Filenews 14 May 2025 - by Charalambos Zakos
The state's effort for the demographic recovery of Cyprus finds close support from the Archdiocese and Archbishop George himself of Cyprus, since in the coming months it is expected that the payment of a special allowance, with Church money, to families with three children is expected to begin.
According to information from "F", applications from families who meet the criteria for the allowance will be submitted digitally on a platform and will be handled by the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus. The same information states that the start of submission of applications is determined after July 2025.
The criteria
Although so far not all the details of the program that the Archdiocese will "run" have been known, however, we are informed that the beneficiaries will have to meet some ecclesiastical criteria, such as:
1/ One of the two parents must have Cypriot Citizenship
2/ One of the parents must be an Orthodox Christian
3/ The child who will benefit should be baptized.
How the amount will be paid
As we wrote above, more details are expected to be announced in the coming days. The details will concern the procedures for the submission of applications, as well as for the beneficiaries, as well as for the amount that will be given to three-child families.
Information indicates that the amount will not be the same for every family and will be decided based on the needs of each child in relation to – possibly – and their age.
In addition, it seems that the amount will not be given in the form of a monthly allowance, but in a different way, however, it will not be a one-off aid but an ongoing support.
Archdiocese – Ministry of Labour
Archbishop George of Cyprus had set high among his priorities the serious problem of the low birth rate that Cyprus is facing, since even before his enthronement, in January 2022, he had announced the granting of an allowance to three-child families.
The Archdiocese had developed a close cooperation with the state, which culminated in the previous period, through meetings with the Ministry of Labour, which declares itself ready to assist in this effort of the Church.
And the middle class on the benefit
At the same time, the State, recognizing the very serious problem of the low birth rate and the demographic problem, has proceeded with two packages of measures, while new decisions are expected to be announced in the coming period.
Cyprus currently has a birth rate of 1.4%, while it needs 2.1% in order for the population to be replenished every 25 years. A problem that has been acknowledged by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides himself, who, attending an event for the Day of the Mother of Many Children, on May 11, had announced that new measures will be announced to address the problem.
Specifically, as the President of the Republic said, there are thoughts of changes regarding the criteria for four children, as well as the expansion of the child allowance to cover more families, thus reaching the middle class.
