The revised framework for the child allowance is on track to be implemented, as the relevant bill is set to be presented to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday and subsequently to the House of Representatives, bringing substantial increases and an expansion of the pool of eligible recipients.
Speaking on the program “Alpha News,” the Senior Benefits Management Officer at the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare, Fanos Kouroufexis, explained that the new regulations are expected to take effect in 2027 (based on 2026 incomes).
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At the same time, he clarified that the basic requirements remain unchanged, such as the requirement for five consecutive years of legal residence in the Republic of Cyprus and the asset limit of up to 1.2 million euros, which includes real estate, deposits, and securities, as well as assets disposed of within the last 24 months.
The first and most significant change concerns the substantial broadening of the income criteria, particularly for families with one or two children, which account for the largest number of beneficiaries.
Specifically, for a family with one child, the income threshold jumps from €49,000 to €69,000 (an increase of €20,000), while for families with two children, it rises from €59,000 to €74,000.
For families with three dependent children, the threshold increases from €64,000 to €90,000, and for four children, from €69,000 to €100,000, while it should be noted that for five or more children, no income criteria apply.
At the same time, across-the-board increases in benefit amounts are provided for: 10% for the first income bracket (0 to €22,000) and 5% for the second. Giving practical examples for the first category, Mr. Kouroufexis noted that a family with one child will receive €660 per year (up from €600), a family with two children €1,580 (up from €1,438), with three children €4,400 (up from approximately €4,000), and for four children the amount will reach approximately €9,300 (up from €8,460). He also noted that for one or two children, the amount is paid as a lump sum once a year, while for three or more children, it is paid on a monthly basis.
The elimination of the abrupt reduction of the allowance to zero—a distortion that had persisted for decades—was also described as an extremely critical milestone. As Mr. Kouroufexis emphasized, “For the past 25 years, if someone, for example, earned 49,000 and received a 50-euro raise, they would lose the entire 600-euro allowance because of those 50 euros.” Under the new regulation, when someone moves up to the next pay scale, a graduated adjustment of 50% or 25% will be applied, while also preventing the loss of related benefits, such as the state subsidy for daycare tuition.
The total fiscal cost of the reform is estimated at €10 to €15 million, with the pool of beneficiaries expanding from 60,000 to approximately 77,000 families (corresponding to an additional 22,000 children).
Those already receiving the benefit will not need to take any action, as the amounts will be adjusted automatically in 2027, while the approximately 17,000 new beneficiaries will be asked to submit a new application once the relevant process opens.
