Social Security and Health Agreements between Jersey and France
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Part One - Introduction
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There is a Social Security agreement between Jersey and France to protect your right to benefits when you move from one country to the other. This leaflet explains your rights and responsibilities under the agreement.
Part Two - Contributions
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People going to France
If you are going to France, except for a holiday, make sure that you tell us the date you are leaving Jersey. When you return to Jersey you should call in and re-register with us.
Working in France for your Jersey Employer
If you are going to work in France you will remain insured under the Jersey scheme if:
- you are already insured in Jersey; and
- you are sent by your Jersey employer to work temporarily in France; and
- your job in France is not expected to last for more than 12 months.
If the above conditions apply, both you and your employer should keep paying Class 1 contributions as though you were working in Jersey. Contributions will not have to be paid to the French scheme. To avoid getting a demand for contributions from the French Authorities, your employer should ask us for a certificate which proves they are paying into the Jersey scheme.
If your stay in France is unexpectedly lengthened, this arrangement can carry on for another 12 months. Your employer should apply to us, telling us the new date your stay will end. They should apply as soon as they know that you will be staying longer than 12 months.
Special arrangements for certain groups
There are special arrangements covering Social Security for:
- people employed on any ship, vessel or aircraft registered in Jersey or France;
- people who travel because they work for organisations that transport goods or passengers by rail, road or air;
- people in the government service of either country
For more information about these special arrangements please ask the Jersey or French Social Security Authorities. Their addresses are in Part Six.
Other employment in France
If you do not remain insured under the Jersey scheme, and the special arrangements in the previous section do not apply to you, you may have to pay contributions to the French scheme. For information about Social Security in France you should contact the French Social Security authorities at the address in Part Six, or the local Caisse Sociale.
If you were employed and paying Class 1 contributions before going to France, your Jersey employer should send the contribution schedule to us at the usual time. Please remember to tell us the date you left Jersey.
People who go to study in France
You are normally insured under the French scheme for medical, sickness and maternity benefits, provided you have paid the appropriate contributions.
Self-employed or non-employed in France
If you have been self-employed or non-employed in Jersey and have been paying contributions here, please remember to let us know the date you intend to leave the Island.
As a self-employed or non-employed person you may not have to pay contributions into the French scheme. However, if you remain in France, you should contact the local Caisse Primaire de Securite Sociale within six months of paying your last contribution in Jersey.
People coming to Jersey
If you are coming to Jersey, except for a holiday, make sure that you tell the French Social Security Authorities the date you are leaving France.
Working in Jersey for your French employer
You will remain insured under the French scheme, and contributions will not have to be paid to the Jersey Scheme if:
- you are insured in France; and
- you have been sent by your employer in France to work temporarily in Jersey; and
- your job in Jersey is not expected to last for more than 12 months.
Your employer should get a certificate of continuing liability from the French Social Security authorities to show that they are contributing for you under the French scheme. This should be done as early as possible.
If your stay in Jersey is unexpectedly lengthened, this arrangement can carry on for another 12 months. Your employer should apply to the French Social Security authorities as soon as they know that you will be staying for more than 12 months. They should give the new date that your stay will end.
Other employment in Jersey
If you do not remain insured under the French scheme, and the special arrangements previously explained do not apply, you will have to pay Jersey Class 1 contributions as soon as you start work as an employee.
Self-employed or non-employed in Jersey
You should ask us as soon as possible about whether you have to pay contributions. If you are self-employed or non-employed you will have to pay contributions after you have lived in Jersey for 6 months, but it may be to your advantage to pay earlier. There are special provisions to excuse you from paying contributions if you have low earnings or are over pension age.
Please check with the Employment and Social Security Department in Jersey.
Payment of voluntary contributions
It may be beneficial for you to pay voluntary contributions to either Jersey or France. If you would like further information, please get in touch with the appropriate Social Security Authority. You will find the addresses in Part Six.
Part Three - Benefits
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Benefits covered by the agreement
The Jersey benefits are:
- Invalidity Benefit;
- Sickness Benefit;
- Maternity Benefit;
- Accident Benefit;
- Old Age Pension;
- Widows' Benefit;
- Death Grant
The agreement also covers the similar benefits of the French Social Security Scheme.
If you are receiving any of these benefits in Jersey and you intend to go to France, please talk to us well before you leave. We will tell you how this will affect the payment of your benefit.
Whilst you are receiving benefit you must tell us every time you change your address.
Unemployment Benefit
There is no unemployment benefit in Jersey. Contributing to the Jersey Social Security Scheme does not allow you to claim unemployment benefit in France.
Invalidity Benefit
If you receive Invalidity benefit in Jersey you may still qualify if you go to France providing you meet certain conditions. There are similar rules for people receiving Invalidity Benefit in France who move to Jersey.
If you go from one country to the other and claim Invalidity Benefit there, your insurance in the country you have left and any Sickness or Invalidity Benefit you received there may be taken into account.
You cannot receive Sickness Benefit in one country and Invalidity Benefit in the other for the same illness and the same period. If you would be entitled to both, you will receive benefit from the country in which your illness began.
Sickness Benefit and Maternity Allowance
People going from Jersey to France
You can be paid Jersey Sickness Benefit or Maternity Allowance in France if you meet the normal Jersey conditions, and:
- you remain insured under the Jersey scheme while working in France; or
- the Jersey Social Security Department allows you to go to France to be treated for an illness which began before you left Jersey. Normally, this means treatment that you cannot get in Jersey.
Seasonal workers
A ‘seasonal' worker is someone who:
- normally lives in France;
- comes to Jersey to work for a Jersey employer in a job of a seasonal nature; and
- the job lasts no more than 8 months.
If you are a seasonal worker who is receiving Jersey Sickness Benefit or Maternity Allowance and you return to France, you can receive the benefit for no more than 13 weeks from the date you leave the Island.
If you are not entitled to Jersey Sickness Benefit or Maternity Allowance in France, but you have become insured under the French scheme, your Jersey Insurance may help you qualify for French Sickness and Maternity Benefits.
If you normally live in France and you return there because of an illness or disablement, you can get Sickness Benefit under the French scheme if:
- you have already been insured in France;
- you were doing insured work in Jersey; and
- the illness or disablement began within 6 months of your coming to Jersey.
Any Jersey contributions you have paid will be counted toward your claim.
People coming to Jersey from France
If you remain insured under the French scheme while working in Jersey or are temporarily in Jersey, you may be entitled to French Sickness Benefit or Maternity Allowance. The conditions are similar to those for people going to France.
If you are not entitled to French benefit and are paying contributions into the Jersey Scheme, your French insurance may help you qualify for Jersey Sickness Benefit or Maternity Allowance.
If you normally live in Jersey and you return here because of an illness or disablement, you can get Sickness Benefit under the Jersey Scheme if:
- you have already been insured in Jersey
- you were doing insured work in France; and
- the illness or disablement began within 6 months of your going to France.
Any French contributions you have paid will be counted towards your claim.
If you are entitled to both Jersey and French Sickness Benefit or Maternity Allowance for the same period, you will receive benefit only from the country in which you were last insured before you were entitled to claim.
Maternity Grant
Payment of Maternity Grant in France
We can treat your claim for Jersey Maternity Grant as if you were living in Jersey. We will do this only if you, or your husband, are contributing to the Jersey Scheme while in France or if you do not have French contributions. While you, or your husband, are paying Jersey contributions we will treat you as if your baby was born in Jersey.
If you claim under the French Scheme, your own or your husband's Jersey contributions will be counted as long as you or your husband are paying French contributions.
Payment of Maternity Grant in Jersey
If you or your husband have been paying Jersey contributions since you last arrived in Jersey, your contributions in both countries can help you qualify for the Jersey Maternity Grant.
Entitlement to both French and Jersey Maternity grants
If you would be entitled to a Jersey grant and a French grant for the same pregnancy, the grant will be paid only by the country in which you had the baby.
Accident Benefit (Jersey) and Industrial Injuries Benefits (France)
Payment of one country's benefit in the other country
Jersey Injury Benefit and Disablement Benefit are paid in France and French benefits for industrial injuries and diseases are paid in Jersey.
Claims for Benefit
If you have an accident while working in France, and you are insured under the Jersey Scheme, you are treated as if you had the accident in Jersey. Your claim will be dealt with under the Jersey Scheme.
If you are working in Jersey and are insured under the French Scheme, any claim for an industrial accident or disease will be dealt with under the French Scheme.
In other cases your claim will be decided by the country in which you are employed. There are special rules to cover people who have had an industrial accident or caught an industrial disease in France, and then have an accident or their disability becomes worse in Jersey. The same rules apply to people who have had an accident in Jersey and then have an industrial accident or catch an industrial disease in France.
If you meet the normal conditions for Injury Benefit, you will still receive it while you are temporarily living in France. There are similar rules for people coming from France to stay in Jersey.
Old Age Pension and Widow's Benefit
Payment of Jersey Old Age Pension in France
If you are living permanently in France you will be paid the rate of Jersey pension you would get if you were living in Jersey. You will also receive any increases awarded to pensioners living in Jersey.
If you live in Jersey and go to France temporarily, your pension will continue to be paid at the rate you would receive if you were in Jersey.
Payment of French Old Age Pension in Jersey
If you come to live in Jersey or you stay temporarily in the Island, and you are receiving a French Old Age Pension, that pension will be paid in Jersey at the rate you would get in France.
Entitlement to Pension and Widow's Benefits
If you have been insured under the Jersey and French Schemes, the contributions paid in each country can be used to help you qualify for a pension. Each country works out what is due to you under its own scheme. This is based on the number of contributions you have paid there. The two amounts are added together to make a combined pension or widow's benefit.
If you qualify for a pension or widow's benefit under the insurance scheme of either or both of the countries, you may, if you wish, receive separate pensions or widow's benefit instead of a combined one. You can choose between the combined or separate pension or widow's benefit whenever it is in your interest to do so.
Benefit for dependants
An increase in any benefit covered by the agreement will be paid if the dependant is in either country.
Death Grant
A claim for a death in one country can be treated as if the death had happened in the other country. Also, insurance in one country can be counted as insurance in the other in order to meet the contribution conditions.
If the death happened in either Jersey or France, that country will pay the Death Grant.
If the death happened in neither country, the grant will be paid by the country where the person on whose insurance the claim is based was last insured.
If you are entitled to Death Grant in both countries only one country will pay the grant.
Part Four - Family Allowance
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General
Family Allowance in Jersey is a tax-free cash payment intended to benefit the family as a whole. It is paid to families who have at least one child under 16 if the family income is below set amounts.
The rate of Family Allowance is directly linked to family income.
The top rate of allowance is paid for each child in the family if the family income is not above the ‘lower income level'. Where the family income is above this level the rate of the allowance falls as income rises. No allowance is paid if the family income is above the ‘upper income limit'.
People coming to Jersey from France
If you and your children come to Jersey to live, you will usually lose your right to French Family Allowance. Instead you may become entitled to Jersey Family Allowance. This will depend on your income in Jersey, and cannot be decided until 12 months after you arrive. For us to pay you any arrears due for your first 12 months in Jersey you must apply as soon as you arrive in Jersey.
If you come to work in Jersey but leave your children in France, the French authorities will continue to pay French Family Allowance. You must show us a certificate telling us how many children you have in France.
People going to France from Jersey
If you and your children go to live in France you will no longer receive Jersey Family Allowance. Instead you may become entitled to French Family Allowance.
If you go to work in France but leave your children in Jersey, Jersey Family Allowance will still be paid. You should tell the appropriate French authorities the number of children you have who are in Jersey.
Part Five - Medical Services
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Medical treatment for visitors to France
The Scheme covers British and French nationals, who normally live in Jersey and are registered under the Jersey Social Security scheme. Certain members of their family are also covered.
The agreement is for visitors to France who need urgent hospital in-patient treatment. It does not cover any other medical services such as out-patient treatment, general practitioner consultations and pharmaceutical services.
During the first 3 months after you arrive in France you are entitled to be treated in exactly the same way as if you live in France and are insured under the French Social Security Scheme. You are entitled to receive hospital in-patient treatment at a reduced cost if you fall ill, have an accident or need urgent medical treatment.
You will have to pay part of the hospital charges. The amount will vary according to the length of the stay in hospital and the treatment received. The charge is not normally more than 20% of the total cost of the treatment. The rest of the cost will be paid for by the French Social Security Authorities. You cannot claim these charges or any other medical or pharmaceutical costs from the Jersey Health Scheme.
If you, or members of your family, intend to visit France, please contact our Health Zone. You will be sent or given an application form to fill in to apply for a certificate.
The certificate will tell the French hospital authorities that you, and the members of your family named on the certificate, are entitled to the benefits under the agreement. The certificate is valid for one year and you can renew it by applying to the Department each year. After 5 years you must apply for a new certificate.
Private medical insurance
The agreement is for visitors to France who need urgent hospital in-patient treatment. It does not cover any other medical services such as out-patient treatment, general practitioner consultations and pharmaceutical services. You cannot claim for these services received in France.
This means that visitors to France will have to pay the full cost of these medical services. This can be expensive.
It is strongly advised that you take out adequate private insurance to cover you and your family even for short trips. Your insurance broker or travel agent can give you advice about this.
Medical treatment for visitors to Jersey
The scheme covers visitors to Jersey who are British or French nationals living in France, who are insured under the French Social Security Scheme.
During the first 3 months after you arrive in Jersey you are entitled to be treated in exactly the same way as if you live in Jersey and are insured under the Jersey Social Security Scheme. You are entitled to receive free hospital in-patient treatment if you fall ill, have an accident or need urgent medical treatment.
You must show your passport or national identity card.
Medical services for French Nationals working in Jersey
A French national, or any dependant living with them in Jersey, who needs urgent medical treatment at a Jersey hospital, will get free treatment in the same way as a person living in Jersey.
A French national who becomes insured in Jersey can also claim Jersey medical and pharmaceutical benefits after they come to the Island. They must obtain a health benefits card from our Health Zone. The Health Benefits card can be used to get medical and pharmaceutical benefits for certain members of their family.
Medical services for British Nationals who work in France
A British national living in Jersey who goes to work in France, and becomes insured under the French Social Security Scheme, is entitled to the medical services the French Scheme provides. This includes medical and dental treatment and most prescribed medicines at a lower cost.
A worker employed in one country with dependants in the other
If a worker of one country takes a paid job in the other country, and their dependants remain at home. the dependants will get the medical benefits of the home country. The costs will be settled between the authorities of the two countries. The worker should not try to claim for these dependants from the Social Security authority where he is working.
Either the worker or the dependants must get a certificate showing the dependants that are affected. They can get it in either country but it must be sent to the Social Security Department of the country in which the dependants are living.
Medical benefits for workers returning to France
If a worker who is receiving medical treatment in a Jersey hospital returns to France for continued treatment, the Jersey authorities will pay for their stay in a French hospital for up to 13 weeks.
Insurance against accidents while travelling
There is limited cover for French workers travelling to and from Jersey to work. Please ask us for details.
Part Six - Useful addresses
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For advice about the Jersey Social Security Scheme, and General Practitioner and Pharmaceutical services write to:
Social Security Department
Philip Le Feuvre House
La Motte Street
St Helier
Jersey
JE4 8PE
For advice about hospital in-patient treatment in Jersey, write to:
The General Hospital
Gloucester Street
St Helier
Jersey
JE2 3QS
For advice about the French Social Security Scheme, write to:
Centre de Securite Sociale des Travailleurs Migrants
5 étage
12 rue de la Boétie
75008 PARIS
France
Part Seven - Further Information
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This leaflet gives general information and does not try to give full details on any particular matter. It cannot be treated as a statement of the Law.
Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions about the information contained in this leaflet.
Our staff are here to help you, please telephone us on 445505 or call into our office.
Please note: calls to the Department may be monitored for training purposes.
Other leaflets that may be of interest
General
Family Zone
Health Zone
Pension Zone
Work Zone
The Work Zone Employment Services
Leaflets on the range of employment services are available from the Department. Our staff will be delighted to assist you. If you have any queries please telephone 445505.
Health and Safety
Leaflets on health and safety matters are available from the Health and Safety Inspectorate - telephone 447300.
Large print versions of most of our leaflets are available. Please call us on 445505 and we will be happy to send them to you.
