My wife and I are planning to move to Galway after 7 years in South Africa having originated from England. We are both UK passport holders. We have one major concern and that is health care as we are not getting any younger and currently require expensive prescriptions.

Is it feasible to have a address in Northern Ireland however living mainly in Southern Ireland and travelling north once a month for prescriptions, doctor appointments etc. What emergency cover would we have in Ireland as UK residents.


Can anyone help


Many thanks


Peter

It is possible to live in NI and register with doctor, dentist etc. There would be nothing to stop you using your holiday residence in the ROI. Your principal residence will be in NI for all intents and purposes. There is no border controls, so who would know which was your main residence?

Except that it's fraudulent if you do not in fact live in Northern Ireland.

It is not clear whether they plan to maintain two residences, in which case one can be a primary residence if that's where they spend most time, or whether they just want to use an address they are not living at.

Sounds a bit like Sean Quinn and his attempt to be made bankrupt in the North instead of the South!

I thought that their main residence was in NI. They can read between what lines they want to.

I think we will just move to the north and solve the problem. Might have a place in the south for holidays

See the thread below on Health Insurance. Prescription costs are limited to 132 Euros per month per family. After that the Govt programs cover the cost.

Be careful where you choose to live in the North with your English accents.
There is still a lot of bigotry and cultural apartheid in some parts. Personally I wouldn't live in the north just to avail of free NHS. A better solution is to live within commuting distance of the border.
I live in Dublin, but my NHS dentist and doctor are in Newry, 1 hour drive up the M1. The standard of NHS health care in the north is much better than in the Republic, but having lived in both; I prefer the absence of bigotry in the Republic. People are still healing from The Troubles, and it will be decades yet before they have let go of the bigotry. Having said that, if you have lived in South Africa, then you are probably well used to racism and will fit right in.

How do you get away with getting NHS treatment while not paying National Insurance?

All you need to apply for a medical card in the north is your National Insurance number, and proof of address such as a bank statement. Whether you have paid National Insurance or not is not checked. You can be on the dole and paying no National Insurance for example, and get free NHS in the UK.
I live in Dublin, get free NHS in Newry. No questions asked. I just show my medical card to the receptionist in the dentist and get my free work done.
Yes its fraud, yes its dishonest. But I will either go to the jail or the grave with good clean teeth (or dentures).
Fortune favours the bold.

Yeah I live in Dublin too - not a million miles away from you if memory serves me correct. So you can have a proof of address in the South or do you need one in the North or the UK?

One needs an address in the north.
I find the Dentists and GP's to be excellent in Newry; far better than in Dublin.
I do some cheap shopping while I am up there too, so it offsets the petrol cost.
Private healthcare is a rip off in the Republic, and the standards of dentists and doctors surgeries are poor when one considers that one is paying for it.
The 50 Euro I would pay to see a GP in the republic covers my petrol driving 2 hours round trip, so I am no worse off in any case.
And that is without the added rip off price of prescriptions in the Republic.
Even St John's Wort needs a prescription in the Republic! Its a joke.
Nurofen plus or Solpadene? You may as be asking for methadone over the counter.
Some things like the health care in Ireland need a serious overhall to be brought up to EU standards.
The one good legacy of all the bombings and shootings in the north during The Troubles, is that they have great hospitals and doctors there.
I had my laser eye surgery done in Belfast, and the service was first class.
In Dublin I would have had to pay 1000 Euro more for the same thing!
Health care still seems to be at Celtic Tiger boom year prices in Ireland.

A packet of 12 Nurofen in Roscommon €3.60. A packet of 16 Ibuprofen in England .32p Ok the Nurofen comes in shiny attractive packaging - I don't want the ****** packaging I want the active ingredient which is Ibuprofen.

Yet another example of rip off Republic.
Wait until the petrol goes up to 1.80 Euro per litre next week.