Ginger world

Hi all,we have lived in France for 3 years now and we do not work here we work in the uk,we have an S1 certificate for our health cover plus we pay the private insurance top up,can anyone tell us if we should receive a green carte vitale or do we simply present the S1cert each time we need medical assistance or pharmacy supplies.We have tried to find out from the authorities here but can get no straight logical answer.Also do we have to pay social charges as the uk are responsible for our health care hence giving us the S1 cert.
1 last question,my 12 year old son is going on a school trip shortly with his french school to the uk,will our S1 cert be all he needs for his medical cover whilst away?
Thanks in advance.g

Chatter Static

You need to go in to the Cpam office with the S1 and apply for "carte vitale" they are not something that just turn up. It is something that in some ares of France can take some time. In the South they proved to be very quick and felt with expats at local offices but in the north our transfer got dealt with by Nantes Cpam regional head office and was abysmally slow.

dmu

Hi,
Normally his Assurance Scolaire should cover him for all out-of-school activities, including trips abroad. The teacher will require a copy of your Attestation d'Assurance well before he leaves.
Both parents must also sign a document at the Mairie to allow him to leave the country without them. Be warned that one of my daughter's friends (French, at that!) arrived at school the day of departure for Germany without this document and she wasn't allowed on the coach....
Didn't the Professeur give a list of documents for him to take, apart from ID?

cupoftea

The only place you need to present your S1 is at the CPAM office. Are you sure that you have done this? If you have, then you would have an Attestation from CPAM stating your cover in France, and they would have kept your S1. Cover via S1 from the UK does not normally run for more than 2 years, sometimes less, so if you have been here for 3 years, are you sure that it is still valid? The exception to this would be if one of you is still working in the UK and currently paying contributions there. Is this the case?

In order to answer you question fully, you will have to clarify the above issues, as at first reading, your question seems rather muddled.

dmu

... For example, if they are both working in the UK, what does the OP mean by "private insurance top-up"? A French Mutuelle can only be taken out if one is "in" the French system, with an S.S. number each. One beginning with 1 followed by year of birth, month of birth, 99... for the husband, the other beginning with 2 and YOB, MOB, 99... for the wife (99 indicating birth outside of France).
In any case, healthcare coverage doesn't cover "Responsabilité Civile" for schoolchildren. They must have an Assurance Scolaire which is compulsory, and most parents take out the most comprehensive one, i.e. 365-day coverage. If the OP has only taken out the "school-time" coverage, then an urgent amendment to the contract is necessary...

dennerlymum

Hi

this was abolished last year - teacher said they didnt need it to go to London - and british kids never needed it anyway

cupoftea

For a child to travel to the UK, even a british child who lives in France, they will definitely need evidence of health cover. If cover is provided in France with France as the responsible state (ie someone who is in the system through employment in France) then this is the CEAM and if the UK is the responsible state (ie healthcare in France provided via S1 from the UK) then this is with the EHIC. Just the same as for any of us registered for health care in France and travelling to the UK. A school child will not be able to travel without it.

This is why i said that to answer the question put by the OP, they need to provide more information about what their situation actually is.

Ginger world

Hi,sorry I didn't explain things properly,we went to the cpam with a French speaking friend!we showed the s1 cert,he took very little notice of it,actually discarded it and just wanted to know our uk income then told us we have to pay £700euros per month for health cover!this is why we are so confused by all of this,we intend to return to the uk due to not only this,the tax office now want to know our entire worth(wealth tax)to see if we owe them for this,fortunately it does not exceed 1.3million euros so it's no problem,I hope!
Sorry for appearing ignorant but we quite simply don't understand the system here and when we go to these meetings,the French seem to be incredibly unhelpful,we just came to France with young children for an experience actually hoping to stay,wanting nothing from the state,bought a nice house and garage,paid all the local taxes and abided by the rules,but seemingly never actually got what we should have,and of course we have never taken anything from the French system,it will be a sad day if and when we have to go back because we do love the place and friends.
Help hopefully.G

Ginger world

Oh,sorry,so exactly do we do now to prove health cover for our son to visit the uk?G

cupoftea

From what you have said, it is possible that you are unable to do this. Your S1 has never been registered in France and it is probably out of date by now. It is unlikely that you will be entitled to another one from the UK given the time which has elapsed since you came to France. It seems that you have never actually had health cover here, you don't say whether you have had any medical costs - if you have, were they ever refunded?

You need to have a careful look at the dates on your S1 and see if it is still valid. If it is, you need to go to CPAM with the S1 and all your other paperwork and get registered. You should have been completing tax returns for the past three years and they will want to see these as well as identity documents, evidence of address and income.

If your S1 is out of date, you need to contact the UK to see if it can be continued. If not, you will need a letter from them to confirm that you are no longer entitled. You can then take this to CPAM and see whether they will register you anyway under CMUb - although you do not make it clear in your post whether you have actually been paying the 700 € a month - if you have, then you are possibly already registered under this system. Do you have an attestation?

It sounds as though you have got yourselves in a bit of a muddle, if only in the sense that you don't seem to understand what your situation actually is. After 3 years I assume you now speak sufficient french to go and get information from CPAM yourselves to clarify things?

dmu

As far as I remember, the Assurance Scolaire covers Accidents to the child and Civil Liability for any damage caused by him/her. But I still don't understand why the Professeur didn't demand at least one parent's S.S. number. In our day it was needed, presumably if the child fell sick abroad and needed medical treatment (reimbursed afterwards in France).
@DennerleyMum - which document isn't required any more? The Attestation d'Assurance or document from the Mairie?

EuroTrash

All very confusing. It appears you never registered your S1 at CPAM (although the accompanying instructions you get from HMRC tell you quite clearly, in English, what to do with it), so have none of you ever needed any medical care in France all the time you've been here? If so, how was it funded?


Unfortunately life as the authorities see it isn't all fluffy and they do expect that if people choose to live in a country to benefit from the experience, they will also take the trouble to find out how the cross border system works and what their obligations are. It really isn't that hard, if you have the nouse to move to France you have the nouse to sort out the legalities as well, and it is in your own interests to understand it. If you fill in the right forms and ask the right questions at the right time, you stand a fair chance of getting the right answer from the fonctionnaires. If you turn up when it suits you, flapping a form at them and telling them half a story and asking them to sort it out, they might indeed get impatient.

Another alarm bell is ringing now: I trust that you've submitted your annual tax return in France for the 3 years you've been resident, as per the tax laws? Otherwise that is another can of worms waiting to be opened. As residents, by law you have to declare your worldwide income in France, even if you work only in the UK. You may or may not have anything to pay to the fisc, probably you won't, but you must make your income declaration each year.

Loving France as you do, you are no doubt aware that France has a long socialist tradition, more so than the UK. The system revolves around droits et devoirs, rights and responsibilities. If you want to live in France, you are expected to contribute to the system according to your ability to pay, and in return the state will give you back whatever benefits you are entitled to. Living here but saying you don't want anything to do with the French system is not going to go down well. You say you wanted the French experience, but living here is very different to taking a long holiday which is what you seem to have been doing - living in a country means a bit more than buying a nice house and enjoying the scenery and whatever other benefits you perceive, it means knowing what's going on around you, realising that some things are not as good as in the UK, and getting to grips with a different culture and mindset. Unless you do that, what life experience have you gained and how do you know whether you love the place or not?

Im_and_Er

If you are working in UK and paying NI the you will normally have a workers S1 issued by HMRC not DWP, this is renewable annually on it's anniversary for as long as you continue to work after which you will be entitled to a residual S1 and it's that which has a finite life of up to 2.5 years, notwithstanding that UK are proposing doing away with S1's for inactifs from next year !

If your local CPAM were not interested in your S1 it then they were wrong, they should have given you an attestation followed eventually by a Carte Vitale but that is only a payment convenience, it's the attestation which really matters.

If you have an S1, regardless of whether it's from HMRC or DWP, you should not be paying anything for your health care, other than for a mutuelle if you choose to subscribe to one, and definitely NOT paying social charges.

I speak from personal 1st hand of this precise situation.

Can't comment on the sprog !

dennerlymum

the document from the Mairie - the Attestation was definitely needed!