My wife and i are planning on moving to Rhodes or Crete when our mortgage is paid off. As i will only be 54 yrs old will we have access to free heath treatment or will we have to take out private health insurance until we reach UK retirement age ? Hope someone can help with this.
Kind Regards
Andy.
Welcome to Britnet, Andy. Sorry I don't know the answer but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who does. You may find that this post is moved to the immigration forum by a moderator, so if you come back and can't find it immediately, don't despair! )
p.s. on these forums you can edit posts if you want to correct typos etc by clicking on the edit button in the header of your post.
As it stands right now, if you live in a foreign country, you are not eligible for NHS services. In theory whether or not you are retired is irrelevent.
However if you maintain a presence in Britain, with your house etc, it could be argued that you have not become an Expat. (legal loophole)
Do they still do the E1-11 thingy? is that just good for emergencies?
Does it not make a difference that Greece is part of the EU then? Don't they have reciprocal healthcare?
I dunno. But if you don't pay income tax in Greece (if they even have an NHS or equivalent) why would you be entitled?
I dunno. But if you don't pay income tax in Greece (if they even have an NHS or equivalent) why would you be entitled?
Well reciprocal means that people who did pay income tax/social security/whatever in Greece would be entitled to free healthcare in Britain if Brits were entitled in Greece. So you wouldn't need to have paid anything to the Greek authorities. Similar principle to the E111. But I don't know if there is such an agreement.
My Dad gets private travel insurance when he goes to his place in Cyprus. However he said once May rolls around and Cyprus are in the EU then all he will need is an E1-11.
However, he just goes out there for 2 weeks at a time, not permanently yet.
So I guess the answer is to look into the conditions attached to the E111.
Thanks for the responses, i'll keep looking in to it.
Andy.
As it stands right now, if you live in a foreign country, you are not eligible for NHS services. In theory whether or not you are retired is irrelevent.
However if you maintain a presence in Britain, with your house etc, it could be argued that you have not become an Expat. (legal loophole)
Do they still do the E1-11 thingy? is that just good for emergencies?
Do you mean "if you live in a foreign country you are not eligible for NHS services" when the services are provided for IN the foreign country? As an expat in the USA I most certainly am eligible for NHS benefits, I just have to back to the UK to enjoy them!! I was recently in the UK and had to go to a doctor, it was no problem but if it is major and you have USA health insurance they take your details and will try to get reimbursed by them. Otherwise the doctor just wrote me a prescription and off I went.
Would not this be te same for Greece?
Health tourism is a no-no, but half the time I reckon they don't check.
As a British Resident in the USA you are not entitled to NHS treatment.
Emergency treatment is available to US Residents on the NHS.
(ie, you get hit by a bus)
I've been living in Greece for the last 2 years and don't believe they have any medical cover here. Pretty much pay as you go.
A Brit friend of mine is due to have a baby in September, and she is flying back to blighty to do it as it will cost around 3000 euro here for the delivery and nothing on the NHS. Having heard horror stories from tourists (trust me I've heard many), I have to say that if I had something more than a toothache, I would return home to get it checked.
You will pay for each visit to the doctor, although about the same as a prescription back home, but... you cannot guarantee what they will give you.
As for move to Rhodes or Crete.... pick Rhodes old town, or south Crete, not north, unless you want a hoard of 18-30tys clubbers passing your door spraying tomato ketchup at your windows at 4am.... Rhodes is beautiful.
On a side note on seeing the other comments, I kept my bank account in UK. I closed my savings account but kept my current one, but as I'm out of UK, I cannot get another savings account as I am not a resident, unless I go for an International one which had lower interest. Keep your ties in the UK with finances, because here what should be so easy, they will make difficult.
Jay
A Brit friend of mine is due to have a baby in September, and she is flying back to blighty to do it as it will cost around 3000 euro here for the delivery and nothing on the NHS. Having heard horror stories from tourists (trust me I've heard many), I have to say that if I had something more than a toothache, I would return home to get it checked.
You will pay for each visit to the doctor, although about the same as a prescription back home, but... you cannot guarantee what they will give you.
I am not a resident,
Jay
Not wanting to take the moral high ground here, but do you think that's right?