# Do I need to be unemployed to get on my conjoint's CPAM?



## Angus_123

Hi, first time post. Nice to meet you 👋. Cool forum.

Following a link from this forum  I read on www.cleiss.fr that I apparently have a right to healthcare cover because my wife is French.

I have been tryinh to get attached to my French wife's CPAM/Ameli/Caret Vitale and get healthcare cover. Previously I was on her account at RSI but when she moved to CPAM I lost my healthcare cover.

But today I got a letter from CPAM today said that I need to be unemployed for then to cover me? 

I work for an overseas firm as a consultant, the company does not pay any social security contributions to the French state. I pay my taxes in France where I've lived with my wife for 15 years. 

I've not got any problem with the French language. I just want to check up on what my rights and obligations are.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can guide me on this.

This:






Vous venez résider en France et vous êtes membre de la famille d'une personne qui travaille dans un Etat membre de l'Union Européenne, en Islande, au Liechtenstein, en Norvège ou en Suisse







www.cleiss.fr





Does not seem to agree with this:


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## BackinFrance

If you work for an overseas company then AFAIK you need to register that work in some way in France (there are various options) at least unless you return to your home country to perform all of the work, in which case I don't know what the requirements are. But registering in France should give you access to health cover in your own right.


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## Bevdeforges

Angus_123 said:


> I work for an overseas firm as a consultant, the company does not pay any social security contributions to the French state. I pay my taxes in France where I've lived with my wife for 15 years.


If you are working while physically in France, then you are working in France and you need to be registered with the French tax and social insurances. Either your employer can register as a French employer with no presence in France or you need to register as an "independent" - where you are billing the overseas consultant for your work and expenses (and then you pay the French taxes and social insurances). There are a couple other options, but you probably need to talk to your employer and then possibly also to the CCI about setting up a business entity for yourself.


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## Angus_123

Thanks for the replies. What are the options for registering my activity?

I can think of four, are there more?

Auto-entrepreneur (23% charges and maximum income of 36 500 € including expenses)
Profession Liberal (I looked at this long ago, but as I recall you need to be making Dentist money)
Creating a company (I know nothing about this, but won't the social security contributions be huge?)
Asking my employer to make social security contributions (how much would this cost I wonder?)

Which is best value? What happens when you go over the income of auto-entrepreneur?


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## Bevdeforges

Which is "best" really depends on what business you're in, your personal situation and all sorts of other things. If you exceed the AE income levels (I think it has to be for two years in a row) then you have to convert your business to one of the other forms (usually, but not always, one of the "single owner" business entities).

I think the AE limits have been raised (depending on the nature of the business you're doing). But if you exceed the threshold, you also will become subject to having to charge VAT on your billings (assuming you're in a service industry of some sort). For the normal sorts of business entities, figure on paying a good 40% of your reported profits for "cotisations" (social insurances). Also, under the AE arrangement, the government may question your set-up if you only have one "customer" who exercises control over your working hours or practices. You're supposed to be "independent" if you're an AE - and the easiest way to demonstrate this is to have more than one client/customer.

Your best source for advice would be your local CCI (Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie) where you can find all sorts of information about the various types of business entities that might be appropriate for your particular circumstances. 

This is the website for the CCI in France: https://www.cci.fr/ You should probably contact the CCI in your departement. They all seem to have rather large sections devoted to Entreprises and most offer information about setting up the various types of business entity, including classes, a library of information, individual consulting - not all free, but at very reasonable prices.


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