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Guaranteed Minimum Income in Cyprus (EEE): eligibility and amounts

Who can get the Guaranteed Minimum Income in Cyprus, how the amount is worked out, the limits on property and savings, how to apply and what changed in 2026.

Cyprus InformEditorial team

27 October 2026 8 min read

Guaranteed Minimum Income in Cyprus (EEE): eligibility and amounts

Checked: 27 October 2026.

Guaranteed Minimum Income: at a glance

The Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) — in Greek Ελάχιστο Εγγυημένο Εισόδημα (ΕΕΕ) — is a social benefit for people who live in Cyprus lawfully but whose income and resources do not cover their basic needs. It is administered by the Welfare Benefits Administration Service (WBAS) of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare.

GMI is a top-up, not a fixed sum: the family receives the difference between its assessed needs and its income. The higher the income, the smaller the payment, and if income exceeds needs there is no entitlement to GMI.

Below: who can get GMI, how needs and income are assessed, the limits on property and savings, how to apply, what recipients must do and what changed in 2026.

Who can get GMI

GMI is available to Cypriot and EU citizens, third-country nationals with long-term resident status, recognised refugees and people under international protection, and victims of human trafficking. People who are only awaiting a decision on their asylum application are not entitled to GMI.

Applicants other than refugees, people under international protection and victims of trafficking must have lived in the Republic lawfully and continuously for the five years immediately before applying, and must keep living here while receiving the benefit. Absences totalling less than one calendar month a year, medical treatment abroad backed by documents, and study abroad by someone previously ordinarily resident here do not break continuity.

In addition, the applicant must be over 28, or be married, a single parent, an orphan or a person with a disability. Monks, National Guard soldiers, full-time students (with some exceptions) and the voluntarily unemployed cannot get GMI.

How the amount is worked out

A family’s needs are made up of basic amounts. According to WBAS guidance, these are €480 for the applicant, €240 for the spouse and for each child over 14, and €144 for each child under 14; where needed, a housing allowance is added, which depends on family composition and district.

The income of the whole family is deducted from its needs, and the difference is paid as GMI. If a recipient lives with other people, the amount for one person is adjusted to €432; this rule does not apply to low-income pensioners and people with disabilities.

Part of earned income is disregarded. If earnings exceed €500 a month, the first €170 is not counted, and for lower earnings a sliding scale applies; there are special disregards for children’s earnings and for people with disabilities.

Property and savings

Neither the applicant nor any family member may own property worth more than €100,000 as valued by the Department of Lands and Surveys. The applicant’s own home of up to 300 square metres is not counted towards this sum.

The family’s bank deposits may not exceed €5,000 plus €1,000 for each family member after the first, and other financial assets €5,000. In some cases, such as severe disability or an inheritance belonging to minors, up to €20,000 more is disregarded.

WBAS also examines transfers of property or money above these limits made since 1 January 2016, unless there is a convincing explanation for them. Rent allowance is paid directly to the landlord and only under a valid tenancy agreement, and mortgage interest is covered only for a loan on the main home taken out at least a year before applying.

How to apply

You can apply online with CY Login on the WBAS portal on gov.cy, or in person at a welfare benefits service point, a Citizen Service Centre (KEP) or a Citizen Centre at a post office (KE.PO.). Service points see people by appointment, booked on 8000 2000, from Monday to Friday.

With the application you provide identity documents, a marriage or divorce certificate, medical and disability certificates, school or military service certificates, a title deed or tenancy agreement, statements for every bank account of every family member for the last 12 months, and a bank certificate with your IBAN.

If a spouse is included in the application, they must be registered on the ARIADNI portal. Tenancy agreements signed from 1 January 2026 no longer need stamp duty paid on them to qualify for the rent allowance.

Obligations, refusals and objections

Family members aged 18 to 28 listed in the application, and everyone able to work, must register with the Public Employment Service, accept suitable work and training, and not resign voluntarily — either while receiving GMI or in the six months before applying. Any change in income, family composition, address or bank account must be reported on the prescribed form, and it is taken into account from the month after the change.

GMI is paid monthly into the account given in the application, and eligibility is checked every month. Before stopping payment, WBAS must give the reasons in writing and allow 20 days for a reply; giving false information to obtain GMI is a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to €20,000.

A refusal or termination can be challenged by an objection on form EEE12 within 60 days and, if the objection is rejected, by a recourse to the Administrative Court within 75 days. GMI enquiries are handled by the 1450 call centre, Monday to Friday, free from within Cyprus, and by email at [email protected].

What changed in 2026

The 2026 increase concerns not the basic GMI amount but the disability allowance for GMI recipients with a certified disability. From the August 2026 payments it is €405 a month for adults and €455 for children under 18; back pay for earlier months was promised by the end of 2026, and the basic amounts in the WBAS guidance are unchanged.

Law 99(I)/2026 restricted new applications for disability allowance under the GMI law to people over 65; younger people are now covered by the new Law 96(I)/2026 on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Allowances already awarded are not affected.

GMI recipients also have other benefits: a 20% discount on electricity, free courses at the State Institutes of Further Education and public transport discounts. The government decides on a Christmas payment separately each year; the information in this article was checked as of 27 October 2026.

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Official sources

An apartment building in Cyprus · Photo: Elena Saharova eessoo · CC0 · converted to WebP and resized.

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