E106 holders who can join the CMU

The French government has confirmed that holders of E106 forms on November 23 last year - or before - are eligible to join state healthcare via CMU.

This comes as welcome news to the many people whose forms have expired and who were unsure as to their entitlement to join the state healthcare system. The government's original “circular” at the end of November 2007, outlining its decisions on the expat healthcare issue, stated that there was no “automatic” right for any E106 holders to join the CMU, unlike people who were already members of it on November 23 who could continue membership. Anyone whose E106 was expiring would only be entitled to joint the CMU on appeal if they could prove a unforeseen life change - an "accident de la vie” which made it impossible for them to get private insurance.

However, following petitioning from the expatriate community in France, the government has changed its stance and extended the right to join the CMU to all those who had, or had previously had, E106 forms and were resident in France on November 23. Health minister Roslyne Bachelot confirmed the change in a letter to British ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott. Dated January 23, the letter stated that the minister wished to: “on the one hand keep in the CMU those EU citizens who already belonged to it on November 23 – the date when the circular came into force – and to permit access to the CMU to inactive EU citizens who held an E106 at this same date.”

Spokeswoman for the Social security Directorate Stéphanie Gaillard has since confirmed that this represented a new right for all E106 holders as of November 23, to join the CMU.

This has now been further confirmed by a change to the relevant section of the “Question and Answer” section of the government website dealing with the circular, entitled “Can E106 holders automatically join the CMU when their forms expire?” The previous entry gave a “no” response but this has now been changed to state that people who held, or had held, an E106 in November can join the CMU if they wish. The Ministry web address is www.securite-sociale.fr

The “accident de la vie” stipulation will continue to apply to those who come to France in the future, or who have arrived here since November last year.