# What kind of health insurance policy is required for the first three months after moving to France?



## BoilingFrog

Hi all,

as we are making the preparations for our move to France in June I am still struggling to find clear information as to exactly what private health insurance policy I need to have in place for the 3 months prior to being able to register in the French health system.

Most info I am finding says either that I need this (with no links to providers of this specific type of insurance) or are general Schengen holiday type insurance policies, which are unsuitable.

My understanding is that if, when I apply for French nationality, I am found not to have had this insurance in place on arrival, my applcation will be refused. So I am anxious to avoid falling foul of this.

(My wife was caught out by this requirement in the UK when she moved here and became a full time student, despite 5 years in the UK she is ineligible to apply for UK citizenship as she lacked this insurance on arrival).

If anyone has detials of a qualifying policy/provider they used I would be grateful to hear of it.

Thanks


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## Bevdeforges

Will you be applying for a long-stay visa for France? Or are you moving based on you or your spouse having EU nationality? It makes a difference in many cases, both as to the specific type of insurance required and the duration of the policy you'll need.


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## BoilingFrog

Oh. I was under the impression that I needed to apply for a long stay visa, regardless of the fact my wife is a French citizen. However, I did hear some conflicting info on this.

I entered my info on the French visa site which then led me to make the application, but perhaps this was an error?

I have applied for a one year visa and have the appointment to submit docs and my passport is booked for next month.

Is this in fact not required due to my wife's status then?

She has not lived in France for many years, but has maintained her info in the French register (our marriage and our child, who holds a French passport).

We will initially be living with her parents and we have a mairie stamped letter of hosting to this effect.

I will continue to work in Norway, but she will not be working for some time until we are more settled.


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## Bevdeforges

OK - sorry - with several folks asking about moving to France I sometimes can't keep the situations straight. If you're married to a French national, you will definitely need a visa, as the spouse of a French national. But the good news is that this is probably about the closest thing there is to one that is a sure thing as long as you have all the paperwork in hand.

(The spouse of an EU national category does NOT apply to someone moving to the EU country their spouse is a citizen of - national immigration law applies.) 

Does the website you used to apply for your appointment not give any indication of the requirements for the health insurance? I found this page from TLS on the subject: Travel Insurance
Basically you should be able to get cover that meets these requirements from any larger international insurance company - like AXA, Allianz, Swiss Life, etc. 

If you are going to be working in Norway, this may complicate things a bit - though you may want to ask your employer if it would be possible to be paid through their French branch or payroll system (which would include cover in the French health care plan).


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## BoilingFrog

OK, I think the point I was confused on is, in my mind I am moving to France, hence travel insurance seems inappropriate. If my home is now France, how can repatriation insurance work?

However, I assume that in fact, as I am a visa (albeit a long stay one) I am assumed to still have a home outside of France and therefore_ I am travelling in France_. At least until I become resident etc.

So, I do in fact have a travel insurance policy through my employer that would surely be sufficient to meet this requirement.

Now it is a question of getting the necessary paperwork to prove I have this cover.

And I also need to find out whether the work policy covers my fmaily as well, and if not, what they need to do to meet the requirement.

This is a bit like whack-a-mole!

I just had a fairly heated discusion getting certified copies of docs at the post office where my wife's unmarried name on one doc and married name on the other were regarded as two names and hence each required a fee to be paid.

I actually think that is straightforward sex discrimination.


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## BackinFrance

BoilingFrog said:


> Oh. I was under the impression that I needed to apply for a long stay visa, regardless of the fact my wife is a French citizen. However, I did hear some conflicting info on this.
> 
> I entered my info on the French visa site which then led me to make the application, but perhaps this was an error?
> 
> I have applied for a one year visa and have the appointment to submit docs and my passport is booked for next month.
> 
> Is this in fact not required due to my wife's status then?
> 
> She has not lived in France for many years, but has maintained her info in the French register (our marriage and our child, who holds a French passport).
> 
> We will initially be living with her parents and we have a mairie stamped letter of hosting to this effect.
> 
> I will continue to work in Norway, but she will not be working for some time until we are more settled.


Your wife under the current rules will need private health insurance for 3 months. Not sure about you, except that you won't be covered by the French system before your wife is covered.


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## Peter_E

This private health insurance is good value and I have recently had to make a claim for emergency surgery and they paid promptly





Health Insurance for Foreign Residents in France EFE(np) - ACS


Comprehensive health insurance for foreigners living in France from 3 to 12 months. Three different options to suit your needs and budget. Click here.




www.acs-ami.com


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## Bevdeforges

BoilingFrog said:


> I just had a fairly heated discusion getting certified copies of docs at the post office where my wife's unmarried name on one doc and married name on the other were regarded as two names and hence each required a fee to be paid.


Slightly off topic, but the UK is one of those countries that requires a formal "name change" when a wife takes on her husband's family name. France is far easier - your "legal name" is always your given name at birth. If a spouse wishes to use their spouse's family name, it becomes their "nom d'usage" (if they choose to use it) - otherwise they just keep on using their birth name. Makes life so much simpler.


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## BoilingFrog

Thank you for the recommendation. I have now read elsewhere that what I thought was the case is correct. A normal travel insurance policy is not technically sufficient for the visa requirement, although often people are apparently 'getting away' with having only this type of cover. 
A full private health insurance policy, for the duration of the associated visa, is the technical requirement, so to avoid any possibility of issues, I have taken the 1 year policy you linked to.

I am not hopeful, but if I am able to get into the French healthcare system before the year is up, I will try to get a refund for the unused months of the policy.


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## Bevdeforges

BoilingFrog said:


> I am not hopeful, but if I am able to get into the French healthcare system before the year is up, I will try to get a refund for the unused months of the policy.


Don't forget, though, that the French national health cover only reimburses for a portion of your health care costs. The figure quoted is usually around 70%, though the exact reimbursement varies by the service or item. It's also a possibility to "use up" the remaining few months on a private health policy to delay setting up a mutuelle policy (i.e. the top up to what the national cover reimburses). Depending on the policy, payments for some particular items may be more generous than some mutuelles. Plus, it gives you a bit of time to survey the market for mutuelles before you take your decision.


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## Peter_E

Here is a link to get mutuelle quotes online. Haven't used them, so cannot recommend but gives you some idea of the costs


SFN - Medical


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## Greenfoot

Hi BoilingFrog & anyone else who has more wisdom than I

Based on your recent health insurance-based queries, I'm hoping you can help me from tying myself in knots. Like you, I will be applying for a long-stay visa and am trying to work out the health insurance quandary. I'm stuck on this issue:

You need to show proof of having cover for the whole 12 month stay
You need to show this at the visa interview - I'm hoping to be able to get an appointment as soon as possible, ideally 2.5 months ahead of move
However, all of the insurance companies I've contacted so far won't sell a policy more than 8 weeks in advance

...am I being a bit dim and missing an obvious solution? 😩 How did you go about it?

Are my only options to either apply for a visa that will start before I can physically get to France or if I buy a policy that starts early but can be renewed - would that be accepted?

Thank you in advance for any help.


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## BoilingFrog

The specific question regarding insurance didn't come up for me. Perhaps as I got a spousal visa. Are you certain proof needs to be shown in the visa interview though? When you get to the end of the GovVisa application it should summarise your application and it will specify exactyl what papers you need to produce.

(BTW TLS can produce certified copies so you don't need to get these, as I did, from the post office, just take the originals and they will copy and certify them at TLS).

If so, from what you've said, then yes, stupid as it seems you would probably need to have your insurance start early relative to your planned departure date, however, at the TLS interview you can change the proposed date, so if that allows you a bit longer, then you can do that.

I had stupidly left a date in April as my planned departure to France date, for a TLS meeting in May! It was no problem to change the date to June though.


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## Greenfoot

That's really helpful, thank you. Going on my dummy application test run, it does come up in the list of evidence required (proof that the policy is in place and has been paid for), so we might just have to buy a policy that starts early.

Good to know you were able to change your date 

All the best with your move to France.


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## JayBee1

Greenfoot said:


> That's really helpful, thank you. Going on my dummy application test run, it does come up in the list of evidence required (proof that the policy is in place and has been paid for), so we might just have to buy a policy that starts early.
> 
> Good to know you were able to change your date
> 
> All the best with your move to France.


We had to have the schengen 1 year insurance in place for our visa application. When you do your application, pick a reasonable date close to when you are leaving. If when you actually leave, your schengen visa insurance has a different date, just call them up and they should change the dateto the exact date. Most, if not all, will reimburse you if and only if your visa is denied. You would have to show them proof. The visa center just needs to have proof that you have it... good luck!


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## Greenfoot

Thank you very much, JayBee1


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