Bonjour - new to the forum

[Jo & Rich]

My name is Jo.  My husband and I are currently looking into moving to France once he retires. We are not sure where yet but we do like walking, biking, a bit of hiking. I love gardening and watching birds and butterflies. I can no longer tolerate hot summers so a good part of Provence won't work for me. We plan on taking several vacations to explore some areas that we think would work for us.  I'm French Canadian so at least the language won't be an issue but my hubby is American.  Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Sprogster]

Hi Jo,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

As  non EU citizens you have two major

considerations that do not affect other members of the forum who are mostly EU

citizens and that is to stay in France for more than ninety days you will need

a long stay visa and private medical insurance. ( I am presuming when you say

you are French Canadian you come from the French speaking part of Canada, but

do not hold French nationality?)

 

As a retiree you should be

able to obtain a French long stay visa which are aimed at wealthy non EU

retirees, but be aware employment is prohibited and you have to demonstrate

sufficient means to live without the need to work and that you have fully

comprehensive private medical insurance, which can be problematical if either

of you have pre-existing health conditions such as high blood pressure. A more

recent long stay French visa requirement is that you have to undertake a

comprehensive medical.

 

EU citizen retirees moving within

the EU including to France are covered by an EU reciprocal agreement whereby

their home EU country pays the other EU country where they are retiring for

their health care under what is called an S1, subject to them having a

sufficient social security contribution record in their EU home country, which

I think is normally ten years. So even if you can get EU citizenship through

ancestry you won’t qualify unless you have worked in the EU for ten years.

 

For retirees the private medical

insurance issue is a biggy, because once you get north of sixty finding cost

effective insurance becomes increasingly difficult and the development of a

serious health condition can lead to the renewal of insurance being denied or

premiums becoming prohibitively expensive. Hence why in the USA you have

Medicare for retirees and Canada and most of the EU have a government funded

health system.

[Jo & Rich]

Hi,

 

You are correct, I'm from Quebec and don't have French nationality.

Thanks for all the useful information, especially about the medical insurance.  Tourism and immigration are NOT the same  LOL

I realize it won't be easy but with the right preparation, it's feasible.

[Sprogster]

For retirees looking to retire abroad health care is one of

the biggest considerations and often overlooked, as understandably most

countries are reluctant to allow a retiree immigrant to join their government

funded health system that they have not financially contributed to during their

working lives, unless there is a reciprocal funding agreement with the

immigrants home country, as operates within the EU. So retiring abroad is usually

only a practical consideration whilst you have reasonably good health and can afford

to privately fund your health care, unless you are an EU citizen retiring

within the EU.

 

[Jo & Rich]

It makes a lot of sense. Healthcare can get expensive pretty fast.

[PaulT]

Sprogster, just for clarity for any EU national early retiring to France the French authorities are still dragging their heels about the requirement that require France to provide healthcare and not discriminate.

[YCCMB]

Mind you, on the plus side, it'll be a lot cheaper than insurance in the USA...

[NormanH]

[quote user="PaulT"]Sprogster, just for clarity for any EU national early retiring to France the French authorities are still dragging their heels about the requirement that require France to provide healthcare and not discriminate.[/quote]

France does provide healthcare. In common with most European countries however it expects people to have contributed to the specific caisse which covers the costs.

The fact the the UK provides 'free' care, paid for out of general taxation is an anomaly and one which confuses many UK immigrants.

[Jo & Rich]

Norman, Canada also have "free" healthcare and after being abused for so long, it's now a nightmare.

[idun]

Best place to start is your local french consulate or Embassy. They should be able to give you all the necessary information about moving to France and IF it is possible.

[Sprogster]

Jo and Rich, the situation in France is no different in that the health care

system whilst good has become increasingly unaffordable for the government and

is one of the contributory factors to the current French dire economic situation,

as a result of which it cannot keep up with ever increasing demand and standards

of care are beginning to suffer.

Believe me Canada is a utopia compared to the deteriorating economic and worrying

political situation in France, so don’t think the grass is greener on the other

side of the fence!

 

[Jo & Rich]

Sprogster, no worry, I know the grass is never greener, it just looks that way. One has to carefully consider all the variables when thinking of moving.  In my first post, I mentioned that tourism isn't immigration and I believe it.  It's easy to see the fun side of place when visiting but it all changes when living there.  Right now we are considering all of our options, gathering information.

I appreciate all the posts and information.

[Sprogster]

Jo, dare I say a lot of Brits and French would probably jump at the first opportunity to move to Canada if they could, cold winters aside, but as I am sure you are aware Canada has a very strict immigration policy and there is no retiree visa for EU citizens moving to France as far as I am aware. 

London has a very large fast growing French population, as an increasing number of young French professionals move to the UK for better job prospects due to the poor economic situation in France. Curious to know whether Francophone Canada is experiencing a similar influx of French nationals?   

[Jo & Rich]

I'm not sure about the immigrations laws in Canada. If it's like the US, a doctor, lawyer, etc. can easily enter the country, the "rest of them" not so much. Tho here in the USA, millions of Mexicans, Hondurans and other places from the South have crossed (and still crossing) the border and the US government isn't really doing anything about it. A few are being deported but more are entering everyday.  California's health and school systems are greatly suffering because of that. 

In Quebec, my mother told me that to see a doctor, the wait is approximately 8 months. Minor surgeries like tonsils removal can take up to two years.

My hometown, near Montreal, Quebec, is also an option that we are looking into tho the sale taxes is 15% and the winters are long.

[idun]

Sales taxes? In France the TVA is 20% and it is at this rate on most things, with a very very few exceptions. The taxes and fees when buying a property are also very high in France.

[Jo & Rich]

I remember the high sales taxes while in Paris. In the USA, the taxes vary from one state to the other but still a lot cheaper than France and Quebec.

A big minus for us is the US $ versus the Euro $

[idun]

As a tourist in Paris, you could have claimed the TVA back from goods when you left France.

The TVA is the same where ever you are in France.

[Sprogster]

idun, non EU residents can only claim back TVA on goods exported outside the EU and most shops in France now have a minimum spend requirement for them to do the paperwork. Then the processing company who deal with the reclaim take a fee that seems to get bigger and bigger each year. Still worth doing but you don't get 20% back because of the fees charged by the reclaim company, most of which seem to be in Slovenia for some reason!

[idun]

I have seen the signs for getting the TVA back so often, that I has imagined that it would be easy enough to do, apparently not.

Maybe the rich non EU tourists in Paris use it, as from what I have seen on french news, they spend a fortune on luxury goods, or maybe they are so rich that they don't care[Www]

[Jo & Rich]

People wait in line for a good two hours, at the airport, to claim back the TVA.