I received a health certificate from French immigration office – what should I do with it?
Some people moving to France require a medical check
An S1 form gives access to French healthcare
BearFotos/Shutterstock
Reader Question: I recently came to France as a UK state pensioner and registered my S1 form for my healthcare. I then received in the post a form to be filled in with a doctor. I sent this off and received in turn a certificate from Ofii saying I meet the health conditions to live in France. Do I have to register this certificate somewhere?
It sounds to us that you have done everything correctly and there is nothing further for you to do at present.
You say you came to France with an S1, which is a UK or EU document allowing a person to register with the French healthcare system and for their care to be paid for by the country that pays their pension. It needs to be submitted to the local Cpam state health insurance body.
We believe, however, that receiving a form to fill in with your doctor was related to you having ‘validated’ your visa after arrival via the Interior Ministry’s ‘Anef’ website and not the fact that you registered the S1 with Cpam at around the same time.
Skipping the medical check
After online 'validation', most non-EU citizens who move to France are asked to visit the premises of the local Ofii immigration service for a medical check in the first year, after which Ofii issues a certificate which will be among the documents needed to apply for a first residency card to stay in France. There are exceptions to this requirement, such as holders of passeport talent visas for certain highly qualified workers.
A specific procedure for Britons, however, sees them skip the in-person medical check with Ofii, in a bid to avoid a backlog of post-Brexit work for Ofii staff.
Instead they are sent a form to fill in with their GP (médecin traitant) in France.
Ofii then sends them the certificate which they will need later for a residency card if they are staying in France longer than a year.
You do not need to do anything with it immediately.
So, simply keep the document safe. It does not need to be registered anywhere.
