Rob G

Hi, An update from those who are interested. I phoned the NHS helpline quoted by Will, and they said that as our son's grandparents are currently his legal guardians, they would need to arrange for him to be covered under their NHS cover. (Apparently you have to be over 16 to have cover in your own right.) He said they needed to register him with their local GP and obtain his NHS number, then call back with that and ask for an EHIC to be issued. As the GP wasn't able to get his NHS number straight away, they said they could register him under his Granddad's number instead. The EHIC takes up to 10 working days to be delivered, but they said he was covered from the time of the call and gave an emergency number to call if treatment is required overseas before the card arrives. Finally, we contacted the school and they were happy – they understood that he is covered and weren't concerned that he may not physically have an EHIC when he leaves for his trip. So the whole process ended up not being too complicated – made much easier by helpful input from this forum. Thanks to all! Rob

Thanks, Will – I'll post and let you know what happens... Rob

Will, Many thanks for your response, and especially for the helpline details. I'll give them a try on Monday morning and explain the situation. I suppose I'm trying to think what our options might be in the eventuality that the process is too slow and no EHIC or valid alternative can be issued before our son (who is indeed a minor) is due to go on his trip. Rob

Hi, Thanks for your response. [quote user="Sunday Driver"]Your son is now resident in the UK, not France.... ... You don't say when the France trip is planned for, but obtaining the NHS number and EHIC oughtn't to take too long to organise.[/quote] Well, yes, he is physically resident in the UK, and so could get an NHS number and an EHIC. The problem is that the trip is in less than two weeks, and from a quick bit of Googling yesterday evening, I don't think it will be feasible form him to get an EHIC quickly enough. (Yes, this is entirely our fault for not thinking about the issue sooner – to be honest, with everything else going on it just didn't cross our minds.) Hence the approach I'm suggesting. As far as the French authorities are concerned, he's still resident here and covered by French social security. If he were taken ill while on his trip in France, we could just say that we had temporarily sent him over to the UK and as part of his time there he was accompanying the class on a trip to France. I just need to get the school to accept that he will be covered by my French social security entitlement while in France. Had we thought about the issue earlier, we would have been able to get it sorted out in the way you say. The problem is lack of time – and he is desperately keen to go on this trip, so we really want to find a way to make sure the school is happy that he is covered. Rob

Hi, We are hopefully moving back to the UK in the next three months. In the meantime, our son went back to live with his grandparents from the beginning of September so he could start his new school year in the UK. I have to admit that we never thought about health cover arrangements for him. We are now forced to do so as he is supposed to be going on a school trip to France (!) and has been asked to provide an NHS number and European Health Insurance Card. The situation is this: as far as the French authorities know, he still lives here and is still covered by French health insurance. He did have a European Health Insurance Card which entitled him to obtain care in other EU countries, but unfortunately we've just checked it and it's run out. I can apply for a new one, but it's likely to take 2 weeks to come. In any case, he won't be able to use an EHIC issued in France while he's in France (by definition, it's intended for use in countries other than the issuing country). He must have an NHS number, but we can't find any record of it. I'll make some phone calls on Monday and see whether I can track it down. But does this mean he is covered in the UK? By the UK system? Even if he was, he would presumably then need a European Health Insurance Card issued in the UK in order for his UK cover to extend to France and other UK countries. The school are saying he won't be able to go on the trip if he can't provide an NHS no., EHIC and GP details. My feeling is that the most logical approach at this point is to talk to the school and explain that he is still officially resident in France and therefore covered by my French cover. I can provide them with my French social security number and our French GP's details. Would be interested if anyone had a different take on this situation. Thanks, Rob

Baypond, thanks for your most enlightening comments. Rob

So the question remains – in terms of forecasting what is going to happen to the £/€ rate, if we are going to need to convert quite a lot of € to £ in December, should we book a rate now, wait a while or not book one at all? (I realise this is purely a matter of subjective opinion, but I'd be very interested in the view of those who undoubtedly have a more informed view of likely currency fluctuations than I do.) Thanks, Rob

No problem Tom, thanks and I've PM'd you back. Rob

[quote user="TWINKLE"]Sent you a Pm with soem details.[/quote] Thanks! Sent you a PM back... Rob

Tom, thanks for your comment about your brokers. I have sent you a PM. Rob

Dragonrouge, you're right – I was thinking about this last night – with the £ predicted to fall I'm going to have to think carefully about whether and at what point to book a rate. I now have another worry. Even assuming I can get the money from the notaire quickly, how quickly can I get it from my French bank account (with Société Générale) to the UK? I've done some searching on French sites and have found people referring to "virements urgents" (urgent payments), but when I search the SocGen site I can't find anything resembling an urgent (i.e. same day) international payment. Looks like I will have to phone the branch, but I'm not hopeful they will have much knowledge of international payments. Rob

Thanks for answers so far. I think my dad's going to call his insurers first and see whether we can be added as named drivers. If that's no good, I'll have to contact our French insurers and see what they say. As to the car being picked up as uninsured once we get it back to the UK, that won't happen: either it will still be on my dad's insurance or we will make sure we have a new UK policy in place before we arrive back in the UK. Rob

Hi, Thanks for both replies so far. I posted the same question on another forum and got a mixture of answers there, too. Seems like it depends very much on the notaire. I'll give the notaire a call, explain the situation and see what he says. Rob

[quote user="sweet 17"]Friends from Cognac have just done this using a foreign exchange firm.  Money got to their UK bank account in just about a fortnight.[/quote] I don't understand how it took a fortnight! It would be quicker to draw out cash and row across the channel!

Hi, [quote user="sweet 17"]Can you get a buyer lined up to buy your French car when you leave these shores?[/quote] How easy it will be to find a buyer is another question. What I'm wanting to find out at this stage is how my dad or I can temporarily insure a UK car to cover my wife and I to use it in France for a month or two. Rob