Support for residents of mountainous and remote communities

A. Financial Assistance Scheme for The Support of Residents of Mountainous Communities with An Altitude Of 600 Meters or More, For 2024

The financial assistance to support residents of communities with an altitude of 600 meters or more is granted following a decision of the Council of Ministers.

Eligible to apply

All Cypriot and European citizens (including workers and/or employees) who permanently reside in owned or rented housing/accommodation in communities with an altitude of 600 meters or more and have been living in the community for at least two years are eligible for financial assistance.

Ineligible to apply
(i) Non-European citizens, even if they permanently reside in the community.
(ii) European or non-European domestic helpers residing in the applicant’s residence.
(iii) Monasteries and monks/nuns.
(iv) Individuals who own holiday homes in the communities covered by this Scheme.

Calculation of financial assistance
The financial assistance is paid annually and the amount deposited in the bank account of each applicant is calculated based on the following:
● For each household/residential unit depending on the altitude of the community where they reside:
(a) €175 (altitude 600-800m)
(b) €225 (altitude 801-1000m)
(c) €260 (altitude 1001m and above)

Additionally,
● for each retired person €165
● for each non-retired person €165

“Retired person”, for the purposes of this Scheme, means a person who has reached the age of 65 at the time of the submission of the application.

B. Financial Assistance Scheme for The Support of Residents of Remote Areas At Least 40km From an Urban Center Or 30-39km From An Urban Center And At An Altitude Of 700 Meters Or More, For 2024

The financial assistance to support residents of remote communities/areas from urban centers at a distance of at least 40 kilometers from an urban center or 30-39 kilometers from an urban center and at the same time at an altitude of 700 meters or more, with the aim to facilitate their access by covering part of the travel cost, is granted following a decision of the Council of Ministers.

Eligible to apply
All Cypriot and European citizens who permanently reside in owned or rented housing/accommodation in communities/areas at a distance of at least 40km from an urban center or 30-39km from an urban center and at the same time at an altitude of 700 meters or more, and have been living in the community/area for at least two years and are working (regardless of workplace location), are eligible for financial assistance.

Calculation of financial assistance
Financial assistance is paid annually, and the amount deposited in the bank account of each applicant is calculated based on the following:

● For each non-retired adult working person/member included in the household/residential unit and depending on the distance of the community from an urban center:

(a) €300 per year per non-retired adult working person, household member, residing in a Community/Area 40-59km from the nearest urban center or in a Community/Area 30-39km and simultaneously at an altitude of 700m or more.
(b) €500 per year per non-retired adult working person, household member, residing in a Community/Area 60-79km from the nearest urban center.
(c) €600 per year per non-retired adult working person, household member, residing in a Community/Area at a distance of 80km or more from the nearest urban center.

“Adult person”, for the purposes of this Scheme, means a person who has reached the age of 18 at the time of the submission of the application.

“Working person”, for the purposes of this Scheme, means a person who is employed at the time of the submission of the application.

“Non-retired person”, for the purposes of this Scheme, means a person who has not reached the age of 65 at the time of the submission of the application.

C. Applies to both of the above schemes
Application submission

– A prerequisite for the payment of financial assistance is the submission by the applicant on behalf of the household/residents in a residential unit of an application on the special form of the Ministry of Interior (Υ.Ε.(Τ.Α.)01/2024). It should be noted that only one application is submitted per household/residential unit.

– Applications will be accepted and submitted with a receipt at the office of the local President or the authorized employee of the Community Council from 03.06.2024 to 05.07.2024. Subsequently, the President of the Council submits all applications to the Offices of the local District Administrations no later than 15.07.2024. Applications submitted after the above date WILL NOT be accepted. It is noted that if the responsibilities of the Community Council have been transferred to the local District Administration Officer’s powers or the Community Council has resigned or the area covered by the scheme does not have a Community Council, the application will be submitted directly to the local District Administrations.

Information and application forms

– For more information, interested parties can contact the following phone numbers:

(a) Ministry of Interior: 22867600 / 22867612 / 22867842

(b) District Administrations:
Nicosia: 22804182 / 22804120
Limassol: 25806400 / 25806423 / 25806487
Larnaca: 24801862 / 24801867
Paphos: 26801115

(c) Union of Cyprus Communities: 22672576