Social Security
The European Commission has published a guide entitled "Social Security in the European Union" which is available at the:
D.S.S.-Overseas Branch
EU Office Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne NE98 1YX
tel: 0191 213 5000
Revenu Minimum d’Insertion (RMI)
The RMI is the French equivalent of the British Income Support. You are entitled to claim it if you are 25 years old and when you have a Carte de Séjour. RMI is not transferable to the UK.
Unemployment Benefit
Transferring UK unemployment benefit: If you are entitled to UK unemployment benefit and have been claiming this benefit for at least four weeks, you may continue to receive this benefit for up to 3 months whilst you seek work in France. You should inform, at least 5 working days before you leave, the office where you are claiming unemployment benefit of your intention to look for work elsewhere in the European Community. Your local office will then advise the Overseas Branch who will send you a E303 form which you should take to the nearest ANPE office within 7 days of your arrival in France.
For further details, please contact the D.S.S.- Overseas branch at the address above.
If you are entitled to French unemployment benefit, the reverse procedure is also possible. For further information on French unemployment benefit, contact your local ANPE.
Family Allowance
If you work in France with your family, such an allowance is paid after the birth of a second child and until the child is 20 years old.
You are entitled to British family benefits if the members of your family reside in the UK, provided you are insured in France.
For further information on family benefits whilst in France, contact your local Caisse des Allocations Familiales.
Pensions
Once working in France, you will pay contributions for a French state pension.
From the age of 60, you will have to contact the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Vieillesse (CNAV) in order to receive a pro-rata pension according to the time you have been insured in France.
CNAV
110-112 rue de Flandres
75951 Paris cedex 19
tel: 0033 140 05 51 10
For details on how your contributions to the French pension scheme will affect your British state pension, please contact the DSS Overseas Branch at the address above.
Please note that:
Unemployment benefit is the only transferable benefit. Income Support, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Invalidity Benefit are not transferable. When applying for such benefits in France, a letter from your British Benefit Agency stating that you are not anymore receiving British benefits will be requested.
French Benefits are granted only if you already have a Carte de Séjour.