Posted workers in France from another EU Member State

fr en es de it pt

In social security terms, posting is the situation where a worker (who may or may not be an employee) remains affiliated to the social security system of the country where he habitually works while working on a temporary basis in another country. Under European legislation, any person posted to France and insured under a scheme of another EU Member State, is entitled to maintain their health insurance and to receive coverage for medical treatment received in France.

Two different cases will be distinguished here: posted workers who are resident in France (as the country where the worker is posted) and posted workers who are resident in another EU Member State (country of insurance).

You are resident in France (as the country where you have been posted)

A. Healthcare

Your situation

Applicable legislation:

  • art. 17 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04
  • art. 24 of Regulation (EC) No 987/09

To receive coverage for medical treatment received in France as though you were insured under the French social security system, you first have to register with the French social security system.

For that purpose you should ask the competent institution in your country to issue Portable Document S1 and supply this to the French health insurance fund (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie – CPAM) of your place of residence. You will then be entitled to the same healthcare coverage as anyone insured under the French state system.

Because you will remain insured under the social security system of another State, you will still be covered for treatment received in your country of origin.

Your dependents' situation

If they are joining you in France (country where you have been posted)

It is up to the French health insurance fund to which you have submitted Portable Document S1 to determine whether your dependents are to be treated as "family members" within the meaning of French social security legislation.

If they are to be treated as such, they will be entitled to healthcare coverage in France as though they were insured under the French system but without being liable for insurance contributions. For medical treatment received in your country of origin, your dependents will continue to be covered by your country of origin's health insurance system.

Dependents who are not considered as "family members" may obtain health insurance under the French social security system by paying insurance contributions into the French system.

If they stay in your country of origin

Your dependents will continue to be covered by your country of origin's health insurance system, just as they were before you were posted to France.

B. If you become incapacitated for work

... due to illness

Application legislation:

  • Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04
  • Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 987/09

You should obtain a certificate of incapacity for work from your acting doctor (médecin traitant), which you should send to the competent institution in your country within the time limit laid down by that country's legislation.

The competent institution in your country will pay any cash benefits to which you are entitled.

... due to an accident at work

Applicable legislation:

  • Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04
  • Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 987/09

You should report the accident at work directly to the competent institution in your country. Portable Document DA1, to be issued by the competent institution in your country, will give you entitlement to treatment in connection with the accident at work.

The competent institution in your country will pay any cash benefits to which you are entitled.

C. Family benefits

As a posted worker, you will remain insured with the social security system of your country of origin. For that reason you will be entitled to exportable family benefits, i.e. benefits that are transferable from your country of origin to the country where you are posted (France). In order for the benefits to be paid to you in France, you should notify the competent institution in your country of origin that you have transferred residence to France.

a) If your spouse isn't working

Application legislation:

  • Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04
  • Article 67 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04

Because, as a posted worker, you will remain insured with the social security system of your country of origin, the family allowance authorities of that country will continue to be the competent institution for paying your family benefits in France, in accordance with the provisions of the legislation they apply.

b) If your spouse is working in France

France will be the competent country for paying the family benefits on account of your spouse's working (or pursuing an activity treated as such) in France and your children living in France.

Application legislation:

  • Article 68.1.b) and 68.2 of Regulation (EC) No 883

Because, as a posted worker, you will remain insured with the social security institution of your country of origin, a differential supplement may be payable by the competent institution in that country.

In concrete terms, you should submit an application for family benefits to the family benefits fund (Caisse d'allocations familiales - CAF) of your place of residence in France, indicating that you are a worker posted to France from an EU Member State. The family benefits fund will then contact the family allowance authorities in your country of origin, so that your application can be examined in accordance with Community regulations.

c) If your spouse is working in your country of origin, but your family is living in France

Applicable legislation:

  • Article 67 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04

Your country of origin has sole competence for paying family benefits, your spouse being insured with the social security institution of the country of origin as a worker in that country and you yourself being a posted worker.

D. Unemployment benefit

Applicable legislation:

  • Article 65.5 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04

If you lose your job during or at the end of your posting and are living in France as the country where you were posted, you can have your entitlement to unemployment benefits examined by the French employment services (France Travail) in accordance with the legislation of the country of residence, with due consideration given to your periods of employment and insurance in France as a posted worker. For that purpose you should have Portable Document U1 completed by the employment services of the country from which you were posted. If you wish to look for work in the posting country as well, you may – as a supplementary step - register with the employment services there.

You are resident in your country of origin

("Country of origin" meaning the country from which you have been posted.)

A. Healthcare

Your situation

Applicable legislation:

  • Article 19.1 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04
  • art. 25 of Regulation (EC) No 987/09

Before being posted to France, you should apply to the competent institution in your country for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The card will ensure that you have access to healthcare in France without having to complete any formalities with the French authorities. You will also be covered for treatment that becomes necessary on medical grounds during your posting. As regards the services provided, you will be treated in the same manner as anyone covered under the French state system.

NB: If your EHIC is lost or stolen while you are abroad, or if your card hasn't been issued by the time you leave for France, the competent institution in your country can issue you with a Provisional Replacement Certificate (PRC). This document provides the same cover as the EHIC, but for a maximum period of three months.

Your dependents' situation

Your dependents will continue to receive the health cover provided by your country of origin just as they did before you were posted to work in France.

B. If you become incapacitated for work while in France

...due to illness

Applicable legislation:

  • Articles 21 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04
  • Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 987/09

You should obtain a certificate of incapacity for work from your acting doctor (médecin traitant), which you should send to the competent institution in your country within the time limit laid down by that country's legislation.

The competent institution in your country will pay any cash benefits to which you are entitled.

...due to an accident at work

Applicable legislation:

  • Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04
  • Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 987/09

You should report the accident at work directly to the competent institution in your country. Portable Document DA1, to be issued by the competent institution in your country, will give you entitlement to treatment in connection with the accident at work.

The competent institution in your country will pay any cash benefits to which you are entitled.

C. Family benefits

As a posted worker you will remain insured with the social security system of your country of origin. For this reason, any family benefits to which you are entitled to will be paid by your country of origin.

a) If your spouse isn't working

Applicable legislation:

  • Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04
  • Article 67 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04

Because, as a posted worker, you will remain insured with the social security system of your country of origin, the family allowance authorities of that country will continue to be the competent institution for paying your family benefits, in accordance with the provisions of the legislation they apply.

b) If your spouse is working in France

Applicable legislation:

  • Articles 68.1.b) and 68.2 of Regulation (EC) No 883/04

Your country of origin is the competent country for paying family benefits, on account of your being posted to France and your children living in your country of origin.

Because your spouse is working in France, a differential supplement may be payable by the competent institution in France.

In concrete terms, you should submit an application for family benefits to the family allowance authorities of your place of residence, indicating that your spouse is working in France. The family allowance authorities will then contact the French family benefits fund, so that your application can be examined in accordance with Community regulations.

c) If your spouse is working in your country of origin

The family allowance authorities of your country of origin have sole competence for paying family benefits, in accordance with the provisions of the legislation they apply, your spouse being insured with the social security institution of the country of origin as a worker in that country and you yourself being a posted worker.

D. Unemployment benefits

Unemployment benefits will be paid by the unemployment services of your country of origin.