People who are going to apply for a long-stay visitor visitor to France, they must have a good private health insurance policy for the entire duration of the stay.
This is one of most common reasons for rejection of long-stay visitor visas. So, you should avoid the regular travel insurances.
What should be covered by the policy?
The insurance policy must cover all the hospital and medical expenses including social assistance in France.
- The coverage should be a minimum of 30,000 EUR. Anything less will be rejected.
- It should cover all the expenses related to emergency care, hospitalization, ambulance transport, scans, surgery, out-patient treatment, medication, repatriation assistance, personal liability, death, etc.
- Regular travel insurance policies will be rejected.
Duration of the coverage?
Long-stay visas are normally issued for a duration ranging between 4 to 12 months. So, the insurance should cover this entire period.
- The coverage should start from the starting date of the visa.
- It should be a single policy for the entire duration of the stay. For example, If you are going to stay for a year but purchase a 2 x 180 days policy, it might be rejected in most cases.
- If possible, you can choose the monthly payments option instead of the yearly subscription. So, you will have the option to cancel the policy, when you get the French government social security coverage.
- You can apply for the social security number only after completing 90 days in France.
- However, the processing duration is usually 4-5 months but can be longer too. In some exceptional cases, it has taken a year for some people.
- If your insurance policy allows the conversion to a French mutuelle, it can be very helpful later.
Where to purchase the health insurance?
The following information has been sourced from actual travel experiences, expat groups, and other public sources.
