Will being refused a carte de séjour affect healthcare rights?

If you are a British pensioner, your right to a carte vitale is based on having an S1 from the UK, who provide your pension. There is no reason why being turned down for a residence card should affect this at present, however after Brexit we do not yet know if the British government will compensate for loss of this EU system for Britons in France or not.

Your carte vitale is liable to be cancelled if, following Brexit, the UK is neither an EEA member nor has managed to negotiate any viable reciprocal deal for Britons in France.

Hon. Avocat Gerard Barron from Boulogne-sur-Mer said in that case, lacking a carte vitale – or alternative private health insurance – may be a reason for your right to stay in France potentially being reviewed.

Otherwise, the basic state ‘Puma’ system (which can involve annual payments at a proportion of income) is based on status as a legal resident in France. In this case, the outcome of the Brexit negotiations with regard to the rights of Britons would be significant.
On a strict application of EU law, EU citizens are legally resident long-term if they are working or if, in the first five years, they have healthcare cover and resources sufficient so as ‘not to be a burden on social security’, sometimes estimated for over-65s as the level of the Aspa pension top-up, currently €801 per month or for a couple €1,243/month (or for working age people the level of RSA income support). After five years of legal permanent residence, EU citizens are deemed to have ‘permanent’ residence rights.

Mr Barron said your not claiming benefits would be irrelevant as it is not your record that counts but an assessment of whether your remaining in France is likely to give rise to future costs. All this may not be relevant after Brexit when Britons will no longer be EU citizens (unless ‘associate citizenship’ status is agreed).