President of Cyprus announces child benefit reform

On September 6, 2026, the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, announced a significant reform of the national child benefit system coinciding with the start of the school year. The initiative aims to support middle-class families and eliminate systemic distortions where small income increases previously resulted in a complete loss of support. The policy includes an increase in the benefit amount and a broad expansion of eligibility criteria.

Under the new measures, income thresholds have been raised to €90,000 for families with three dependent children and to €100,000 for those with four children. For families with five or more children, income criteria remain non-applicable, maintaining the policy established in 2025. Additionally, the threshold for single-child families is set at €22,000, and for two-child families at €44,000. These changes are expected to bring approximately 17,000 new families and over 23,000 children into the support program.

Beyond the child benefit, the government is expanding its tuition fee subsidy for children up to four years and four months old, which will benefit an additional 2,000 families and 2,800 children. Christodoulides linked these welfare policies to strong economic performance, noting that growth enables targeted government interventions in education and social welfare.