Question:
I am a citizen of Estonia, married to a citizen of Cyprus. At the moment I’m on the ninth month
of pregnancy. I’m going to give birth in a public hospital. We are planning to give to the child
father’s surname. Do I have to pay for childbirth, if I have a medical card as citizen of Cyprus? If
I want to go to Estonia with a baby, will a birth certificate be enough for crossing the borders?
Response:
The Medical identity (i.e. the brown card) for public hospitals is normally issued to citizens of
the Republic of Cyprus, or to nationals of Member States of the European Union who are
permanent residents of Cyprus. Since you are a holder of a Medical Identity you are entitled to
healthcare in the Public Hospitals across the island during pregnancy and childbirth, free of
charge both for normal labor or caesarian delivery.
Moreover, all newborns of European nationality need to have their separate travelling document.
Thus, you will have to visit the District Office of your district in order to issue the birth
certificate, within 15 days from the date of the child’s birth; otherwise, a penalty will be
imposed. You will need to take with you the document confirming your child’s birth that your
doctor will give you, whilst both you and your husband will need to be present in order to
request the birth certificate. It will be issued immediately.
Once you have your child’s birth certificate at hand, you will be able to submit an application for
your newborn’s passport. Since the father of the child is Cypriot, the child will also be a Cypriot
national. The passport is issued within 15 days from the date of the application. The fee is EUR 85.
However, it is important for all parents to know that if one parent is travelling alone with the
newborn, without being accompanied by the other parent, then the first parent, will need the
written authorization of the second one, for allowing him or her to travel abroad with the
newborn.