{"id":607829,"date":"2025-12-02T17:29:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/607829\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T17:29:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:29:17","slug":"british-expats-in-france-face-paying-for-healthcare-as-lawmakers-to-close-loophole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/607829\/","title":{"rendered":"British expats in France face paying for healthcare as lawmakers to close loophole"},"content":{"rendered":"

French politicians have closed the loophole that currently allows British pensioners to access the country’s public healthcare system without charge.<\/p>\n

The proposals passed through both chambers of parliament during recent Budget discussions and would require foreign retirees from outside the European Union to make minimum payments for their medical coverage.<\/p>\n

The French Government has backed the initiative, meaning the changes could take effect as early as next year.<\/p>\n

Under the amended legislation, only non-EU nationals who neither pay taxes nor contribute to other welfare programmes in France would face the new mandatory charges.<\/p>\n

The exact amount of these contributions has not yet been set, with the Government expected to determine the figure at a later stage.<\/p>\n

The existing rules permit non-working individuals from countries outside the EU to gain access to France’s public health system through a relatively straightforward process.<\/p>\n

Those holding long-stay visas who can demonstrate annual income exceeding \u20ac23,000 and possess private medical insurance become eligible for a carte vitale after residing in France for three months.<\/p>\n

This universal health card grants them access to publicly funded medical care.<\/p>\n

Once they obtain the card, these foreign residents are able to terminate their private coverage and rely on the state system.<\/p>\n

The arrangement has proved particularly attractive to American retirees in recent years, drawn in part by the country’s medical services.<\/p>\n

\"Pensioner<\/p>\n

France has moved to close a loophole letting non\u2011EU pensioners access public healthcare for free<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

British pensioners receiving the UK state pension are expected to avoid the new charges because of a reciprocal healthcare arrangement established after Brexit.<\/p>\n

Those with S1 forms, which allow the British Government to cover their medical costs in France, would likely remain exempt from mandatory contributions.<\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Gernigon, the French MP behind the proposals, confirmed that British nationals holding S1 documentation should not be affected by the incoming rules.<\/p>\n

However, the protections do not extend to all UK citizens living in France.<\/p>\n

Britons who retired before reaching the current state pension age of 66 and support themselves through private pensions or personal savings would fall outside this exemption.<\/p>\n

These early retirees would face the same new payment requirements as American and other non-EU pensioners.<\/p>\n

\"Expat<\/p>\n

Many expats have made the move to the south of France<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

Mr Gernigon has framed the policy shift as an issue of parity between countries. <\/p>\n

He said: “It is a matter of fairness. If you are a French citizen and you move to the US, you don’t have reciprocity, you don’t benefit from free social security”.<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged the wider financial pressures facing the state.<\/p>\n

He said: “In France, we have a health insurance system that is unique in the world, and is surely the best in the world. That is why we are in financial difficulty”.<\/p>\n

France is currently working to reduce its budget deficit to five per cent of GDP by next year, the worst fiscal position in the eurozone.<\/p>\n

Mr Gernigon noted that revenue from foreign contributions would not resolve the funding gap. He said: “This is not what is going to fill the hole in the social security budget”.<\/p>\n

\"MEAURING<\/p>\n

Government statistics from 2024 show that more than 8,400 Britons applied for first-time residency permits in France,<\/p>\n

| GETTY<\/p>\n

While the precise contribution level remains undetermined, he suggested it would still represent a saving compared with private medical insurance in the United States or elsewhere, which he estimated at between \u20ac300 and \u20ac500 monthly.<\/p>\n

Government statistics from 2024 show that more than 8,400 Britons applied for first-time residency permits in France, compared with 13,500 Americans.<\/p>\n

An estimated 148,000 British nationals currently reside in France, though some calculations place the figure higher.<\/p>\n

The situation differs from arrangements in the UK, where French citizens with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme can access NHS care freely.<\/p>\n

Non-EU nationals applying for British visas must pay an annual health surcharge of up to \u00a31,035.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"French politicians have closed the loophole that currently allows British pensioners to access the country’s public healthcare system…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36,105,1232,617],"class_list":{"0":"post-607829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-money","13":"tag-pensions"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115651160674824520","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}