Work in Cyprus as a foreign doctor, nurse or AHP (2026)

• CMCCyprus Medical Council (Ιατρικό Συμβούλιο Κύπρου)

  Doctors: Cyprus Medical Register and specialist titles

  How to register with the CMC

• CNMCCyprus Nursing and Midwifery Council

  Nurses and midwives: registration and licence to practise

  How to register with the CNMC

1. 1

   1. Get your degree recognised by KYSATS

   KYSATS, the Cyprus Council of Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications, compares your degree with the corresponding programme at Cyprus's public universities. The Medical Council asks for 'equivalence and correspondence', which needs your programme to include at least two thirds of the required subjects, and KYSATS may ask you to pass extra subjects. The evaluation fee is €85.43 and applications are by appointment on Mondays and Tuesdays in Nicosia.
2. 2

   2. Doctors: verify your credentials through EPIC

   Since 1 June 2021, applicants whose basic medical qualification is from outside the EU must create an ECFMG EPIC account and have their final medical diploma, any postgraduate credential, any specialist qualification and a certificate of good standing primary-source verified. Start this early, as it depends on your medical school responding.
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   3. Doctors: check your internship evidence

   If you are not applying with a specialist title, you need certificates showing 12 months as a doctor, made up of 6 months in internal medicine and 6 in surgery, in a hospital the Council approves, or 30 months as a doctor in an approved hospital. This comes from Article 7(1)(d) of Law 24(I)/2009, and missing evidence is a common cause of delay.
4. 4

   4. Reach the required Greek level

   The Medical Council asks every applicant for a certificate of good knowledge of Greek at level C1, issued by the Ministry of Education or an equivalent certificate. The Nursing Council tests elementary Greek at an interview. Plan your language learning around these before you apply.
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   5. Apply to the right council

   Doctors file the application for registration in the Cyprus Medical Register with certified copies, two photographs, a CV explaining any gap over five months since graduation, and the €300 fee. Nurses file the Nursing Council's application for registration and a licence with certified copies, a police record from the last six months' country of residence dated within three months, and the €35 fee.
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   6. Attend an interview if invited

   The Medical Council may invite you to a personal interview. For nurses, the interview with Council members to assess Greek is part of the procedure, and no licence is issued until you pass it.
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   7. Receive the decision

   Both councils say they decide within three months of a complete application. The Nursing Council cancels applications still incomplete after six months, and you then reapply and pay again.
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   8. Doctors: take out the annual licence to practise

   Once registered, you obtain the yearly licence through the Cyprus Medical Association portal. For 2026 it costs €250, or €125 for doctors in specialist training, junior doctors with employer certification and parents of four or more children. The Association states that practising without a current licence is a criminal offence.
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   9. Secure the work and residence permit

   Your employer applies to the Department of Labour for permission to employ a third-country national, then for your entry permit with the Migration Department. After you arrive you register in the aliens register and collect a temporary residence and work permit tied to that employer.

• English is not the registration language in Cyprus. Both councils accept documents translated into Greek or English, but the language you must prove is Greek.
• Doctors: the Medical Council requires a certificate of good knowledge of Greek at level C1, issued by the Ministry of Education or an equivalent certificate recognised under the Public Service Commission's circular. It cites Article 53 of Directive 2005/36/EC and national law, and may also interview applicants.
• Nurses and midwives: Article 10 of the Nursing and Midwifery Law requires elementary knowledge of Greek. Council members assess it at a personal interview, and the instructions warn the requirement may be raised for patient safety.
• Translations must be made by the competent authority of your country or by an approved official translator; in Cyprus, the Press and Information Office keeps the register of sworn translators.
• KYSATS accepts translations only from Cyprus's official sworn translators or the relevant ministry of the awarding country, such as its foreign ministry.

• Department of Labour approval

  Your employer first applies, through the Department of Labour's online service, for permission to employ a third-country national. Categories include positions requiring qualifications and highly qualified positions paying more than €35,000 gross a year. The EU Immigration Portal says a labour market test checks that no suitably qualified local or EU worker is available.

• Entry permit and temporary residence and work permit

  The Migration Department issues an entry permit for employment. After arrival you register in the aliens register and apply with biometrics for the temporary residence and work permit. The Migration Department lists fees of €120 for an entry permit and residence permit valid 1 to 3 years, €130 for a permit issue or renewal, and €70 for first registration in the aliens register, and examines applications within four months.

• Duration and the four-year limit

  A permit can last up to three consecutive years, depending on the contract. The Migration Department states that the maximum stay for employment is four years, with no maximum only for listed categories such as athletes and agricultural workers. Ask a qualified adviser how this applies to your post before you sign.

• Changing employer

  The Migration Department says you may change employer after six months, in the same occupation and economic activity, with a release document. When a contract ends you have one month to find new work in the same occupation.

• EU Blue Card

  From 7 July 2025 Cyprus issues EU Blue Cards only for highly qualified work in ICT, pharmaceuticals (research only) and shipping, with a minimum gross annual salary of €43,632. Clinical healthcare posts are not in the list.

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  You need no work permit but register with the Migration Department (form MEU1) within four months of arrival. Doctors and nurses with qualifications listed in Directive 2005/36/EC apply to the same councils, and doctors also submit a licence to practise from their EU member state of origin.

We could not confirm a published 2026 pay scale for doctors or nurses in Cyprus from an official source. Public hospital pay is set by the SHSO and private hospital pay by each employer. These official figures help you judge an offer.

• Average gross monthly earnings, all employees

  €2,601 (Q1 2026)

  Cyprus Statistical Service, provisional; not specific to healthcare.

• Highly qualified employment category

  More than €35,000 gross a year

  Department of Labour application category for employing third-country nationals.

• EU Blue Card salary floor

  €43,632 gross a year

  Not open to healthcare posts; shown for comparison.

• Doctors' annual licence to practise, 2026

  €250 (€125 reduced rate)

  Cyprus Medical Association; reduced rate for trainees, junior doctors and large families.

• Nurse licence renewal

  €40

  Nursing and Midwifery Council fee schedule of December 2012.