Many of us were dubious about the Oven Ready best ever deal ..

If you are a UK pensioner - receiving the state old age pension - you are entitled to an S1 form which means two things - the U.K. pays your healthcare if you live in a country which has a bi- lateral agreement with the U.K. for healthcare and the second is that you continue to be eligible to free NHS care whenever you choose. I use the French health system except for my eyes - I choose to remain seeing a dr in U.K. for check ups purely because they have records/ photographs/scans going back some 20 years. Works quite well.

All that sherry growstuff, all that sherry....

And day trips to Cádiz.

Alegrias1

See what I mean, fallacious arguments and believing what the politicians told you.

And experts. Just different ones is all.
We all pick a side and vote accordingly. As you did (and will).
That’s life.

I have a friend who lives in Jerez. Guess what? There’s ex-pats there too. Can’t get away from the buggers. At least the ones I know pay resident taxes in Spain.

Sí, lo sé. Pero probablemente hablen español y si no, podría evitarlos.

Welshwife

Dinahmo - two things - we pay €25 when we go to see the Dr - or were you meaning after you have been reimbursed? We did not have to pay anything at all to get our CDS - from Perigueux - we found them to be very efficient.
I think Kali said about people living quite easily in the EU while we were also members but what we have found is that quite a few people never registered to pay income tax in the EU country - they are often the ones having a problem now.

It might be your age - as I said we are 74 and 75. Occasionally our doctor didn't charge us and he told my DH that it was because he could!! Our doctor is retiring and we went to see a new one last week and he only charged us 7.50 euros.

We got our CDS in Perigueux and it was very efficient. You could be right about not being charged. It was back in January or February and my memory isn't that good now. Although we completed separate applications they managed to give us adjacent appointments but ended up being seen together. It was all much easier than we expected.

An acquaintance here, with a second home, has decided to apply for residency and hasn't found it too difficult.

We didn't have any problems with changing our driving licenses either but that was a few years ago.

We knew of one person living under the radar here. (The brother of a friend) He'd left the UK several years ago because of large tax liabilities but he died in 2019 I think. We heard of someone who had not been in the system who'd had a heart attack and was airlifted to Bordeaux. He died in hospital and his wife later received a bill for around 24,000 euros but that could be apocryphal.

We did know someone who, whilst living here was receiving medical treatment both here and in the UK. She had cancer and flew back regularly for treatment. She was told at the English hospital that should not be doing this and that she could be fined. She decided to return to the UK to continue her treatment but she died about 1 year after her return.

Alegrias1

All that sherry growstuff, all that sherry....

And day trips to Cádiz.

Except I don't drink alcohol. It's the orange trees which attract me.

Google Translate is bluddy wonderful too.

Alegrias1

Sí, lo sé. Pero probablemente hablen español y si no, podría evitarlos.

Curiosamente, realmente entendí tu español. a veces, aunque Google es maravilloso.

At least I make the effort though, eh Urmistongran?

Dos cervesas, por favor

Sorry, we should stop. Some people get upset if they see things on here in a language other than English.

Why the ‘eh’ ?? You continue to be goady don’t you?
I think you’re highly intelligent.
But very judgemental with it.

I agree, let’s call our spat quits. Others reading all this must be sighing by now.

Just don’t understand why the snide unnecessary comments on these sites. Some of us didn’t get the opportunity to learn a foreign language, some find it very hard many enjoy trying.

When did you go to school? Was a foreign language not always compulsory at school? I am surprised.

I totally understand that learning a language can be challenging for some, however the foreigners that come to live in the UK are expected to learn, and most of them do, and very well. And they often even have an alphabet or way or writing which is totally different, and it must be difficult ++++ for them. There is truly a 'British exceptionalism' present - 'ah well, they all can speak English, so why should we bother'.

But Lincslass, if you regularly spent significant amounts of time in a foreign country, if you had a holiday home there, or if you emigrated and lived there- would you not think it would make sense to learn the local language? Not just to get by ordering in a restaurant, but to communicate with locals, try and understand how it all works, the culture, and, tbh, as a form of respect?

Once you do speak the language well enough to go beyond just 'getting by'- even if you make mistakes- your whole relationship with locals changes, and they truly appreciate you making the effort, taking a genuine interest. I have no intention of going to live in Italy, but we go regularly, and it is amazing the difference speaking some Italian makes.

My husband is a scientist, and only scraped his French 0'Level- but he has earned so much respect from everyone here for making the effort from day one- people love his British accent, and forgive all his mistakes, correct him gently, or pull his leg. If he had made the decision to just shout louder in English, he would have never made the friends he has here.

I always remember a German business man who came to speak to my 6th Formers. He was quite witty and when a student asked him about the difference speaking German for a British business when conducting transactions. He smiled, and replied 'We are very happy and competent to speak English to you when we are selling. When we are buying- it is a different matter. We are much more likely to award a contract to a business that is prepared to negotiate in German.'

Same goes with Estate Agents, local labour and artisans, solicitors, etc, etc. If you speak the local language- you are on a different level altogether- so will contracts prices and much more.

Welshwife

If you are a UK pensioner - receiving the state old age pension - you are entitled to an S1 form which means two things - the U.K. pays your healthcare if you live in a country which has a bi- lateral agreement with the U.K. for healthcare and the second is that you continue to be eligible to free NHS care whenever you choose. I use the French health system except for my eyes - I choose to remain seeing a dr in U.K. for check ups purely because they have records/ photographs/scans going back some 20 years. Works quite well.

Which is perfectly legal if you have S1. Many pre official retirement expats who lived more or less under the radar jumped back to UK for treatment all the time. They never de-registered from their GP (illegal) and used a relative's or second home address (illegal). You can only have S1 if you are over 65, or if you are a dependent of someone over 65- and only if you have your UK pension as sole income, no other pension, and no paid work in the foreign country.

BUT:

The S1 system is to continue after Brexit for those who are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. This should include yourselves and your friends, as long as they are established as residents in France before the end of 2020.

so not possible for those wanting to move now!

More from the Express today

'Human rights deprived!' Expat disaster over homes bought in Spain before Brexit
BRITISH expats in Spain who don't want to become tax residents and bought their homes before Brexit came into force are facing disaster, with one expert ranging it is a "serious human rights infringement".

hmmm NO, this is apparently what some of you voted for.

The main criteria for the S1 is the state old age pension and you are allowed to have other pension payments. You get the S1 because you paid NI contributions for the qualifying term.
Yes people not resident in EU before the end of 2020 do not qualify for the same rights as those who have been resident prior to that date. Some second home owners have applied for residency rights but if they are not registered for income tax etc the claims are considered fraudulent - I have seen tales that some people have fallen foul of these conditions as the French begin to follow trails. Will be interesting to see how it all pans out as I also saw a hint that there may be some special Carte for second home owners but seen nothing since the first report.

''The main criteria for the S1 is the state old age pension and you are allowed to have other pension payments. You get the S1 because you paid NI contributions for the qualifying term. ''

yes, you are allowed other pensions providing they are from UK only. For instance if you have worked for some time in another country, and get a pension for this, you do NOT qualifiy for S1- same if you are over 65 but choose to continue to work or have B&B, etc.

Kali2

More from the Express today

'Human rights deprived!' Expat disaster over homes bought in Spain before Brexit
BRITISH expats in Spain who don't want to become tax residents and bought their homes before Brexit came into force are facing disaster, with one expert ranging it is a "serious human rights infringement".

hmmm NO, this is apparently what some of you voted for.

Golly.
We bought our tiny Spanish home just over 17y ago.

Ought we to be worried? And if so, why I wonder?
Everything was done through a recommended solicitor and notary.
He’s still working at his practice.
I’m sure if it was a concern in any way Pedro would have contacted us.

You are not resident there though, are you? These are people who stay longer than the 90 days currently allowed- in fact live there all year but chose not to become tax residents- and try and get the best of the UK and Spain ...

Kali2

Welshwife

If you are a UK pensioner - receiving the state old age pension - you are entitled to an S1 form which means two things - the U.K. pays your healthcare if you live in a country which has a bi- lateral agreement with the U.K. for healthcare and the second is that you continue to be eligible to free NHS care whenever you choose. I use the French health system except for my eyes - I choose to remain seeing a dr in U.K. for check ups purely because they have records/ photographs/scans going back some 20 years. Works quite well.

Which is perfectly legal if you have S1. Many pre official retirement expats who lived more or less under the radar jumped back to UK for treatment all the time. They never de-registered from their GP (illegal) and used a relative's or second home address (illegal). You can only have S1 if you are over 65, or if you are a dependent of someone over 65- and only if you have your UK pension as sole income, no other pension, and no paid work in the foreign country.

BUT:

The S1 system is to continue after Brexit for those who are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. This should include yourselves and your friends, as long as they are established as residents in France before the end of 2020.

so not possible for those wanting to move now!

We took time out and moved to France in our 40s. It was not possible to be in both systems. When I told our GP in the UK that we were going abroad to live he said he would be more than happy to "see" me to discuss anything but not to refer me or write prescriptions. We used our UK address for other business such as bank accounts and the childrens' education, but that wasn't cheating either system or going under the radar.
I'm hoping that if we choose to retire to France in 5 or 6 years to our French property we might be able to avoid a lot of jumping through hoops as we already have a small pension there and have paid taxes and cotisations. We employed an accountant who worked for a French company. Fingers crossed.

True Kali2 thank you. We’ve always done things properly and abided by all the rules. I couldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t ... I’m such a worrier!
?

Yes, the point is that the people I mentionned did NOT tell their GP they were moving abroad, and did NOT de-register as per the Law. And did all sorts of others things to avoid taxes on both sides.

Just depends how it was done. Did your children stay in the UK for their education? I am confused about this comment.

The day of reckoning is definitely coming for norty people. Digital systems and technology are catching up with those in their 70’s and over who gamed the system. I have zero sympathy for them. They’ve had more than a good run for their money. Time to pay the piper.

Agreed- and yet the tabloids think it is all sooooooo unfair of bad, nasty EU!