philv

No. Don't let people who have merely read regulations online tell you what is what. On the Eurotunnel, your dog is NOT checked, neither is its passport, upon leaving the UK or on entering France at Calais. For ferries i can't say. But with Eurotunnel you do NOT need a passport for taking a dog to France despite what regulations or the internet says. Getting back into the UK with it is a different ball game, though.

[quote user="vette"]We have never done that. The only thing we went to the Marie for was for them to register our car, which they kindly did. We have been here for nearly 10 years and also have a business. Maybe it's a regional thing that some don't bother with. Having said that, it's a fairly small place where most folk know each other anyway.[/quote] Thanks for your advice. My only problem is that we are young (both under 30) and want to be in the system as soon as possible. We will be registering with AE to start a small business so we can pay our taxes and get our health cover and all that stuff, and i don't want there to be a hitch when we apply to become citizens in 5 years or whatever and they tell us to prove we've been here. If it really doesn't matter, then happy days.

Hello all! I'll be to the point - we live in Treignac and are staying in France [not necessarily Treignac] forever... We keep reading everywhere that you have to register your presence with the mairie to be 'legally' resident here. Obviously we know after 5 years your legal status changes etc. We want to be recognised as resident right away, so we went into the mairie and introduced ourselves, they made us write our names down after looking fairly confused about what we were asking. We went back to ask for our receipt of registration that every website says you need to have, and they said they don't do it and to try the préfecture in a bigger town (Tulle in our case). I'm wondering what the next step is? I'm planning on registering as a business so does that prove residency? I know the official law says without the receipt as proof you will always be seen as legally living in France for less than 3 months. Or is this one of these things that the internet says you have to do, but in reality you don't? The law says the mairie not the préfecture so maybe they didn't understand us. I'm so confused. Can anyone help us sort this out? Thanks ever so much!

Oh ok, so France is a country where you can 'think again' because being self employed is some crazy pipe dream that only people like you can achieve. Got it. I'll probably ignore your 'advice' though. Do you have anything to offer on the actual questions i've been asking? This was directed at the person who told me to merely 'go home'.

Also, how do i know whether i'm getting full insurance or not? We've just searched for assurance santé like advised, i did a comparison quote for my wife and the premium came up at €19 per month. Surely that can't be right? Seems too cheap. Are there any terms etc i should be looking out for to make sure it's full coverage we're getting? For example, i don't want to sign up for something at €200 a year or whatever to be told at point of care that it's only supposed to be complimentary to a main policy and can't be used in and of itself or something.

Hi linda thanks for your info. Just to clarify, i'm not looking to receive any benefits. I'm looking for a way to contribute to the system as everyone else does without necessarily having to get private insurance or a 'cards in' paid job. Even if there is a basic CMU with a payment every month, we're willing to do that.

Appreciate the info. If what i've read is right, and every French person has to have healthcare legally, then what about people who leave school and never pay into the system? Surely they get some form of basic healthcare? What about migrants who move there, they must have some form of healthcare? I read an official page last night from the French government that says anyone not eligible can go onto CMU de base which covers over 2 million uninsured people in France currently. Any info about that?

Thanks very much for your response. I'm still very confused. I don't get what the point of all this EU stuff is if it actually makes zero difference when we try to move abroad. EU nationals come to the UK and get everything that UK nationals get but it doesn't seem to work the other way. We have meagre savings but not an actual 'income' per se. What happens if i start a business but business is slow? What if i turn over €1000 or something? Is there a minimum limit to it? I'm not too bothered about health insurance for me anyway, mainly for my wife because of the pregnancy thing. Does anyone know of how i can get an insurance quote from a French insurance provider and not some expat thing? And do you know what the relevant English-speaking department is that we could speak to in France about our situation? I'm a stickler for speaking French when in France but on something this important too much would be lost in translation i think. Thanks again.

Hello all. We have just sold up in the UK and moved permanently to the Limousin area. We are currently renting. We're extremely confused and frustrated about the conflicting information about the French health care system. Some are saying as 'residents' we're covered under this CMU thing, some are saying we haven't contributed so are entitled to nothing, some are saying we're not entitled until we're been there 3 months etc etc. The situation: We're in our 20's, don't currently work but will be looking for employment. I will also probably be looking into starting up my own artisan business (small income at best). We're currently 10 weeks pregnant but haven't had any of our scans etc yet. We have enough money to survive short-term in France but not for years and years. What do we need to do with regards the health cover? Would i be better setting up a small business? Would this entitle us to basic health cover? If so, how much do we need to pay for it/how much mandatory income tax would i have to pay? Would it be better to 'sign on' as looking for work? Would this entitle us to cover? For example one site says:  "EU expats arriving in France without an S1 and who do not work or ‘inactive’ are in a vulnerable situation. If they have no right to any other State health cover whatsoever, they can apply to CPAM (French health office) for basic CMU Couverture Maladie Universelle" What does 'inactive' mean? Does this mean you're not looking for work actively? Would it be better to just take out private insurance? What level of cover do we need to cover pregnancy for my wife? Hopefully someone can help or point us in the direction of where we need to go to sort this nightmare of a bureaucratic merry-go-round out. Many thanks.