Simon101

I'm new on here am not confident that this is the right area to post these questions but here goes anyway.

My situation is as follows:

I am a 63 year old guy living with my 'girlfriend' in Germany (we're intending to marry once we've sorted out any major tax/health advantages/disadvantages!)

I do not work here and am not registered as resident. I travel back to the UK for 2 weeks every 2 months minimum as my income is derived from property letting in the UK on which I pay tax in the UK. I have a residence in the UK and am on the electoral register etc etc. I am for all intense and purposes still a UK resident just visiting Germany a lot!

My girlfriend is 51 and is German and is in full time employment

My questions:

1. When we get married will I be covered by her health insurance?

2. Will I need to register as a resident in order to get 1 above? (I really don't want to de-register from the UK as this will effect my ability to refinance my buy to lets in the UK).

3. I've heard rumour of expats now having to pay for NHS treatment on returning to the UK. I need to understand the implications of this?

4. What happens once I'm 65 in 2 years time ie. Am I not covered for treatment throughout all of the EU via the NHS?

5. If we both reside in the UK will she be eligible to use the NHS or will she need to carry on paying German health insurance?

6. Assuming I understand correctly that retirees are covered by the NHS. If,once I'm 65 and formally retired, will she also be covered/eligible as my spouse throughout the EU?

Lots of questions I know; so any links or tips or redirection to where I can start to get to grips with all of this stuff will be very much appreciated

amideislas

the answer is yes.. but you won't be covered by her health insurance as it stands. You will need to pay a bit more for a (presumably, Krankenkasse - public health insurance) plan which covers both of you. A private insurance card gives you a ticket to the express lane at the hospital, but it's quite a bit more expensive and there's a minimum income requirement..

It's been a while since I lived there, but if if you have a decent income between you, I believe between €300 and €400 per month should be about enough to cover you both, but it depends on your combined income.

Yes, you'll need to be resident.

Don't know the implications of NHS healthcare in Germany. I reckon face value as you stated it.

Google EHIC for more about your European rights.

Healthcare in the UK is very different than most of Europe. I would speculate that if you were resident in the UK, your spouse would be eligible for "free" heathcare. But unless you are both resident, it's probably complicated.

Here's a a little more contemporary data I dug up:

Public health insurance (Krankenkasse) is compulsory unless income is above a fixed sum (in 2014 this was €4,462.50 per month) in which case you will be eligible to apply for private health insurance.

State health insurance costs approximately 15.5 percent of net income (dropping to 14.6 percent in January 2015).

The employee pays roughly half the contribution while the employer pays the remaining half. Payments are automatically deducted from salaries and the employer completes all the required paperwork. If you are selbständig (self employed), you will be required to show proof of payment of a suitable health insurance plan consistent with your income

There are over 100 state insurance companies and the employee can select which insurance company to sign up with.Some of the most popular public health insurance companies include AOK, Barmer GEK and TK (Techniker Krankenkasse).

vince31

Look here:
https://www.gov.uk/living-in-germany
This is the formal UK Gov site and tells you what you need to know