advice and france move
 

not sure whether to move completely or have a bolt hole in the uk
can anyone give me advice on the health system and medical insurance
i believe i will need to top up the medical cover.
are there any good guides out there
i have retired my wife works as a nurse
thanks

Re: advice and france move
 

This forum's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about moving to France is a good source of information - http://britishexpats.com/forum/franc...e-faqs-866999/

Re: advice and france move
 

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
As suggested, read the FAQs above on the various aspects of living in France, for example Growing Old in France, Renting, Inheritance Laws,...
If you're in receipt of a UK State Pension, you'd obtain the S1 form from Newcastle and be treated like your average Frenchman, i.e. the Social Security would reimburse about 70% of your expenses. You'd need to take out a Mutuelle to reimburse the rest (not applicable to glasses and false teeth).
If your wife wishes to work as a nurse, she'd have to have her diplomas validated here, which would involve proving that her French is adequate. If she won't be working, some one will come along to confirm that your healthcare coverage will cover her.
I can't advise on the "keeping a bolt-hole" front, you'd have to look at the Tax Residency question, and those in the know will come along to advise how to deal with the issue.
Hope this helps a little!:)
P.S. You don't say whether you speak French (indispensable for your wife if she wants to work in the medical profession). Even if you choose to live in an expat area, you both need to be able to communicate for your private business (bureaucratic, medical, financial).

Re: advice and france move
 

Re the bolt hole, whether you keep one or not, it won't affect your status in France if France becomes your main home. Just like, if someone who lives in the UK buys a holiday home in France, the fact that they own a bolt hole in France makes no difference to their status in the UK.

So all I would say is, if you think you might one day want to return to the UK it makes sense to keep somewhere to go back to if you can, simply because property in the UK tends to increase in price year by year and property in France doesn't. So if you get off the property ladder in the UK, getting back on might involve digging quite deep, depending how much prices have gone up in the intervening years.

As said, there's plenty of info on healthcare available, just make sure that whatever source you use is up to date.

Happy planning :-)