Once in France you will need to have healthcare insurance and there are 2 possibilities for this:
For self-employed:
- Pay cotisations through your work to cover you for the French Carte Vitale system. If these amount to less than (approx) €4000 a year then you may have to pay a PUMa cotisation (Protection Universelle Maladie)
Inactive early retirees:
- Private health insurance
- PUMa cover - this is the state health cover and involves payment of 8% of income over a certain ceiling (€9993 in 2018).
It is important therefore to calculate whether PUMa is more advantageous than an annual private insurance policy.
If you are of normal retirement age:
- If someone is in receipt of a state pension then they should currently get their health cover through the S1 form. This would provide the 70% of the usual reimbursement which could then be topped up with a mutuelle.
The S1 form should be taken to CPAM who will organise the carte vitale.