I've been teaching English for 20 years in Italy, I'm now teaching in France. I have acquired many students and I would like to do the auto entrepreneur thing but I haven't got a carte vitale. Is that important ?
Suzanne’s advice is spot on.
By registering as an AE (now known as Micro Entrepreneur - ME) you will also be issued a social security number as you need one for the health system also.
Your provisional SS number may be full of zeros, this will be because you are etranger (foreign).
It all takes time, but once you apply, your SIRET number (business number) should come through quick enough and you can start working immediately, and then work on paperwork etc for carte vitale.
Hopefully RSI will send you a temp paper carte vitale which you use but some doctors can only use the plastic card (they use a machine to read the card) so you will receive a brown form when you pay your 23euros, and also the pharmacy provide similar forms, and you then claim back from the Mutuelle company you choose (for State cover, not top up - sometimes they can be the same company).
Hope that helps. There is an amazing FB group called “ladies in business in France” where you can ask specific Qs about your process. Welcome to our world!
Your Carte Vitale has your social securtiy number on it. Do you have a French social security number?
It is so long since I came to France, I can't remember how long all that stuff took. I feel sure the procedures will have changed in any case, with online registration etc. However, it is usually better to talk to a real person, as government websites in France are not exactly user friendly. If you've been in Italy, your experience of bureaucracy will have you well trained. I find the telephone help lines are helpful. Do you speak French?
Hi Tracey - when you register for Auto-Entrepreneur and that is your sole activity in France then you will be entitled to healthcare as you will pay your social contributions on your income. The Carte Vitale is the little green card which you use to claim back your healthcare bills. You will get an attestation (probably RSI) once you've registered as AE. It can take a while for the green card to come but in the meantime you just use your attestation to claim back your expenses. This doesn't replace a mutuelle top up insurance policy. You may want to take out one of these to claim most of your expenses back as the state cover is I belive only about 70% on most items.