Interlude #1

I know I said I would continue my post on what's hot and what's not in Andalucia, but since my original intention for this blog was to record progress on the moving to France front, I will just pop in a small, very serious (!) comment about how things are progressing (ie. slowly but surely).

Firstly, I forgot to mention before that Hubby is now also unemployed, having finally finished handing over his technical stuff to the next geek to play with. This means (a) that we really have to continue with the plans - can't back out now (help!!), and (b) that we can start to get down to the serious stuff like form-filling, handing in the notice on our house, tax returns, considering how we're going to physically move our junk, and of course, the dreaded packing.

We started working on the form-filling bit earlier this week, and here's what we found....

Social services and health care
We have read / heard that when going to France it is best to get every type of form or certificate you could possibly need just in case French beaurocracy demands it. So with this in mind, we have just completed the following form for HMRC:

CA3916 - use this to obtain an E104, E301 or E205 (we don't need this one) certificate.

E104 - shows insurance for sickness and maternity purposes
E301 - shows insurance for unemployment purposes

We will also be requesting an E106 to cover us for healthcare until we're employed (and if not, for up to 2 years after we leave the UK). Phone the Medical Benefits dept of HMRC 2 weeks before you leave the UK with your address in France and a definite date of departure.

You may have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This covers you for up to 6 months in case of a medical emergency, but not after this.

It all seems quite complicated really but there are a number of places to go for information and advice:

HMRC Medical Benefits - 0191 218 1999 (for queries regarding E106 and EHIC)

HMRC Non-Residents - 0191 225 4811 (for queries regarding other forms that ma be required).

These forms can be found on the HMRC website, which also has some useful information and contact details for various sections of HMRC.

In addition, there are a number of handy books around. I found this one a handy starting place.

Will let you know how it goes with the forms, ie. will we get what we want / need from HMRC, problems or pitfalls, and if we actually need them when we get to France.

Serious bit over for the time-being.