Readers share experiences adding their carte Vitale to the new app

To the Editor,

I received a notification this morning that my application for a digital version of my carte Vitale had been approved. I checked and it was indeed activated within 48 hours.

I have to agree with some of the feedback on The Connexion website. It makes little sense to ask the applicant to allow access to their microphone – it is clear that this is unnecessary – but I am confident it was quite secure. 

I can confirm that the scanning of my titre de séjour was very glitchy, even though I had perfect wi-fi. This process took around 10 minutes, which was too long for the less patient.

What bothered me more was that for the next stage it did not allow you any time to align your face for the photo. It randomly captured an image which you could neither view nor approve, so it was much worse than using a passport photo booth. 

My resulting weird photo in the app reminds me of the recent Paddington film where the bear stumbles and slams his face against the glass in the booth (like mine his photo was also approved – in his case by HM Passport Office). Never mind!

More importantly, although I now have the card in the app, will the staff at my local pharmacy have the necessary hardware to scan it, or will they still want the physical card? If the latter, it does beg the question what it is all for?

G.K., Charente

To the Editor,

I just tried to put my carte Vitale on the app but after it read my social security number it stopped and referred me to the website for eligibility criteria.

I think I realise the issue: I do not have my own Assurance Maladie account as I am currently dependent on my Pacs partner, who reached UK state pension age before me.

I have my own Espace Santé but until I get an S1 form in my own right, I evidently cannot have the app version.

So, in essence, anyone who is dependent on another person’s S1 will not have their own Assurance Maladie account so cannot use this, I think.

A.P., by email

Editor’s note: To digitise your carte Vitale, you are required to enter a code sent to the email address linked to your online Ameli health account. If you do not have an online health account, you must contact your insurance provider to set this up before continuing. 

In your case, however, it seems this is not possible until you have a S1 form in your own right. You could potentially use the primary account holder’s email address – in this case your partner’s – to receive the code, but at the time of writing we have not been able to confirm this. 

We are making further enquiries for a follow-up article. If any other readers have experienced this issue please contact news@connexionfrance.com.

To the Editor,

I want to say that I had a seamless experience adding my carte Vitale to the application. Both my spouse and I completed the whole process in less than five minutes with no issues. 

It picked up our titres de séjour and after an overnight verification we both received emails to sign in on the app and voilà! the digitised card was there. 

It is nice to have a backup to the physical card so I think it is worth the small effort to follow the very clear instructions and do it.

C.K., by email

Have you tried using the digital carte Vitale app when accessing healthcare in France? Let us know at letters@connexionfrance.com