Claiming benefits in France
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 5
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
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
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Hérault (34)
Posts: 8,883
Re: 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
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
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!
#3
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 5
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.
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.
#4
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.
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.
#6
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Hérault (34)
Posts: 8,883
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.
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.
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!!
#7
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 331
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.
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.
#8
Re: Claiming benefits in 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.
#9
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Hérault (34)
Posts: 8,883
Re: Claiming benefits in France
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.....
#10
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: SE Dordogne France
Posts: 982
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 !
France is NOT the same as UK !
#12
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 5
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?
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?
#15
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?
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?
This has always been true and is even more so in the present economic climate.
To paraphrase Mr. Nike, just don't do it.