Is insurance from a GHIC health card sufficient for visiting second home in France?
Health cards provide ‘medically necessary’ coverage
Healthcare requirements can vary depending on the length of your stay
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Reader Question: Do I need health insurance to visit my second home in southern France? I have a GHIC and I assumed this would be enough.
This depends on what you need the medical coverage from the GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card) for.
If you are travelling to visit your second-home as part of your 90/180-day rolling visiting rights to the EU, no additional medical insurance is obligatory for Britons to travel, although it is recommended.
Your GHIC covers you for medically necessary treatment at the same rate a French citizen receives it – for example 70% of a standard-rate doctor’s appointment (not all doctors charge standard rates).
If you wish you can buy additional medical insurance to top up the elements that are not state-insured in France, for treatment in certain private clinics, and for elements such as mountain rescue or repatriation.
This is advised by the UK government in its travel advice for France but is a personal choice.
You cannot obtain a standard ‘mutuelle’ French-based insurance to top-up your GHIC coverage to 100%, but travel insurance for short trips usually contains a health element. It is worth reading the small print to see what is included in different policies.
Rules can depend on visa you want
If applying for a visa to visit France, TLSContact, the company that manages visa applications for Britons, says that a GHIC can be accepted as proof of insurance in some cases.
For example, if applying for a VLS-T visa (a six-month visa which cannot be renewed in France) the GHIC is accepted as proof of insurance and no further insurance policy is required for the application.
You will need to show proof that you hold a valid GHIC – and that it is valid for your planned time spent in France during your application.
However, if you are applying for a VLS-TS visa (a visa that lasts more than six months) you need to prove that you have comprehensive private health insurance covering the entire duration of your stay.
It is also worth noting that a basic ‘travel insurance’ policy is unlikely to be sufficient in this case and it should be dedicated health insurance.
