Category: Healthcare
How to Retire to France from the US: Visas, Healthcare, Taxes & Cost of Living
Thinking about retiring to France from the US? You’re not alone. It’s possible for Americans to retire to France, but the process is more structured than many expect. This guide explains exactly how US citizens retire in France, including the visa you’ll need, income requirements, healthcare access, taxes, and realistic monthly budgets. It’s written specifically…
Understanding French Healthcare (Part 2): How Mutuelle Insurance Works
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in HealthcareUnderstanding French Healthcare (Part 1): Using our new Carte Vitale The public healthcare in France isn’t free. After living in France for three months, residents qualify to join the healthcare system (Sécurité Sociale) and receive a Carte Vitale. But the Carte Vitale only covers up to 70% of healthcare costs. The rest is either paid…
New French Healthcare Taxes Expected for Visitor Visa Holders
American Retirees are getting targeted specifically by French regulators on this one. While the new tax will likely apply to anyone from a non-EU country (except those like the UK with bilateral healthcare agreements) on a VLS-TS visiteur visa, the heat is specifically on Americans like us. The goal is to plug the €23 billion…
Understanding French Healthcare (Part 1): Using our new Carte Vitale
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in HealthcareUnderstanding French Healthcare (Part 2): How Mutuelle Insurance Works One of our biggest drivers for leaving the US and immigrating to France was access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. We wanted to live somewhere where the quality of care was equal to or greater than what we had access to in America, but at a price…
Applying for the Carte Vitale and accessing the French Healthcare System
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in HealthcareThe Carte Vitale – the Holy Grail of life in France. Access to the healthcare system, reimbursements on medical expenses, acceptance into French society, reaching self-actualization. Well, at least half of those things are true. But being reimbursed for medical expenses is a huge milestone, especially for us Americans where affordable healthcare is not something…
The French VLS-TS Visa Validation and OFII Medical Exam
Finding an apartment, moving in, and getting everything set up were the hardest parts of moving to France for us so far. By comparison, the rest of the process has been quite straightforward. VLS-TS Visa Validation French visas valid for 6-12 months require online validation. Presumably, this is to prevent these visas from being used…
