Please, please someone advise me because I'm ridiculously confused/depressed/upset by my attempts to get a Carte Vitale.
In February, I declared auto-entrepreneur. Did it online, no problems, promptly received my Certificate d'inscription, Notification d'affiliation au regime auto-entrepreneur, NNI, SIRET No. Account No.
All good.
Went to our local RSi office at Perigueux in March, with my affiliation and birth certificates/EDF bills, passports etc. had a lovely chat, they were really helpful and when I asked if I needed to assermentee translate my birth certificates for the Carte Vitale, I was told "no you speak reasonable French, it's just a few different words, so do it yourself".
Still all good, almost great.
So, I copied the birth certs, marriage certs and (UK) passports for myself, my wife and our 2 children, translated them, then sent them to RSi.
A month passed, then, in April, I received a letter from the RSi asking for:
1. Un extrait de date de naissance avec filiation (indication des noms et prenoms du pere et de la mere)
2. Un piece de identite en cours de validite - basically they wanted a carte de sejour.
So, I phoned them up and said "look" I've sent you this info and I'm an EU citizen, I was told by Perigueux office to translate it myself.
To which they said that I had to assermentee translate and abide to the rules of France if I wanted a carte vitale.
I then had a plan, so I went to Perigueux office again and explained the situation. A different lady told me that the lady (colleague) who had previously advised me "had no right" to tell me to translate on my own - God forbid that I should change February to Fevrier - and literally shouted at me to abide by the rules of France if I wanted a Carte Vitale.
In May, I received another letter from RSi demanding a carte de sejour ou de carte de residence, so I went to the Mayor and said please tell them that I'm an EU citizen and that carte de sejours aren't applicable to me? They then stamped the letter, wrote that I was an EU citizen, lived and worked here. I sent that back to RSi, recorded delivery.
Then in June, I received a letter now only demanding the birth certificates translated by an assermentee translator.
So, 150 euros later, I sent these back to RSi, recorded delivery. Strangely the address on the receipt that arrived a week later in my letterbox was different to the address I sent the certs to, but hey, at least they received them.
A month ago, I phoned up to ask what on earth is going on and they the told me to speak to RAM (who seem to share the same letter headed paper) so I phoned RAM and they were really apologetic, said they had my information and that they would issue an attestation to confirm that I was eligible for a Carte Vitale until I received my Carte Vitale, which wouldn't be long. Of course this would only cover me and not my family.
Great, it's just the waiting game and true to their word, I've received that attestation.
However, I've also just received a letter from RSi/RAM (same names on the paperwork) asking for......
1. Une copie de L'extrait d'acte de naissance original -assermentee traduction.
2. l'apostille (document fourni avec l'acte de date de naissance pour les ressortissants des pays signataires de la Convention de la Haye 1961 et demande a l'autorite competente de L'etat d'ou emane l'acte)
3. La legalisation (tampon certifiant l'authenticite des signatures apposees sur''acte d'etat civil)
4. Translated Marriage certificate
5. A carte de Sejour.
So...I phoned them up and asked an assermentee translated WTF? And they told me that if I wanted a Carte Vitale, which is a very important and honoured document, then I should abide by the rules of France.
I can't do it anymore. Why am I paying my cotisations? Why am I declaring? Why did I even bother?
It's such a genuinely scary situation not having any health cover. I paid (alot of) tax and (alot of) NI in the UK for all my post-grad life, I had hoped to carry on here.
I am not going through these hoops again. I think, next trip will be to the Pole Emploi and I'll just sign on in the hope they'll give me a Carte Vitale. Seriously.