Applying for a Carte Vitale

[Lizbeth]

Hello...

My task is to try and suss out how to apply for our carte vitale. My partner (we aren't yet married so we do confusingly have different surnames) and I moved to France about 3 wks ago. I have two children from a previous marriage who are 5 and 7.

My partner works as a freelancer and has YET to sort out paying tax into the french system, but the plan is he will do this asap. He has most of his work from England but will pay tax into the french system once we've seen the accountant.

I have given up full time work and so am a stay at home Mum now and won't be working in France.

I've read LOADS of things from books to online info about applying for this and when we went to the local doctor here for the kids medical certificate enabling them to start school he gave us a form each (not the kids) to go and apply for our carte vitale with his GP stamp etc etc on it.

My question is - as I'm not working here, do me and the kids come under my partners carte vitale as dependents (given that we're not legally married) or do I have to get my own? If it's the latter, how can I do this given that I'm not earning etc etc.

Apologies for so many questions but this is a COMPLETE nightmare to sort out - plus our french I'm afraid is rusty 'A' level albeit we're working hard to get better!!!

Thanks
Lizbeth

[Bevdeforges]

OK, if you had health care coverage in the UK, you should have gotten the EHIC certificates before your left, which will give you reciprocal coverage in France for a few months at least. https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do

Your partner needs to register his business in France under one of the various statuts here (auto-entrepreneur or an EURL, SARL or whatever other options are open to him according to what exactly he does). Normally he should be able to include you and the kids on his carte vitale, but they have been tightening up the regulations lately and you may want to look into PACS'ing if you run into problems.

Are you sure that what the GP gave you was for the carte vitale? It may have been the forms for declaring a "medicin traitant" which is something you need to do.

Check with your local mairie (town hall) to see if they have a representative from the sécu who visits on a regular basis (usually once a week). If they do, go in and see them. They can usually sort out the paperwork and get you set up, or at least tell you what documents you're missing.
Cheers,
Bev

[Barders]

Hi Lizbeth, I am preparing to move to France permanently in the next few months and from I have found/been told perhaps you and your Husband could apply for E106's to cover some of your health care for a while? It depends on the amount of national insurance you have paid in the UK and I am not sure if you have to apply for it before you leave, but might be worth a go? I found them very helpful on the phone and this is a link to the form for information.

Sorry it seems I am not allow to put the internet link in this message! But it is HMRC, then E106, sorry wanted to make it easier!

Bonne chance.

[Lizbeth]

Hi Bev - yes I've just looked at the forms and you're right it's 'Declaration de choix de medecin traitant' - so what's this then and does it have anything to do with the carte vitale process?

Still as clear as mud. However, the fact that there may well be a rep for all these things within our own Mairie's office is well worth investigating. It's a start...

Lizbeth

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by Lizbeth

Hi Bev - yes I've just looked at the forms and you're right it's 'Declaration de choix de medecin traitant' - so what's this then and does it have anything to do with the carte vitale process?

Still as clear as mud. However, the fact that there may well be a rep for all these things within our own Mairie's office is well worth investigating. It's a start...

Lizbeth

OK, the choice of your medecin traitant comes immediately after you sign up for the sécu. Basically you are declaring a doctor who will be your "main" doctor - keep all your records and be responsible for making referrals to specialists.

It isn't absolutely necessary to do this, but if you don't have a medecin traitant, you get reimbursed at a slightly lower rate for all your various medical costs. You also get reimbursed at the lower rate if you go see a specialist on your own, without getting referred by your m.t. (You can see any specialist you want - you only need the referral saying that you should see a certain type of specialist.)
Cheers,
Bev

[Lizbeth]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

OK, the choice of your medecin traitant comes immediately after you sign up for the sécu. Basically you are declaring a doctor who will be your "main" doctor - keep all your records and be responsible for making referrals to specialists.

It isn't absolutely necessary to do this, but if you don't have a medecin traitant, you get reimbursed at a slightly lower rate for all your various medical costs. You also get reimbursed at the lower rate if you go see a specialist on your own, without getting referred by your m.t. (You can see any specialist you want - you only need the referral saying that you should see a certain type of specialist.)
Cheers,
Bev

Ok that's useful. I'll repost when I get stumped at the next post!

[MataMata]

Hello Lizbeth,

Where to start !

To become affiliated to the French health system and get a CV you either have to be in possession of an E106 from UK or working in France for a French company and paying normal employee dues.

To qualify for an E106 you have to have paid UK class 1 NI contributions for 2 of the past 3 complete tax years so for you that would be April 2007 to April 2009. If that applies then you can apply for an E106 which nominally runs from December to January and lasts for 2 years however if you were to apply now it would actually run from now until January 2012, so 2 years and 3 months, after which you would have to take out private insurance. The E106 will cover your children also and if you were married your husband too but as you are not you cannot include him.

Normally you would apply for an E106 a month or so before you leave UK but you can apply any time during it's validity however remember the clock started ticking when you ceased paying NI as per above. Your application for an E106 would be to the DWP not HMRC BTW.

You ask if you can be covered under your partners CV but from what I'm reading I don't think he has one yet does he? Even if and when he does get one, or at least an attestation which is the first step towards it, I'm not as convinced as others that you will be allowed to benefit from it. Unfortunately different CPAM offices seem to apply the rules in their own way so you may need to formalise your relationship with a PACS.

Your partner being self employed in UK will not be entitled to an E106 so until he is properly set up as a business here then he will have to take out private health cover.

Note that unless you both have adequate health cover then you are not considered legitimately resident in France

Although the UK EHIC has been extended in it's range of services and you should have one it does NOT provide reciprocal services nor is it a substitute for proper health cover.

[Salsa]

Originally Posted by Lizbeth

Hello...

My task is to try and suss out how to apply for our carte vitale. My partner (we aren't yet married so we do confusingly have different surnames) and I moved to France about 3 wks ago. I have two children from a previous marriage who are 5 and 7.

My partner works as a freelancer and has YET to sort out paying tax into the french system, but the plan is he will do this asap. He has most of his work from England but will pay tax into the french system once we've seen the accountant.

I have given up full time work and so am a stay at home Mum now and won't be working in France.

I've read LOADS of things from books to online info about applying for this and when we went to the local doctor here for the kids medical certificate enabling them to start school he gave us a form each (not the kids) to go and apply for our carte vitale with his GP stamp etc etc on it.

My question is - as I'm not working here, do me and the kids come under my partners carte vitale as dependents (given that we're not legally married) or do I have to get my own? If it's the latter, how can I do this given that I'm not earning etc etc.

Apologies for so many questions but this is a COMPLETE nightmare to sort out - plus our french I'm afraid is rusty 'A' level albeit we're working hard to get better!!!

Thanks
Lizbeth

Hi.
I called the british embassy in Paris and the gave me the number of a healthcare agency in the UK (sorry I didn't keep hold of it) and they can provide you with the documents needed I think to take to the relevant bodies here. I think they can assess whether you are able to have an E106 form (hope that is the right name as like I said I don;t have the info to hand) that can provide you with healthcare here for maximum of 2 years. I wasn't able to have this as I haven't been living/working in the UK for the past few years so therefore contributions were not enough into the UK system...I know my info is vague but it gives you a few roadsto go down...mine was a dead end due to me living outside the UK for a while so I hope you have more luck !

[Jill Rees]

Hi! Ah fond memories of getting my carte vitale, but the JOY when it arrived at last!!

First it is really important so don't put it off. Take the form the doctor gave you to the Caisse Primaire Assurance Maladie nearest to you (ask at the Mairie of course, as everything.) You will need precise photos of your face denuded of glassess, fringe etc filling the space. lot of photo machines in France ask specifically if it is for a carte vitale. You will need a social security number for France. If neither of you is working, ask for them without delay - again at CPAM
(good advice to me was, go at 8 am to avoid queues)(take a French helper). Send everything off or take it in as soon as you can and filled in exactly correctly or they will send it back. Keep phoning or going in to check whether they have it. I'm not convinced this speeds them up but it made me feel better. You need one each. The children go on yours or his. Before you get your CV they will send an attestation. Do not lose this as you'll need it often for form filling. As soon as you have this, you can claim and get a mutuelle. Until you get your cv you will have to pay up front and claim, although my pharmacie accepted the attestation in lieu of the cv.

You will also need a mutuelle as soon as you can, mine is Prevadies who are super. This will provide complementary health care. The state only pays 35-75 % now and Sarkosi is reducing state support as we speak. 5 days after I got mine I was hospitalised and needed lots of injections and home nursing and god knows what, which would have cost me thousands of pounds. With the CV and mutuelle, it's all free.
my complementary includes full dental and optical stuff too. You will be able to calculate your own needs about this. You will need a French friend and go in to a shop don't try online, you need some friendly lady to help you.

Once you have your CV and Mutuelle, your life will be wonderful, you will have all tests and innoculations and so on, and will feel like royalty everywhere you go. I arrived in France in March, and it took 5 months to sort out. Good luck.

Originally Posted by Lizbeth

Hello...

My task is to try and suss out how to apply for our carte vitale. My partner (we aren't yet married so we do confusingly have different surnames) and I moved to France about 3 wks ago. I have two children from a previous marriage who are 5 and 7.

My partner works as a freelancer and has YET to sort out paying tax into the french system, but the plan is he will do this asap. He has most of his work from England but will pay tax into the french system once we've seen the accountant.

I have given up full time work and so am a stay at home Mum now and won't be working in France.

I've read LOADS of things from books to online info about applying for this and when we went to the local doctor here for the kids medical certificate enabling them to start school he gave us a form each (not the kids) to go and apply for our carte vitale with his GP stamp etc etc on it.

My question is - as I'm not working here, do me and the kids come under my partners carte vitale as dependents (given that we're not legally married) or do I have to get my own? If it's the latter, how can I do this given that I'm not earning etc etc.

Apologies for so many questions but this is a COMPLETE nightmare to sort out - plus our french I'm afraid is rusty 'A' level albeit we're working hard to get better!!!

Thanks
Lizbeth

[Jill Rees]

er yeah you do need a social security number for this and this means you should be working. Get PACsed