Health insurance for Americans living in France?

[libbie29]

Can someone help me find good, reliable information about how retired Americans in France can arrange for health care coverage? One of us has Medicare in the U.S., the other won't have it for ten years. We know Medicare won't apply to us living outside the U.S. What can we do to replace it?

One of us has some claim on British residency rights because a grandparent was born in the UK. Does that have any effect on our access to government health care in France? Would it make a difference if we first lived in England then later in France?

Hoping for some answers. My e-mail address is [email protected].

Thank you,

Libbie

[LisaEllw]

LAST EDITED ON 26-Jan-03 AT 05:59 PM (GMT)

Hi Libbie,

Try looking at the Healthcare info on the Americans in France site --- http://www.americansinfrance.net/ ; I am not at the stage where I have to think about healthcare in France so I dont know how good it is...


Regarding the UK ancestry:

This seems to only apply to Commonwealth Citizens and allows one to go to Britain to work for up to 4 years (under the new rules I think, before that it was only 2) and then after that one can apply for permanent residency (settlement).

It does not confer citizenship; you have to be a legal permanent resident for 4/5 years (3 years if married to a British Citizen) before applying for citizenship. Citizenship allows you to get a British/EU Passport which is the only way to get to France from the UK with "minimum" headaches. All in all the UK Ancestry route would take quite some time (I am an American married to a British Citizen and none of the immigration processes are particulary easy)...

Links from the Nationality and Immigration Directorate (UK Gov) on entering Britain under UK Ancestry rules

http://194.203.40.90/default.asp?PageId=108

http://194.203.40.90/default.asp?PageId=854


Best of Luck

Lisa



"He who does not Question, Does not Think, He who does not Think, does not Know; He who does not Know, never truly Is." Live and Let Live!!

[Iceni]

We have an American friend in France and he actually holds a British pasport, but because he has never lived in the UK and got an NI number he is not entitled to any of the health care help we get. He uses the French health care system quite a lot as he is not 100% but says that it is far cheaper than the USA where he could not afford health care. He also lives on a restricted budget but manages in France.

Hope that this helps

Di

http://www.iceni-it.co.uk