Trying to get through the bureaucracy to get the Carte Vitale
Prerequisites:
My partner (we are concubins for french) has been living in France for more than 6 months and has a 1-y residency card. He is working in the UK (travels between two countries) and is trying to apply the carte vitale here.
We submitted the application and now(2 months later!) received the “Questionnaire “Recherche de droits” ressortissants europeens inactifs” that needs to be filled in and supplementary info should be sent as well.
So the papers ask:
Beneficiez-vous d’un formulaire E104/S040.
Q: As I understand it’s the statement of the national ins contributions in the UK. Does it mean that we need to get one? What stands behind this question
“Si vous benefisiez d’un regime d’assurance maladie d’un Etat de l’EU -> Merci de Fournir une photocopie de votre formulaire S1”.
Q: I’m trying to find info about this S1 and looks like it’s needed if the person is retired, that he is not. Can you please advise why this is asked by CNAM
my main concern is that they’ll strike him off somehow from UK NHS records. Therefore when he travels back to UK he won’t be covered there. Can you please clarify if having carte vitale doesn’t affect his rights to the UK health system
You can only be in the social security system of one country. So yes, if he is in the NHS then he can’t be in the french health system except as a seconded worker. For example if his UK employer has sent him to France. If that’s the case then he can get a “worker’s S1” which allows him to join the french health service without paying cotisations.
Otherwise you can be asked to provide a letter from the UK which says you aren’t entitled to NHS care before they will let you join the french health service.
In general once people are resident in france and join the health service they get a CEAM card which covers them for health when travelling in other european counties. So really that is not an issue.
You say he has a 1 year residency card. Does that mean he is not european? As that could also be complicating matters as the rules are different for non-europeans. But if he is resident here then you are aware there is a limit to how much time he can spend in the UK?
The E104 form is probably trying to establish his social security history and eligibility for benefits as he is presumably or working age but has no employment here?
Thank you very much for the reply!
Just to clarify:
He is British, and résidency card is cover up for Brexit outcome(was not possible to get it for longer period) . We intend to reside in France if that happens
He has CEAM, but that covers up to 6 months in another country. Thus applying for carte vitale seems like a way forward …
Not sure now if we should proceed with that at all…?
I’m confused. If he is spending more than 6 months in the UK then he is not a french resident, so would not be likely to be accepted for a carte vitale or extension to his residence card.
Otherwise the CEAM card covers normal length trips, and is renewable. Although I don’t quite understand how he has a CEAM card and not a carte vitale?
I wonder whether you are trying to do something that isn’t really possible? I think it could be that he is actually a UK resident, and just a regular visitor to france. This shows how you can work out whether you are still a UK resident.
I know this isn’t the question you asked in the first place, but a lot of things flow from the first decision of where you actually are resident. And then where you pay your taxes!
As Stella says, he shouldn’t be applying as an economically inactive person if in fact he is economically active, ie working for a living.
A person who lives in one EU country and works in another is termed a “cross border worker” or a “frontalier” and EU rules make special provision for their healthcare. You will find all the details from google but here is a place to start:
Cross border workers belong to the social security system of the country where they work and pay income tax and social security contributions, and that country also covers their healthcare in the country where they live. But you do have to inform the authorities in the country where you work that you live abroad, and obtain the necessary forms.
Whether this arrangement will continue after Brexit or not, is anyone’s guess.
He needs to contact HMRC and explain the situation to them. He may be told to use his UK issued EHIC card for medical treatment in France, or he may be sent a form by the UK and told to take it to CPAM and get a carte vitale, sometimes people seem to be told one thing and sometimes the other, I have no idea what the deciding factors are. Either way he can’t apply directly for a carte vitale because France is not responsible for his healthcare if he works in the UK. What CPAM needs in his case is confirmation from the UK that any healthcare costs he incurs in France, will be refunded to CPAM by the UK.
Hope this helps.
Odd that he has managed to obtain a residency card without first having to clarify his status in France and produce the appropriate paperwork! I wonder what status the Préfecture thought he had when they issued the tds.
Actually, thinking about this and re-reading Jane’s comments, it occurs to me that the deciding factor could indeed be whether or not the UK considers him still resident, on the basis of his work pattern and where his time is spent over the course of the year. If he meets the UK residence criteria and he doesn’t meet France’s residence criteria there’s not a lot he can do about it. You can’t pick for yourself where you would like to be considered resident, it’s decided by international treaties and if it’s unclear then it’s up to the tax authorities to study all the factors ad make a decision. But you can influence that decision by carefully arranging your life so as to tick all the right boxes.
Yes, it always states on the card what kind of titre it is.
I don’t know what type of cds frontaliers are issued with. They may have their own specific category. I presume it gives them the right to work in France. But saying that, probably very few of them actually have one since by definition they are EU citizens so why would they bother. Obviously the vast majority of frontaliers nip across a border between two countries on the mainland Continent, rather than crossing the Channel.
