Hi Ann, we purchase our house through the viager system, but are in the unusual position of having vacant possession as the previous owners live in the UK.
We had hoped to have moved here last year or this year, but my middle daughter announced her first pregnancy and things went on hold!
She announced her 2nd pregnancy when we were all in France in June! This is why we are waiting until next year as she’s due mid feb.
Hi Mark,
We are both in 40s so no S document.
We will need to sort out medical insurance.
Will I need to have copies of both my original birth certificate and my adopted one, or just the latter?
I’ve misplaced driving licence and this has reminded me to apply for a replacement, thank you.
Hi Stella, yes it’s been discussed before, but that was a while ago, when I’d not realised the implications of brexit for us!
I am most concerned about continuity of care for kerrianne. Unfortunately her epilepsy has taken a turn for the worse over the past few weeks so she now has 2 daily medicines, 1 which is taken for 3 days twice a month and an emergency rescue medication. Will the gp in France issue her with scripts for these or will she need to see a specialist first?
I’m not sure the gp in UK will give us more than a couple of months supply of them!
We found out on Thursday that she may be having surgery to replace her VNS unit and that will need to be done in UK as they’re not implanting the latest model in France yet and that’s the one she needs.
I think hubby may move to France in jan/feb and ka and I will follow once she’s all sorted out!
If he does this, will it affect his application for Carte Vitale when he comes to uk for her surgery or birth of grandchild, as he won’t have been there for 3 months consistently?
Many thanks,
Karen
When OH arrives here, he will presumably throw himself into getting the house/paperwork whatever… in place… for when the rest of you arrive…
He will need to speak (pretty quickly) with the local doctor here to find out about the meds for your daughter. There are some medications that are (perhaps)outside the remit and need to be authorised by a Specialist… your husband can ask the questions…and find out the answers face to face (armed with all her medical history of course)
Others will chime in, I am sure… but reason tells me that quick flips to UK for such major events… might well be viewed for what they are…
but… presumably it would depend on how long such trips turned out to be… 
(Arriving, dumping the suitcase… just to say “look I was here from *** date”… will not work… and I am not suggesting this is what you are doing… .it is just that Officials will be looking closely to ensure that folk are not “taking the michael”. )
Hello Karen
Epilepsy is on the list of illnesses called Affection de longue durée or ALD although it must be considered grave or serious. This means that once you are all registered with a GP and are in the health system your GP will complete a form to apply for all treatment (including GP/hospital/specialist visits and medication and blood tests and medical equipment) to be free. It will only relate to the epilepsy though so if she has any other health issues this will not be covered so you will need some form of health insurance.
Have a look at this link which describes how it works. In French unfortunately.
Best of luck.
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“This means that once you are all registered with a GP and are in the health system”
Beware, it is the other way around, once you are in the health system then everything is simpler. But you won’t get into the health system until you are paying into it, one way or another. Until then you pay up front and keep all bills.
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As Mandy and Véronique have said… you will need to pay for the health care… either by taking out an Insurance Policy or simply out of your bank account… but… you will have to pay… and it could well be serious money.
A Health Insurance Policy will be costly (perhaps)… but might be worth the investment for peace of mind in the interim between getting here and being accepted into the French Social/Health Service…
Please remember that not everyone gets accepted into the FSHS… you would be best advised to ensure you have the funds ready to pay if necessary…
@fabien might be able to advise/help you with Insurance info…
Your right, can be pricey Stella, I was stuck ‘between and betwixt’ for a few months, health insurance was v’ expensive!
Yep cost me the best part of €7000 for my Hospital stay, you never know what is round the corner.
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Yep, I didn’t mean to mislead anyone.
When I first arrived I had 3 months supplies of drugs from my UK GP - they are not supposed to provide more than that. I registered provisionally with a GP here despite not yet having a social security number, and made an appointment with a new specialist (7 months waiting list) having confirmed from GP that she would refer me. As soon as I had been living here 3 months “in a stable and regular fashion” I could apply to join the health service and register the GP as my médecin traitant (GP). Stable and regular is a slightly vague concept, and not sure where you could get advice on the precise meaning. But if OH can show he is here - with trips of a only a day or two back to UK then surely that’s stable/regular?
So I applied on 3 months + 1 day, and it was processed in a couple of weeks. But as soon as I had applied to join health service GP was happy to fill out the forms to register my ALD and prescribe things for me. I paid for them and claimed them back later once my health application had been processed. She carried on prescribing for me until I finally had an appointment with a specialist - which ended up being around 9 months I think. I’m not sure whether all GPs would do that., but I think it helped that I had my complete medical history with me, had translated a summary, and speak good French. Luckily I had not yet started a drug that can only be prescribed by a specialist on a special medicine d’exception form. . And luckily nothing went seriously wrong in the intervening period.
I tell you my story just to explain that the first few months can be a bit convoluted so it’s worth doing your research first. For example, finding out who would be the most likely specialist and what the waiting time is for an appointment. Although I did that and booked an appointment before I arrived, but when I met him I hated him and would prefer to be treated by the binman than him. So had to start again from scratch. Best laid plans and all that!
Think cover cost me 600 ish (10 yrs ago) for the 3 months before I qualified for the S1.
My hip job was about 15k Mick, all covered by CV and Mutuelle. 
Phew 600 for 3 months… argggghhh… and, of course, would be even more nowadays… 
Hi Karen,
I’m not sure about the birth certificates, nor whether my situation would be the same as yours - I was adopted in my early teens, when my widowed mother remarried and I took my stepfather’s surname. I’ve got birth certificates for both my surnames, but have always used the one with my adopted surname for everything in the UK and France (it’s on my driving licence passport, etc). I used the online service to order a new copy of the birth certifcate with an apostille attached and this has been fine. By contrast, my wife, who was born in South Africa had endless problems with French authoiries not accepting their own photocopies of her birth certificate because the attached apostille covers the margin of the birth certificate.
Re health insurance - the micro entrepreneur system is a possible inexpensive way into the health system - it’s for artisans ,craftspeople and other trades people who are self-employed and earn less than €30K pa. The insurance is arranged through local branches of that particular guild or trade association.
If you don’t already have a European Health card, it’s worth getting one before you leave the UK, although it’s only really intended for visitors to other EU countries. I nearly threw mine away after getting my carte vitale, but discovered that because I’m retired, I’ll continue to need it for visitis to other countries that are in the scheme.
Hope that’s some help
In actual fact you can apply for a Carte de Sejour UE and once you have lived in France for more than 5 years you can get a Carte de Sejour UE Permanent.
That has always been possible but the French authorities do not insist on it.
The main issue will be being permanently resident at the end of the transition period.
However, as things stand at the moment there may not be any transition period as it is increasingly likely that the UK will “crash out” of the EU on 29th March 2018 without an agreement due to Theresa May’s “red lines”.
If you are determined to move to France then the sooner you do it the better, but your personal, family and financial situation will be the main drivers.
Hello David and Welcome to the forum.
You are moving to a lovely part of France.
If you use the search engine (magnifying glass) you will find loads of information.
Please, let us know how your Purchase is coming along…
cheers
Hi Stella
Thank you for your message.
We are just waiting on the fosse report ( done on the 18th July ) !!! Speedy France … Not 
. We can’t wait to be there , like kids in a sweet shop . The fluctuating euro is making us have kittens as we are on a set budget . We plan to move in Feb next year , impossible before . So much to do inc getting our property ready for rental .
Not one to wish my life away normally but I kind of am atm 
David .
Hubby will be paid by a us firm, but will be resident in France with only short visits to the uk occasionally.
Surely this means he won’t pay tax or ni in the uk and will instead pay them in France?
He will pay tax in France but the company which employs him should also be paying all of the many and various social charges that employers have to pay.