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Claiming benefits in France

Claiming benefits in France

Old Sep 12th 2014, 12:14 pm
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Default Claiming benefits in France

Hi all,

I am new here and i am really hoping someone can help me by answering a few questions i have about moving to France with a young family.

My husband and I are thinking about moving to France in the new year with our 2 young daughters, as we have family members over there who have been trying to sell it to us for years lol.

I currently work part-time and my husband works full time, but for the first few months upon arrival in France, my husband will be working with his brother in law to earn some money, so i was wondering what benefits, if any, we could claim?

We currently receive DLA for our eldest and Carer's Allowance and i was wondering if they have the same in France or something similar?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Emma
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 1:02 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by emzter19
Hi all,

I am new here and i am really hoping someone can help me by answering a few questions i have about moving to France with a young family.

My husband and I are thinking about moving to France in the new year with our 2 young daughters, as we have family members over there who have been trying to sell it to us for years lol.

I currently work part-time and my husband works full time, but for the first few months upon arrival in France, my husband will be working with his brother in law to earn some money, so i was wondering what benefits, if any, we could claim?

We currently receive DLA for our eldest and Carer's Allowance and i was wondering if they have the same in France or something similar?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Emma
Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
Others will come along re any benefits that might be transferable to France, or how to go about getting Family Allowances for your 2nd child (the princely sum of 129,35€ per month), but I would be more worried about healthcare coverage.
If your brother-in-law employs your OH officially and he pays into the French Social Security, then you'll be covered, but you'd be advised to take out a Mutuelle (top-up insurance) to reimburse the 30% that the French S.S. doesn't reimburse. If he works on the black, then you'd have to take out private insurance until such times as one of you is legally employed. With two young children, and one in need of special care, you must have health insurance of some sort.... Your elder would also have to cope with communicating with medical staff and carers - contrary to popular belief, professionals don't necessarily speak English.
What are your lines of work? Do you both speak adequate French? Considering the ever-increasing unemployment rate in France which will continue if the current laws aren't changed, this isn't the moment to envisage moving to France. Priority for any work going is given to French jobseekers (who are often bilingual).
If your family is doing well here, then fair enough, but it's not a reason to come and join them if there's no guarantee of finding work when the temporary job comes to an end.
Another question, how old are your children? You would need to justify your domicile (Property Deed, rent receipts, Utility bills, ...) before you could enrol them at Maternelle/Primaire or any Municipal Childcare Centres.
Hope all this gives you food for thought!
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 3:11 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Thank you very much for your reply and the information dmu.

My husband would not be paying into the French SS so i would need private cover, he is going to paid in cash or by BT from my brother-in-law.

I sell handmade bunting, quilts etc in the UK from my facebook page aswell as working part-time, so i was thinking of using my page to try and drum up some business in France, but as my husband and I do not speak French that well, it may be difficult to communicate.

My children are 3yrs old and 6 yrs old and i am taking a trip to France at the end of this month to meet with a couple of schools and generally find out more info before i make such a huge decision to relocate.
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 3:41 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by emzter19
Thank you very much for your reply and the information dmu.

My husband would not be paying into the French SS so i would need private cover, he is going to paid in cash or by BT from my brother-in-law.

I sell handmade bunting, quilts etc in the UK from my facebook page aswell as working part-time, so i was thinking of using my page to try and drum up some business in France, but as my husband and I do not speak French that well, it may be difficult to communicate.

My children are 3yrs old and 6 yrs old and i am taking a trip to France at the end of this month to meet with a couple of schools and generally find out more info before i make such a huge decision to relocate.
Realistically, have your holiday with your relations, enjoy it and use it to ask them gently if they really think you're nuts.
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 3:57 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by Novocastrian
Realistically, have your holiday with your relations, enjoy it and use it to ask them gently if they really think you're nuts.
Im happy to offer a second opinion being relatively crazy I consider myself highly qualified in the field....
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 4:33 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by emzter19
Thank you very much for your reply and the information dmu.

My husband would not be paying into the French SS so i would need private cover, he is going to paid in cash or by BT from my brother-in-law.

I sell handmade bunting, quilts etc in the UK from my facebook page aswell as working part-time, so i was thinking of using my page to try and drum up some business in France, but as my husband and I do not speak French that well, it may be difficult to communicate.

My children are 3yrs old and 6 yrs old and i am taking a trip to France at the end of this month to meet with a couple of schools and generally find out more info before i make such a huge decision to relocate.
Bad news, if your OH will be paid on the black. In the event of an accident at work, he'd get nothing and your brother-in-law would be sanctioned.
Have you any idea how much a private healthcare insurance (which wouldn't normally cover such an accident as it would be an illegal situation) would cost for a family of 4, including a special-needs child?
If you wish to sell your creations, you'd have to set yourself up as an Auto-Entrepreneur, with all the bureaucracy involved. At least you'd have Social Security coverage, but AFAIK from this forum, you'd have to pay into the System even if you don't have any turnover.
You must budget for all the above before even counting the usual cost of living for a family of 4.
The good news is that your children would quickly become bilingual.
They would go to Maternelle and Primaire, but you first register them at the Mairie of the Commune where you'll be living and the Mairie allocates you the schools nearest to your domicile. You can go visiting some schools during your trip, but without the justification of domicile that I mentioned above, you can't enrol them anywhere.
Rather than "trying to sell it to you" for years, your family should be telling you all this practical information!!
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 4:40 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Don't work on the black....really. It will end in tears.

The chances are you will get caught and you will lose everything. It takes one expat in your area with a grudge to put the boot in and its finished.

If you are bringing kids with you....it really is not a good idea.
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 4:42 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by Novocastrian
Realistically, have your holiday with your relations, enjoy it and use it to ask them gently if they really think you're nuts.
What NovoC is really saying, is that there's really been no worse a time to pack up and move to France.
I would advise that you spend a little time - no, make that a lot of time reading through past posts on this French forum.
Things have become so bad that news reports today were showing large queues of people outside the tax offices hoping to obtain agreed methods to delay their first yearly payments now due. With the extremely difficult times and rise in the cost of living, they simply are unable to pay. Many of these people on a low wage, were in the past below the taxable threshold. Despite government promises made in 2012 that there would be no extra taxes, things changed dramatically for 2013/14, resulting in severe hardships that are difficult to comprehend for the average tourist to France.
Thrift shops needless to say are doing a roaring trade, things are really that bad.
I've deliberately not mentioned the work situation, you'll read the bitter facts elsewhere.
Finally, just a brief word of caution. You mention your husband could be paid in cash for his work. This is effectively travail au noir which is illegal, and is being closely monitored by the relevant authorities.
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 6:15 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by Tweedpipe
Finally, just a brief word of caution. You mention your husband could be paid in cash for his work. This is effectively travail au noir which is illegal, and is being closely monitored by the relevant authorities.
The URSSAF in particular, which the OP's b-i-l must be familiar with.
As an anecdote, we used to employ a handyman, paid by Chèque-Emploi after a brief period "au noir". The village spy (and they do exist) denounced us during the illegal period, and we found the URSSAF at the door. Luckily for us we were in the Chèque-Emploi system by then, but it could have ended badly for all concerned.
Whatever people may believe, it CAN happen to oneself (cf. another thread called Sod's Law) and it would be foolish not to follow the French rules and regulations, esp. expats who have no idea of the consequences.....
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 7:19 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Don't forget that the French enjoy nothing more than 'dobbing' somebody in, if you're working on the black you will get caught and the days of living under the radar are long gone.

France is NOT the same as UK !
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 7:29 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by Im_and_Er
France is NOT the same as UK !
The UK is not the same as the UK
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 8:33 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

I really do appreciate all of your comments and i understand your concerns about my husband's plan to work for cash.
It wasn't his most definate plan but an idea that we will now avoid! i have heard mixed reviews about living in France recently, especially when it comes to bringing my children, some say i should make the move because my children will thrive more in the schools and they will have a better way of life, but i did not hear how bad things are in terms of the money situation, i suppose it depends on which department you live in?
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 8:36 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by Chatter Static
The UK is not the same as the UK
It is until next Thursday.
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 8:54 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by emzter19
but i did not hear how bad things are in terms of the money situation, i suppose it depends on which department you live in?
No, it's national.
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 9:03 pm
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Default Re: Claiming benefits in France

Originally Posted by emzter19
I really do appreciate all of your comments and i understand your concerns about my husband's plan to work for cash.
It wasn't his most definate plan but an idea that we will now avoid! i have heard mixed reviews about living in France recently, especially when it comes to bringing my children, some say i should make the move because my children will thrive more in the schools and they will have a better way of life, but i did not hear how bad things are in terms of the money situation, i suppose it depends on which department you live in?
What does your husband do for a living? Unless he can differentiate himself in a very positive way from french people in the same job he'll be extremely unlikely to find legitimate work, especially as his french is limited as you said.

This has always been true and is even more so in the present economic climate.

To paraphrase Mr. Nike, just don't do it.
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