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Child benefit in Cyprus 2026: eligibility, amounts and how to apply

Who gets child benefit in Cyprus, the income limits, how much is paid per child, how to apply by 31 December 2026 and when payments arrive.

Cyprus InformEditorial team

27 October 2026 8 min read

Child benefit in Cyprus 2026: eligibility, amounts and how to apply

Checked: 27 October 2026.

Child benefit in Cyprus: at a glance

Child benefit — in Greek Επίδομα Τέκνου — is paid by the Welfare Benefits Administration Service (WBAS) of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare. The amount rises with the number of children and falls as family income rises.

The key point today: applications for 2026 child benefit are accepted online until 31 December 2026, and no applications are accepted after that. Families who received the benefit for 2025 did not have to reapply — their claims are reviewed automatically.

Below: who is entitled, the income limits and amounts, how to apply, when payments arrive and what to do if your circumstances change or your claim is refused.

Who is entitled

The family must have lived lawfully and continuously in the government-controlled areas for at least five years before applying. Residence in another EU country counts as residence in Cyprus.

The benefit is paid for all children under 18 who live with their parents, for children aged 18–20 still in secondary school, and up to 21 while a child is serving in the National Guard. In large families with four or more children, full-time students count as dependants up to 23, and young men who have done military service up to 24.

If the parents live together, the benefit is paid to the mother; if the parents are unmarried or divorced, or one of them has died, it goes to the parent the children live with. Spouses who live apart but are not divorced apply together.

Income and asset limits

The family’s total gross income for the previous year is taken into account. The limit is €49,000 for a family with one child, €59,000 with two, €64,000 with three and €69,000 with four; there is no limit for families with five or more children.

The family’s total assets — property at current value, shares, bonds and deposits — must not exceed €1,200,000, including anything transferred in the 24 months before the application. For families with five or more children, this limit does not apply either.

Since 2025, if the applicant lives with a partner with whom they have children, the partner’s income is also counted as family income. Child maintenance also counts as family income and must be declared, except for families with five or more children.

How much is paid

The benefit is calculated per child per year, and the amount depends on the total number of children. According to the WBAS table, with family income up to €22,000 the benefit is €599.77 a year for one child, €719.12 for each child in a family of two, €1,318.89 each for three, and €2,114.51 each for four or more.

With income from €22,000 to €44,000 the amounts are lower: €536.53 for one child, €655.88 each for two, €1,255.65 each for three and €1,924.79 each for four or more. The higher the income, the lower the amount, and above the limit for your number of children no benefit is paid.

The amounts are indexed in line with the cost-of-living allowance (COLA). Students from large families who study beyond 18 receive half the amount due to the family for its income band.

How to apply

Applications are made online on gov.cy with CY Login, and the profile must be verified through online banking or at a KEP or KE.PO. Both spouses or partners need an account: the applicant fills in Part A and the spouse or partner Part B under their own login.

There are three types of application on the site: for families with one or two children, for families with three or more children, and a combined application for child benefit and single-parent family benefit. Paper applications are accepted only in the event of a confirmed technical failure or with the approval of the head of the Service.

First-time applicants must also hand in the original authorisation form (Έντυπο Εξουσιοδότησης), signed by the applicant, the spouse or partner and any children over 18, at a welfare benefits service point by appointment (8000 2000), or sign it with eID. Missing documents can be supplied until 31 December 2026 or, if the gap is found in December or later, within 30 days; otherwise the application is rejected.

When payments arrive

A complete application takes about two months to process, and you can check its status on gov.cy or by calling 1450. The money is paid into the account with the IBAN given in the application.

Families with one or two children receive the benefit in a single annual payment. Families with three or more children receive a payment for the first four months of the year and then monthly payments; for 2026, payments began on 29 May 2026.

From the 2026–2027 school year, WBAS receives attendance data for public schools directly from the Ministry of Education. Attendance certificates are now needed only for private schools and for children at nurseries and kindergartens outside the fee subsidy schemes.

Changes, refusals and enquiries

Changes in income, family composition, address or bank account must be reported within one month using the electronic change of details form. Otherwise any overpayment will have to be repaid or will be deducted from future payments.

If your claim is refused, you can file a hierarchical appeal with the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare within 30 days of notification, using the form on the WBAS website. Giving false information to obtain the benefit is an offence punishable by a fine of up to €40,000, up to two years in prison, or both.

Enquiries: the 1450 call centre, Monday to Friday, and [email protected]. The information in this article was checked as of 27 October 2026.

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Official sources

A children's playground in the Alsos forest park, Nicosia · Photo: AlsosforestCyprus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · converted to WebP and resized.

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