Hello Nina,
Under the universal health protection scheme (PUMa), anyone who works or resides stably for more than three months in France is entitled to have their healthcare costs covered.
If you are joining your spouse who is covered by the universal health protection scheme (PUMa) as part of a family reunion, you may be exempt from the 3-month residence requirement. If your spouse is a French national, the person joining them in France may be their spouse or partner, a dependent minor child, an ascendant, descendant or collateral relative under certain conditions (living in your household and devoting themselves exclusively to housework and the education of at least two dependent children under the age of 15), and a long-stay visa will be issued. For non-European nationals, family reunification is only possible for the spouse (marriage) and dependent minor children of the insured person, either on arrival in France and affiliation of the insured person on the basis of activity, or to join the insured person who is working in France and has been staying there for at least 18 months (12 months for an Algerian national). This is known as the family reunification procedure, and it is then possible for family members to obtain a long-stay visa or a visa marked "family reunification".
The waiting period does not apply to family members accompanying or joining an insured person of French or European nationality to settle in France, who will be affiliated to them on the basis of activity. There is no obligation to be married in this case.The insured person's spouse, cohabitee (certificate and proof of cohabitation) or the person to whom they are linked by a civil solidarity pact or the foreign equivalent are considered to be family members.
To register with your local primary health insurance fund (CPAM), you must complete form S1106 "Demande d'ouverture des droits à l'assurance maladie" and send it to your fund, together with the following documents:
- a photocopy of a valid residence permit for nationals of a country outside the European Union (EU).
- an original birth certificate or a certified copy translated by a sworn translator (NB: depending on the country where your document was issued, you may or may not need to provide an apostille. For more information, go here),
- a copy of your passport,
- a French (or foreign) bank statement, proof of address in the applicant's name or in the name of a spouse already living in France,
- a marriage certificate translated into French.
Contact details for your caisse are available on ameli.fr, under "Adresses et contacts".
Have a nice day.
