Child and student allowance increases in effect immediately

Child allowance is increased by 5 per cent and half the allowance will still be given for children of large families who are now university students.

With the government proposals now having passed into law by the House, the deputy welfare ministry is proceeding immediately with its implementation.

The two provisions will apply retrospectively from January 1, 2024.

According to the law, all people eligible for the child allowance will have a 5 per cent increase and will also receive the increase from January 1.

Eligible large families – those with four or more children – who are receiving child allowances, with children studying at university up to the age of 23 or 24 if they have served in the army, will be able to apply for an allowance as of August 30 for the year 2024.

The application can be submitted through the change of details form, specifically the point under the dependents, which will be uploaded to https://www.wbas.dmsw.gov.cy on August 30.

The form will not need to be resubmitted for academic year 2024-2025, as long as the children are continuing their studies and meet the age criterion.

Large families that will be applying for the first time for the 2024-2025 student allowance will be able to upload their application through CYLogin (https://www.gov.cy) in October.

The prerequisite is to register with CYLogin and verify the applicant’s profile and that of the spouse where applicable.

Applicants will also have to make an appointment and submit an original hard copy of the authorisation form at the welfare benefit service points.

Appointments can be made on https://www.wbas.dmsw.gov.cy or over the phone at 8000 2000.

The eligible families will receive 50 per cent of the child allowance for their students, based on their income bracket.