frog22

Thanks Le Chant I am still confused, what I have understood up to now, was don't activate my E106 until Jan 1st, or 2 years can come down to one year. And also I would be obliged if you could tell me what you would consider would be the benifit of me coming over 1 month earlier and renting, or waiting until February when I will own a little piece of France outright, and then use my two years to sort every thing out.- Thanks .

Le Chant

Frog22. As I understand it, you've sold your house in the UK, and are waiting for completion on your French one? The wheels turn very slowly here as you may have gathered, and I thought if you're kicking your heels over there, then why not rent in the area local to where you're buying and start the wheels turning re. health cover, setting up your business etc?

If (God Forbid) the cut off point for expats to get things sorted re. integration into the system is indeed March 08, then if you had a couple of months start, it'd work to your advantage?

Forgive me if my assumptions are wrong. (They often are!)

frog22

Hi Le Chant, youre assumptions are right, also I have taken up a short let here in UK till Feb while waiting for French completion, so can anyone tell me if my entitlement stops on 31 March 08 as some seem to be saying, cos that changes things big time if that happens.

Grand Fromage

Hi Frog22
The way it stands at the moment, is that, the March end date is for persons already affiliated to the CMU. As you are not yet affiliated your entitlement will end when your E106 expires. Then you will have to privately insure until official retirement age.
I, like many others, am caught in this retrospective trap and hope the French authorities will recognise the misery their decision will cause to non-French Europeans. Even if they do, they may still not change anything, but there is a growing number of people lobbying for all they're worth and if the latest info we have turns out to be true, things look brighter

need2no

How will they activate the 5 year rule though, cos like a lot of people we won't have lived in France for 5 years until mid July - so will they stop our carte vitales at end of March and then reinstate them in July?

Worst case scenario I think would be if they decide you HAVE to have lived here for 5 years by March and that's it, no leeway.

For what it's worth we were in the CMU system in September already, when the first announcement was made, perhaps that will help?

need2no

How will it work though?

We, like many others, won't have been resident in France for 5 years until mid July.

Is it likely that they will stop the carte vitales end March as suggested in their letter, and them reinstate them in July after we've re-applied? Or, maybe the 5 year rule applies but only if you've been here for 5 years in March?

Exactly where can they draw the line I wonder.

Also for what it is worth, we were already in the system here in September when the first letters began to filter out, perhaps that may help.

I have sent a letter to my regional CPAM to ask for explanations for what they mean by "being an unreasonable charge to the system". How can that be when so many of us are receiving an income, albeit not French, but we can show that we are able to support ourselves.

chucks mum

I have presumed it would be you have to have been resident and registered 5 years prior to the date they changed the law. Lucky for us we will both be pensioners when we come over, so does not effect us.

Grand Fromage

This ongoing situation is very frustrating for the many who affected by the change in CMU affiliation. The French authorities seem to be procrastinating beyond their norm bearing in mind the misery they are causing to many British Europeans. I wish I had the power to procrastinate when it comes to paying my taxes

jdr

It has been like this in Spain and most other EU countries all the time, early retirees have to have there own health insurance cover.
Only workers paying into the system and pensioners are covered by the NHS systems.

Grand Fromage

It's absolutely fair that early retirees take on private health cover but the French case is one of applying this rule retrospectively. People who have retired early to France under one set of rules of entitlement are having those rights removed and having the change applied in this way is far from fair.

jdr

I thought it was applying to new cases, not the existing. ;-(

Grand Fromage

That's the common sense approach jdr., We are just hoping they apply some of that common sense to this situation

frog22

Has anyone any more information on all this please as my research is showing me that my self employment idea is going to be more difficult to achieve than I thought, one site even recommends going to a 5 day college course to learn how to fill a 17 page application form to apply to become self employed, and it seems I will have to pay 7000 euros per year for 3 years for tax insurance whether I earn any income or not and thats only if I am granted self employed status as apparently Brits are quite often turned down anyway, which will leave me without health insurance for the 3 years between when my E106 runs out and I can achieve 5 years residency, I cannot even find out if the top up insurance that I will have to get as a resident will cover pre existing conditions from that point. Help!! this is becoming a nightmare this might be the right time to try and back out of my purchase if I can !!

YankeemovingAbroad

What is the point of joining forces and forming the (EU) and allowing nationals in EU nations to live in one another's country but then refuse to give health care to those same nationals? I don't understand that and it would seem that the EU governing body should address these type issues.

Other wise it is a very risky propition to immigrate.Currently when a member EU national is allowed the right to live in another EU nation essentially you are giving them permission to live in no man's land with very few rights or a safety net.

Hopefully France is the only offender in refusing to look after EU citizens.The taxation rate is higher in France than it is in the UK leaving the average hard working family with less to build a nest egg.France by all accounts is a beautiful looking nation and a interesting culture but I wonder if the trade off is worth it?

Le Chant

I respectfully ask you to think a little harder, and perhaps do some research into why these changes have occurred. The whole point of this legislation is to dissuade those who have no thought of contributing to an ailing French Health Service to think twice about moving here. For years, France has had its Health Service voted number one in the world by the WHO. It's one of the contributing factors to its large immigrant community. But, many who've settled here (especially from the UK, it has to be said) have paid nothing into the system by way of cotisations, and have lived off savings and profits made available by selling off UK property at silly prices during the recent property boom, and relocated/downsized to France. There are many reasons why people should be wary of the recent legislation, but if they are honest, they work here and pay into the system they at some point may require, then they have no problems whatsoever.

France is highly recommended as a place to settle. You just have to understand and adapt to their laws and culture, pretty much the same as anywhere else in the world!