petithibou

We're aiming to return to France next year after 10 years in Australia. We are both UK and Aus citizens and lived and worked in France between 2002/2009 contributing to the system for tax and health. With Brexit and all, would our previous residency in France mean we could get back into the health system? We won't be working (well not planing too) when we return and will also be a couple of years off getting our UK pension. Any ideas who can help with this or will it be a case of going down the PUMA route?

EuroTrash

Previous residency doesn't give you any extra rights once you've been gone 10 years.
If Brits are still included in Freedom of Movement when you're ready to return then there's nothing to stop you exercising that FoM, ie as long as you meet the criteria (minimum income, proof of residence etc) you would have the right to move here and you can apply for PUMA after 3 months residence.
If Brits are no longer included in freedom of movement I guess you will need visas. Since you're not intending to work that shouldn't be a problem.

I think there may be a little confusion here. France's national health system is called PUMA, so "the PUMA route" is the only route there is. Payment is collected via different routes depending on status - cotisations on professional income if the person is working, cotisations on relevant unearned income if they're inactif, or via an S1 if they have one - but it's all PUMA, and there is always payment involved. Again, previous residency makes no difference because everyone living in France "legally and stably" can join PUMA. In fact it is expected that they will - for inactives, cotisations are invoiced automatically based on your tax return these days, so you get charged regardless of whether you're actually taking advantage or not.

dmu

If you were both salaried here, you each had an S.S. number which stays with you forever. This should simplify your applications for healthcare coverage. If you've mislaid them, the Agent will be able to find them from your dates of birth and last address in France.
What you contributed during those years will be counted when you're eligible for pro rata French Pensions. As soon as you start receiving your UK State Pensions, simply apply for them at your CPAM office when the time comes, and the Agent will check that you've paid enough "trimestres". The French Pensions will be paid separately.
P.S. As "inactifs", you'll need to justify private healthcare insurance during the 3 months before applying for Résidence. An EHIC card (if you're eligible for one after so long out of the UK) wouldn't be valid.

petithibou

Thanks for the replies.....was just wondering if previous residency would help in the CdS and registering for health cover. (We know it's all through PUMA now, that was just fast typing/brain not registering 🙄) Thanks also for the info that our French SS and small pension should be accessible - will have to dig out the old files, you know, the ones you never thow away because "I might that one day!"

EuroTrash

I came back to France after 30-plus years and I hadn't kept any paperwork so I had to write to my previous regional caisse to retrieve my sécu number. It wasn't a problem then, and in fact I believe that since that time, the system has been nationalised and all the various regions have access to the national database, so it should be even easier. But if you can find your records, well done you :-)

Regarding the CdS, I think that unfortunately you will have to start from scratch counting the day you arrive back as Day 1, because even if you had "permanent" residence rights when you left, those rights lapse after 5 years absence. It's certainly worth checking (the government website will have all the details) because as always there are certain specific factors that can affect this, but I believe that is the general rule.

Health cover for non-workers tends to be reviewed on a regular basis in any case, to check whether or not your circumstances have changed, so again, the rights you had 10 years ago as workers are water well under the bridge when you apply to rejoin as inactifs 10 years later. But it really doesn't matter, because people who have never lived in France before shouldn't have any problems in applying for healthcare or (in theory) a CdS. It's not a difficult process, you just need to collect all the paperwork together. Trying to demonstrate previous residence would simply mean an extra layer paperwork to collect!

dmu

Just a detail, but I meant to type "CNAV", not CPAM in my post. If you won't be in a large town, there's usually a CNAV Agent coming regularly to all Communes to deal with French people's Pensions when they become eligible. I didn't need any "old files"- with my NI and S.S. numbers, the agent's laptop brought up all my life history, including my Saturday and holiday work when I was young!