Can I get a UK S1 form as pensioner in France?
Anyone in the country who claims a UK state pension is typically eligible to receive an S1 form
Each year France bills the UK for the cost of providing state healthcare cover up to the usual French rates to the UK’s S1 holders in France
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Reader Question: You wrote about a reader who had social charges levied on his foreign pension income refunded after he confirmed he had an S1 form and that the UK therefore paid for his healthcare.
I have a UK ‘government service’ pension and a UK state pension but have never had an S1 and have been paying social charges on my state pension. Can I apply for one? Does it matter I worked for a few years in France?
Anyone in France who claims a UK state pension (or a state pension from another EU country) is typically eligible to receive an S1 form from the country paying the pension.
Each year France bills the UK for the cost of providing state healthcare cover up to the usual French rates to the UK’s S1 holders in France.
The main exception to this rule is if you are also in receipt of a French pension (eg. from having worked in France), in which case France, rather than the UK, should pay for your healthcare.
If you have claimed a French pension but wish to renounce this you should contact your French pension provider about this. The fact of having worked in France should not, alone, bar you from the S1 system.
Assuming you are not claiming a French pension, you can apply for an S1 from online using your UK National Insurance number.
