Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Good grief, and I thought that I was in trouble... so where does leave you and OH?

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

I have a private policy for when I'm in Thailand which is most of the year in normal times. In case of inpatient they will give cover worldwide. Outpatient no. In theory the policy doesn't qualify for my residency status. But it's Austria. For outpatient treatment I go to Germany as it is a fraction of the price of Austria. I live just across the border. Luckily, hubby got British S1 form. If I wasn't an honest person....but I am.
Other option would be to move to Germany. Then I could buy voluntary insurance. But I need to show an income tax return.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Communication in The Low Countries - In the area where dominant tongues are Netherlands/Flemish I used to bring out my variety of this - "Ek praat nie Nederlands nie. Ek kan Afrikaans praat." That was usually enough to steer the chat in a different direction !

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Sorry, still a bit (ha ha) confused...

You and hubby are ordinarily/permanently resident in Austria? And that neither of you are entitled to an Austrian pension?

By virtue of hubby's British S1, that would imply that UK is considered to be the 'competent country' in terms of health insurance for him and his dependants? In which case I don't understand the "If I wasn't an honest person" statement. :confused:

Or does that change if you yourself are in receipt of a pension from another EU member state - in this case Germany?

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Thairetired: what's your total amount of years employed in EU countries?

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Meanwhile, having grudgingly accepted the fact that we do indeed have to get our overpriced health insurance in CH, first off I sent a grovelling email to the Belgian insurer, and received a very friendly reply along the lines of “no probs, you’re not cancelled, just suspended until we receive the S1”.

On the Monday morning I ‘phoned the Swiss insurer, and having been bounced around various departments, ended up with a helpful person who noted all the details and said that someone from “the relevant department” would be in touch as soon as possible.

After three days without news, I ‘phoned again, got someone different who located the file and said “Oh dear, your request seems to have been sent to the wrong department”. He took even more info, checked a colleague’s calendar and set up a telephone meeting for the following Monday. Two days later (Saturday) I received an email directly from my old “handler” with the insurance company. Yay!

I answered a couple of more questions, and last Monday I received a proposal for insurance from said person. Just for me, no mention of OH, start of contract 01/01/2019… I had already guessed that they might try that, so I retrieved the Swiss gene from the cellar, plugged it in and started on the diplomatic email.

Several exchanges later they had corrected most a couple of the errors and said that they were now just waiting on a document from the Swiss Pensions office before issuing the new proposals. I scanned the official decision letter that I had received from the Pension people back in July, and sent that.

Next day, in the inbox were the two proposals, and a cover note asking me to check/correct the details. They had at least done the decent thing and shifted the start date forward by 19 months so as to coincide with the start of the pension payments. Done and returned three days ago, since then silence.

It’s like having just the right amount of anaesthetic administered whilst your wallet is surgically removed. ;)

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

... and breathe.

Received today the jolly expensive health insurance cards from CH.

Welcome - back - to the Hotel California. ;)

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Bureaucracy 2021. The first round comes courtesy of Brexit. As with most (I imagine) Brits legally resident in a EU member state, I have to update my residence documents to show that I benefit from the WA, which for me means a new ID card, amongst other things. I received the Government letter a few weeks back, but the local town hall has not as yet prompted any action.

I am however supposed to apply at the town hall; they require a copy of my existing ID card, a copy of my current passport (it’s different to the one they have already, it was renewed a year ago) and an extract of my ‘criminal record’, which I obtained a few days ago.

In theory, given that my ‘criminal record’ is a clean sheet, the town hall will submit the claim on my behalf, so I will have no direct dealings with immigration. I’m booked in at the town hall on Monday.

...

Next up will be the UK pension application :eek: I’ve had some chats with other forum members, all very helpful, thanks folk.

I’ve seen various posts across quite a few country forums - mostly concerning NI top-ups and the like. We don’t appear to have a generic thread for non-residents claiming UK pension, so I’ll possibly spin that one off into another thread, as someone has suggested that it might form the basis for a Wiki article.

Maybe.

Won’t be covering S1s though, as I’ve now got my own jolly expensive S1 from CH.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Bureaucracy 2021 (continued).

Yesterday I received an email from the town hall saying that I could now apply for my "officially resident in spite of Brexit" ID card.

But surely I did that two months ago?

Apparently not... what it seems I did two months ago was to apply for the permission to apply for that status. :confused:

One appointment + one photo + €18.80 should (ha!) get this sorted.

---

The UK pension stuff is "in the post".

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

There were some technical problems with the new "M cards" for Brexit refugees, apparently. Seems people are now starting to receive them from their city/town halls, though.

One thing to be potentially aware of - this new card is currently not listed as a valid proof of residency from the Royal Decree covering applications for Belgian nationality. If anybody plans to apply for this in the near future and your existing E/E+ card isn't expiring yet, you may want to apply before exchanging your existing ID for the new M card.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Thank you for that.

I'm aware that my "new" Bijlage 56 in itself is not proof of residence, but if I carry it along with my current "E" card then I should not have any problem when travelling within the Schengen zone, at least until 31/12/2021.

I would need to get an extension on that document until the "M" card becomes available to me, as of yesterday, I have three months and ticking on the current document.

I'm about two and a half years off being eligible to apply for Belgian nationality, so it's not yet a burning issue, but I do see your point and so will ask at the Gemeente for their thoughts on the best way forward.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

As of today I am in possession of my 'M' card - the residence card for beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Three months from start to finish, three visits in all to the town hall.

:beer:

Not bothered by this as yet, I'm still three years off having to decide between applying for Belgian nationality or simply going for permanent residence, I'm not planning on being out of the country for more than 90 days in the foreseeable future.

All quiet on the UK pension front, no surprises there then.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Bucking the trend? Mindful of some posts on other threads on the subject of DWP potentially not processing pension applications in “a timely manner” I started on mine in the last week of March and was amazed to receive the positive decision letter a couple of days ago. I make that about 11 weeks from submission :thumbup:

They have the start date correct, and the final weekly figure came to several quid more than had been forecast when using the calculator on the gov.uk website.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

You got lucky! Make sure they have your bank details correct, they messed mine up - twice!

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Bonus! Well done BB :thumbup:

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Do they send any notification of payment transfers? Or do I wait until end August (about 5 weeks after start date) to query any non-payments?

Relieved somewhat... this will almost cover the cost of our health insurance being paid into the Swiss system... :blink:

It's like playing Monopoly, Catan and Whack a Mole in parallel.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

It sounds like it! With perhaps a cheeky little game of Run Around In Circles Until You Disappear Up Your Own Arse to finish.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Only after you done a round of Cluedo!

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

No!

Yes, you will need to wait the 5 weeks. So 11 + 5 = the 4 months!

Also, don't know about Belgium but to Hungary each transfer takes 8 working days (as opposed to same day, or possibly 24 hours for everybody else).

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Right-ho, thank you. Hadn't taken the "weekly" mindset into account :lol:

CH does calendar months, no more "double bubble" in December, so I'd best start to save for the mince pies.

Nice touch in the DWP letter though:
:lol:

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

I doff my cap to the DWP.

Spot on, the first pension payment landed exactly 4 calendar weeks after UK retirement date.

:thumbup:

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

I've just been googling to see if the extra 25p is still due at 80.

Apparently it is. :hysterical:

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

I've seen some interesting (and quite frankly startling) items across several English language Belgian news-sites over the last few days concerning take up of official residency applications post Brexit.

It seems that out of some 18,000+ Brits previously officially registered here, only approx 8,700 residence applications have been received by BE authorities post WA. :confused:

Brit Embassy (lovely people, them) are now doing a last ditch "tell everyone" broadcast, only three and a bit weeks to go, get your arses in gear.

Re: An imaginatively titled Belgian thread...
 

Hi I was interested to hear that the OH speaks fluent PT... And restos are mentioned a few times here.

So Im guessing that there are 'foodies' like us reading this thread

You may want to consider taking a trip to the unofficial PT 'quarter' in Brussels. We live in Etterbeek the centre of the EU. Right on the border with Ixelles. The nearest of 2 Portuguese restos is just a 5 min walk.

When you arrive at the major train station Gare du Midi, Brussels there is a tram 81 that takes you directly to the Mouterij/Germoir stop. This train station is where the international trains depart (Eurostar to London, Thalys to Paris and other capitals)

If you imagine a 'corridor' on the line between Place Flagey and Mouterij/Germoir, you will come across several traditional PT restos in a band of just +/- 100m each side. At Mouterij/Germoir there are 2 on either side. Cafe de Portugal CDP and 142. 142 has excellent food quality/price, has Italian as a theme with PT food. Its one of my highly rated Brussels restos (price/quality)

You can get a lunch for 2 at several restos in this corridor. For under 30€ for 2 you will get a lunch of soup, choice of meat or fish for main course, coffee and a bottle of wine! (Not Sundays) Your BH will enjoy chatting to the PT customers and staff. CDP is one of these.. and footy mad, Benfica!! All this in the centre of Brussels/Europe.!!

I would propose to make a day of it. Arrive in the Gare Centrale. Walk around the Grand Place (one of the best in Europe), then walk through the Parc Royal, past the Royal Palace, Place Luxembourg (busy with EU employees), through the huge EU buildings, through the park Leopold to the wonderful Place Jourdan. Here all the bars allow you to bring your own food and you can enjoy a good Belgian Beer with it!! Plenty of take away choices at the place. These 2 Place's are busy, multicultural as they are next to the EU parliament.

There you can decide to go to either Mouterij/Germoir or Place Flagey or along the corridor for your PT meal. Walk around the lakes at Pl Flagey.... And jump on the tram 81 to Gare du Midi to go back.

Note without stopping this walk will only take +/- 1 hour.... So much in such a small walk... But you will stop :)

You will have Belgian beers and PT wine, so dont drive! And the trains and other public transport is excellent.

Happy eating, drinking and visiting... And enjoying the capital with a PT twist :)

Welcome to Belgium!

Jon
PS of course Brussels is a culinary capital of Europe, I focused on PT as you as a couple speak it