EU citizens have difficulty obtaining French digital health cards
Paperwork required to sign up for the service is available to residency card holders and French citizens, but not others in the EU
A digital version of the French health card is now available in around a quarter of all French departments
Image Point Fr / Shutterstock
An Irish Connexion reader has flagged up an issue with the digital version of the carte Vitale health card, which limits the ability of non-French EU citizens to use the smartphone application.
The carte Vitale app, an alternative to physical cards, has been progressively rolled out, and so far is available to use in a quarter of departments.
Ameli.fr (the online French health space) accountholders who live in an eligible department should receive an email inviting them to join.
Read more: Digital carte Vitale begins in many areas: where and how will it work?
Retired journalist Robert Evans, who lives near the Swiss border in an eligible department, said however that EU citizens are effectively barred from the service, as signing up requires paperwork that they do not need to live in France.
However, French citizens and Britons with a post-Brexit residency card are eligible.
Mr Evans, 86, said: “It’s annoying. I eventually found, via a chat on the Ameli website, that other EU citizens were complaining they could not do this because you must have a [specific] French document. A driving licence is not acceptable."
“As EU citizens in France for 25 years, we are disadvantaged compared to Brits who have their post-Brexit documents – so, at least for some, there is a ‘Brexit dividend’.
The physical cards are still valid for the moment, but that could easily change.”
Will carte Vitale rules change in the future?
GIE Sesam-Vitale, which manages the digital cards, confirmed that, for now, you need a French passport or ID card/residency card, though it said “certain European documents will work in future”.
Other than the convenience of having your card available on your phone, the app allows you to consult records of recent health expenses.
In future, it will also offer the possibility of delegating use to a third party, such as grandparents who are looking after your child.
We asked the health insurance authorities if physical cards will be phased out but have not received a reply. No plans have been announced.
