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Unemployment benefits in Cyprus

In what situation can I claim?

Unemployment benefit is paid to workers or to voluntarily insured people working for a Cypriot employer overseas, 16 to 63 years old, who are unemployed. The limit is extended to 65 years if the insured person is not entitled to an old-age pension. The self-employed are not entitled to unemployment benefit.

What conditions do I need to meet?

The insurance conditions for the payment of unemployment benefit are:

to have actual basic insurance equal to at least 0.50 of the insurance point and for at least 26 weeks to have elapsed since the insurance commenced; and
to have actual or assimilated insurance equal to at least 0.39 of the insurance point in the relevant contribution year.

The person must also:

be unemployed;
not be engaged in work from which he or she earns more than 1/12 of the amount of the basic insurable earnings (€14.53 per day for 2018);
have registered as a job-seeker and be available to the Public Employment Service;
have registered as unemployed at the district social insurance office to which he or she will report regularly;
be capable of work;
be available to work.

An unemployed person who has exhausted the entitlement to unemployment benefit (i.e. who has been paid benefits for 156 days) requalifies to receive the benefit if, after exhausting the right, he or she has been employed for at least 26 weeks and has paid contributions which, in total, are not less than 26 times the weekly amount of basic insurable earnings.

If the unemployed person is over 60 and is not eligible for a pension from an occupational scheme, he or she requalifies for unemployment benefit after working for at least 13 weeks rather than 26, having paid contributions on insurable earnings which, in total, may not be less than 26 times the weekly amount of basic insurable earnings.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

Unemployment benefit is paid for a period not exceeding 156 days in each period of unemployment.

The weekly unemployment benefit rate is the same as the sickness benefit rate and is calculated in the same way. It is composed of a basic and a supplementary benefit.

The spouse (regardless of gender) is deemed to be dependent if receiving wages or benefits of smaller value than the increment for a dependent person. Where both spouses are entitled to benefits at the same time the increment for dependants is paid only to the spouse who is entitled to benefit increment at the higher rate.

Increments	Basic benefit	Supplementary benefit
Applicant	60 % of the weekly value of the insurance points in the basic insurance during the relevant contribution year	50 % of the weekly value of the insurance points in the basic insurance during the relevant contribution year (cannot exceed the weekly amount of the basic insurable earnings)
Dependent member: 1 (spouse)	80 % of the weekly value of the insurance points in the basic insurance during the relevant contribution year	-
Dependent members: 2	90 % of the weekly value of the insurance points in the basic insurance during the relevant contribution year	-
Dependent members: 3 (maximum)	100 % of the weekly value of the insurance points in the basic insurance during the relevant contribution year	-

If no increase is paid for a dependent spouse, then a 10 % increment is paid for each of up to two dependants.

In order to receive this benefit you must be registered with the Public Employment Service as a job-seeker and sign the unemployment register at the district social insurance office.

Unemployment benefit is paid from the 4th day of unemployment, or, in the case of people working overseas on behalf of a Cypriot employer, the benefit is paid from the 31st day.

Jargon busters

Basic insurance: includes the insurable earnings for each year up to the amount of the basic insurable earnings i.e. up to 1 point.
Supplementary insurance: includes insurable earnings for each year above the amount of the basic insurable earnings.
Insurance point: the result arrived at by converting real and assimilated insurable earnings to insurance points.
Relevant contribution year: in relation to benefits, this means the last contribution year before the benefit year which includes the date on which the insurance conditions attached to the benefit must be satisfied (i.e. the relevant contribution year is 2016 for the first half of 2018 and 2017 for the second half of 2018).
Benefit year: the period of time which commences on the first Monday of July each year and ends on the last Sunday before the first Monday of July in the following year.