Can I order glasses online from the UK and have them sent to France?
French prescriptions are usually accepted in the UK
Having glasses sent over from the UK can be tricky
Wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock
Reader Question: When I lived in the UK I purchased my glasses online and had them delivered to my home. Is this still possible now I have moved to France?
While you can buy prescription glasses on several major UK optician websites from outside of the UK, they cannot be sent internationally, to our knowledge.
Major retailers including Specsavers and VisionExpress – who both offer online purchases – do not ship internationally (excluding the Republic of Ireland for Specsavers) and only to UK addresses.
Some other established optician brands including Boots do not offer the option to purchase glasses online, meaning you must get them in-store.
In addition, a ‘buy online and pick-up in store’ option is not offered at most major retailers, which could have been an option if you frequently travel back to the UK.
Read more: Glasses, dentistry, hearing aids – major changes to reimbursement rules proposed
What are my options?
Therefore, purchasing your glasses online is not a sound option, unless you have a trusted UK address they can be delivered to for you to pick up when next in the country.
Several ‘international’ online glasses sites exist, but do not have the name recognition of UK or French high-street opticians, and can be expensive.
Such sites are also not necessarily UK-based even if they make appear so at first glance (for example due to a .co.uk website address).
Opticians in the UK can accept French prescriptions provided they are legitimate and easy to understand – if you have one from a French eye doctor it should be accepted.
This means you can use a recent prescription from a visit in France for your glasses.
Read more: You can now recycle old eyeglasses at many La Poste branches in France
Walk-in eye tests
Otherwise, many opticians offer same-day, walk-in eye tests that come with a prescription that can then be used for a pair of glasses.
If you pick your glasses at the same time as having your appointment, the wait to receive them should not be too long.
Depending on where you get your glasses, it can take between three and 15 working days, with VisionExpress claiming a three to five-day turnaround.
Note that certain features such as lens shaving or bifocals may add more time.
Alternatively, if you are covered by the French healthcare system and have a top-up mutuelle, you can receive a free pair of glasses through the 100% Santé scheme.
