When moving to France to live from the U.K.or other EU country, is there a time gap in your medical coverage?

Question

For those who have moved to France, did you have to wait to get coverage under the French system? If so, is there a way to avoid this? What do you do in the meantime?

I'm talking about people coming to France to live and work, not those retiring or those with holiday/second homes.

Please include helpful sites for this situation.

http://www.frenchentree.com/fe-health/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=18851

Answer 1

No gap - when you leave the UK you have to get the right documents and keep them,  that french doctors will fill up in case....



   Hospitals are supposed in case..... to accept you, then get in touch with british health administration -

   etc

Answer 2

If you want to switch from NHS to Sécurité Sociale because  you are working in France, you have to get in touch with your local NHS and ask for the procedure. If you have a French employer with an HR department they will be responsible for helping you register with the French Social Security system. In France you can have an additional medical coverage called Mutuelle which reimburses part of what the Social Security won't, but this depends if you employer is paying for one or not. You can of course get a private additional coverage.

Even if the paperwork hasn't been done on time, the French health service will take you in charge. There is an agreement between UK and France that allows people of one country to be treated in the other, a sort of exchange system.

Different countries have different agreements so there's no one size fit all answer. For other countries you have to ask around.

Answer 3

If there's an emergency any hospital should accept you anywhere. In other case, there will be no gap,what you need to do it's to make sure that the medical coverage that you have will be flexible for wherever you go.It happens to me when I went to Paris from USA,I had to buy a different insurance from Blue cross Blue shield to use over there,cuz mine wasn't international.So good luck with everything,I hope that you won't have to go thru a lot.