health

[Chrismc]

I and my wife are both in our early 60s..we intend to retire to northern france but we would like to return to the uk every three monthes ' so as not to become french citizens we would stay in the uk for a day or two then head back to our home in france..my problem is how to stay in the uk system doctor dentist hospital etc when we would have to give a french addess

[Teamedup]

If your principal residence is in France and you are spending most of the year in France, surely you will be french residents and should do everything properly.

Please remember that the E111 is only to cover emergency health care. You will need a mutualist too as an E111 won't cover all expenses by any means either.

[Owen]

Hello,

I agree with TeamedUp here. For some peculiar reason there are many people who come to France and believe there is an automatic right to ignore the law of the land. At best this is short sighted. The whole subject of residence is a minefield but going back to UK for a day or so every couple of months does not, for example, mean that you are not a French resident for tax purposes. You are whether you have obtained a "carte de sejour" or not. By effectively living in France but not taking the steps to formally establish your residence here you are storing up potential problems in the future.

Healthcare. This is actually my area of expertise. The only qualification for treatment by the UK NHS is residence in the UK. But why be at the mercy of that appalling organisation when the quality of healthcare in France is amongst the best in the world? Because of reciprocal arrangements that exist in the EU your basic healthcvare costs in France could be without charge. As TeamedUp says you are strongly advised to have a "mutuelle" or top up insurance to cover health costs not covered by the French state (once you are properly resident and are affiliated) but these premiums are reasonable when you consider the high standard of healthcare we enjoy in our adopted land.

Regards

Peter Owen
[email protected]

[Jean L Ecossais]

>I and my wife are both
>in our early 60s..we intend
>to retire to northern france
>but we would like to
>return to the uk every
>three monthes ' so as
>not to become french citizens.

You will always be British citizens no matter how long you stay in France
Are you confusing this with a carte de sejour which you must apply for if staying for more than 3 months
or is it for taxation purposes?
if you stay in France more tham 186 days in a year you have to pay into the French taxation system dosnt make any difference if you nip back to UK for a couple of days

>..my problem
>is how to stay in
>the uk system doctor dentist
>hospital etc when we would
>have to give a french
>addess

Totally impossible legally you would have to give a UK address.
Anyway what happens if you become ill you cannot then just nip back to the UK you would have to go to a French doctor