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

Start with the rule most newcomers meet first, because it arrives with the residence permit paperwork. 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:

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 — do not rely on what a policy seller tells you; verify with the authorities before applying.

If neither applies, you pay the levy. What it buys: the only published official description of levy-payer coverage is a Famagusta State Hospital notice aimed at students (2019): emergency services, outpatient consultations, laboratory and X-ray work, dental extractions/fillings and inpatient care for routine operations are free for levy payers at state hospitals; advanced imaging (MRI/CT) and outpatient medication are not covered. Whether non-student levy payers — a retiree on an income-based permit, say — get the same coverage is not officially stated; confirm the 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". Non-citizens are charged under the same regulation; Health Fund levy payers get the services listed above free, and everyone else pays the full tariff.

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. This page therefore quotes no amounts — confirm the current fee at the hospital cash desk (vezne) before any procedure.

Emergency care: access versus cost

You will often hear that "emergency care is free for everyone". Official sources do not support that claim. 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? A separate question entirely. 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. Verify with the authorities before relying on a policy for the exemption.

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

Turkish citizens with SGK coverage

For Turkish citizens covered by Türkiye's SGK, no clear current official source describes their rights in North Cyprus state hospitals — practice varies. The one verifiable trace: Near East University Hospital (private) lists SGK among its contracted institutions, without stating what it covers. Confirm your 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.