# Permanent move to France with long term illness



## Beaconjon

Good afternoon all. 

My wife and I are considering a permanent move to France to retire. My wife has MS which requires medication to manage it. We are just wondering what the potential issues could be regarding the French health service providing this medication. I can imagine it could be pretty complicated but We've got to start somewhere

We're very much at the start of this plan so any info would be greatly received.

Cheers.


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## Crabtree

When you say retire do you mean with a state pension? or early retirement? If the former then you need to check with the DWP whether you/your wife will be eligible for an S1 which will mean Britain is paying for your health care.In any event the french health service will treat MS as a chronic condition which means that your treatment will be free for anything connected to this but be prepared for a barrage of tests different meds etcI have no idea how the french treat MS so I cannot help in that respect However the first thing you need to do is to check out applying for a Visa to move to France which will mean that you will need to meet the minimum income threshold about 1600 euros monthly pre tax plus you will need private health insurance to cover you for everything until you can join the french state system.This may well be the stumbling block 
Also you need to consider what support network you will be leaving behind and how you will be able to cope in France I am talking about friends relatives etc


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## Beaconjon

Many thanks for the response.
It would be early retirement (pre-state pension) so like you say, we would need to ensure all the funds were in place.


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## Crabtree

So you would be regarded as an "inactif" in France which means that you would have to wait 3 months before joining the French state system so you need to look into ensuring that your private health insurance covers you for more than this period The good news is that as you have a pension you will not be required to pay directly into the french health system but you are strongly advised to take out a top up insurance but these are not allowed to take pre existing conditions into account 
Check also whether your pension will be taxed in France or the UK under the tax treaty


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## BackinFrance

Beaconjon said:


> Many thanks for the response.
> It would be early retirement (pre-state pension) so like you say, we would need to ensure all the funds were in place.


I suspect it will cost you a fortune, and will be very difficult to find, acceptable interim private health coverage for your visa application.


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## Beaconjon

Crabtree said:


> So you would be regarded as an "inactif" in France which means that you would have to wait 3 months before joining the French state system so you need to look into ensuring that your private health insurance covers you for more than this period The good news is that as you have a pension you will not be required to pay directly into the french health system but you are strongly advised to take out a top up insurance but these are not allowed to take pre existing conditions into account
> Check also whether your pension will be taxed in France or the UK under the tax treaty


 Again, thanks for the info. 
I presume there is a minimum "income" via pension to enable residency in France?


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## ccm47

The 3 month wait to join the health system means that your UK consultant/ doctor can give you sufficient medication to bring with you, thereby possibly reducing costs. All holiday makers are allowed a 90 day absence, so it's nothing strange, but can be a lot of bulk to pack.
My Google search did not give any up to date information on the acceptance rules for a UK prescription in France, perhaps somebody on here knows?
Also bring a detailed letter from your consultant/doctor detailing your medical history, as it can help save you those tests which may be repeats of those you have already undergone. You will need to ensure that your new doctor lists you as a patient who is on the ALD 30 list:Définition de l'ALD once you have joined the system.
You need to get a médecin traitant somewhere in your locality who will then give you the name and contact details of a consultant with whom YOU make the appointment (no waiting for months for a date and time). When going for the first consultant appointment you have to get there well beforehand in order to set up a dossier at reception, that can easily take 20 minutes at a busy time of day. Expect your consultant to keep more or less to time. I once had a 4 p.m. appointment, for which I appeared to be being kept waiting, nothing unusual in my book. Eventually after everybody else seemed to have gone except for the consultant I knocked on his door: he was horrified as he'd run to time but his secretary had failed to tell him of my arrival.
Finally try to find translations of all your medical problems and treatments well ahead of time. Depending on where you are English may not be in common use, especially amongst nursing ancillaries, and if somebody thinks they want to practise English you need to be aware their translation may not be quite right: I was once told they were going to take a slab of my bone marrow for examination, hence a quick panic on my part, the reality was a tiny slice for a lab slide. Tranche covers slices and slabs.


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## Bevdeforges

ccm47 said:


> My Google search did not give any up to date information on the acceptance rules for a UK prescription in France, perhaps somebody on here knows?


They aren't supposed to accept foreign prescriptions - though they will sometimes advance you a few days' worth of treatment if you have a local doctor and promise to bring them the new prescription "tomorrow" or as soon as you've gone in to see him or her. But be aware that you often find that the French medical establishment uses different medications for some conditions than elsewhere.

You will need to have private insurance if you aren't already receiving your pension - or be able to produce the S1 from the UK health service that shows that the UK will be paying for your cover. If you need to get a visa to move to France, then you'll need a full year's cover (i.e. the full term of your visa), which can get awfully pricey for someone with a "pre-existing condition" like MS. You may want to see if you can find a policy that you can cancel with a month or two of notice once you're enrolled in the French system.

And don't forget that you will need a mutuelle (top up insurance) to go with the French national system cover. Although once your wife is covered for her chronic condition, you will still need the top up cover for anything not directly related. (Trust me on this - I was wondering why we had gotten a very fine mutuelle when my husband is 100% covered for his chronic condition, when lately he has been in and out of hospital for a totally unrelated ailment. Whew!)


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## BackinFrance

Sadly your wife's condition will inevitably progress and you need to take that into account, especially as it is not possible to aknow how fast that might occur.a 

You will also both need to speak good French because you cannot expect French doctors and other health care workers to do so.

Your wife has a serious and complex condition for which there is no cure.


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## BackinFrance

Traitement de la sclérose en plaques


Un traitement de fond prévient les poussées de sclérose en plaques. La prise en charge thérapeutique et la rééducation sont adaptées à chaque personne.




www.ameli.fr





This is what Ameli says about treatment in France.


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## 255

@Beaconjon -- Your question: "I presume there is a minimum "income" via pension to enable residency in France?" The French generally use their "minimum wage," SMIC, as a base. Currently, !,603.12 EUR a month Smic (salaire minimum de croissance) . It changes over time. This is the amount you both will need, so 3,206.24 for the two of you. The requirements are not sacrosanct, so if your intended destination is a relatively low cost area, you might get by with less, whereas a more expensive local, like Paris, might require double. Certainly, if you owned your own home outright and had substantial financial assets saved that would play in your favor. Bottom line, France would expect you to be self-sufficient financially. Cheers, 255


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## Bevdeforges

Just a small caveat - it's not always a matter of a retired couple having to show pension income of two SMICs. As 255 says, they do make allowance for certain "economies" of co-habitation and retirement. But in general you need to understand certain "guidelines" - like, for renting a place to live, you're generally expected to be able to cover your rent by 3 times (i.e. to leave you something to live on after the rent is paid). Same goes for a mortgage if you plan on buying a place. You can check property listings online - both to get a sense of the prices and to pick up the basic vocabulary surrounding housing.


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