.tr. This process is different from BNDH's: the application, with your police clearance certificate and passport photocopy, is made online; the hospital specifies which laboratory to use for the required tests after you apply (GAH — residence health report).

Confirm the current fee and processing time with the relevant hospital before you apply; this page states no amount. Numbers and procedure may change; confirm the current version on the hospital's own page.

Insurance and whether your policy is valid here

Your existing travel or international health policy may not automatically be valid in North Cyprus, since it is a separate jurisdiction; some policies exclude it or cover it only in part. Insurance directly determines what you pay and where you can be seen, especially at private providers.

• Your existing travel or international health policy may not be valid in North Cyprus. Because it is a separate jurisdiction, some policies exclude it or cover it only in part. Before you travel, get written confirmation from your insurer on three points: whether the policy is valid here, exactly what it covers (emergency care, hospital admission, repatriation), and how to make a claim.
• This is a separate question from the residence-permit requirement, and the answer there is blunter: your home insurance will not satisfy it. There is no published list of insurers or policies the Ministry accepts for the residence-permit exemption, and the online immigration portal does not recognise foreign or Turkish policy numbers. A policy that works for admission at a private hospital does not exempt you from the levy below — treat the two as unrelated line items in your budget.
• The mandatory health insurance is actually a central government rule, not a university one: per secondary sources, all non-citizen students pay the Health Fund Law (8/2012) levy of 10% of the current gross minimum wage per year, online and directly to the Ministry of Health during the residence application (not to the university). This single levy covers consultations, tests and imaging at 100%, and inpatient care/surgery at 100%; outpatient medicine is split — free in hospital, 80/20 state/patient at a state pharmacy, and fully patient-paid at a private pharmacy (full breakdown, including prostheses, in Healthcare in North Cyprus). Universities' campus health centres (e.g. the EMU/CIU health centre, Near East University Hospital) add a first-level/extra layer on top; scope varies by institution and does not replace the state levy. Confirm your own case with your registration office.
• The Ministry of Health runs an official health insurance portal; check the official page for scope and conditions.

Mental health support

Most universities run free, confidential counselling centres for students. In a crisis, call 112. For centre contact details and crisis guidance, see Mental Health Support.

Emergencies

In a medical emergency call 112 for an ambulance; call 155 for police or 199 for fire if needed. These are the emergency numbers listed on the TRNC Police website:

• Emergency (ambulance): 112
• Police: 155
• Fire: 199

These are confirmed from the TRNC Police official page. Your campus or residence may also have its own internal emergency or security line — ask your university on arrival and save the numbers to your phone.

Pharmacies and the on-duty pharmacy system

Pharmacies are the first stop for prescription and over-the-counter medicine. Outside working hours and on public holidays, an on-duty (nöbetçi) pharmacy system operates: designated pharmacies take turns staying open.

The Cyprus Turkish Pharmacists' Association (Kıbrıs Türk Eczacılar Birliği, KTEB) publishes the current on-duty pharmacy's name, hours, phone number, and address every day, for every region (Lefkoşa, Girne, Mağusa, Güzelyurt, Lefke, Üst Mesarya, Alt Mesarya, İskele, Karpaz), on its on-duty pharmacy lookup tool. The association also has a mobile app on Google Play (package: com.kteb.dutypharmacy.kteb_app).

Private healthcare examples

This page does not recommend any particular private provider; the following are only examples with verified contact details (alphabetical order):

• Kolan British Hospital — locations in Lefkoşa (Gönyeli, Atatürk Caddesi No:13) and Girne (Ziya Rızkı Caddesi); switchboard 0392 680 80 80; contact page.
• Near East University Hospital — Near East Boulevard, Lefkoşa; switchboard +90 392 444 0 535; email info@med.neu.edu.tr; contact page. It has additional locations in Girne, Mağusa, and İskele.

Other private providers also operate in North Cyprus; this list is not exhaustive. Numbers and addresses may change; confirm the current version on the provider's own page.

Health preparation checklist

This guide is a draft: it will be updated as the university-dependent health report and insurance practices are verified. The information here is for guidance only and is not a substitute for medical advice.