Health insurance
Health insurance in France
Comprehensive medical cover for people who live or stay long-term in France, with proper inpatient/outpatient benefits, not just emergency travel cover.
France has one of the world's strongest healthcare systems, and once you are in it, care is cheap: a GP visit is set at 30 euros. The catch for nomads is getting in. The public system, Assurance Maladie through PUMA, only opens to you after about three months of legal residency, and the permanent Carte Vitale can take six to eight months more, so private cover is essential for the gap. France also has no digital nomad visa, and since mid-2025 it explicitly bans remote work on the long-stay visitor visa, which changes the honest answer about how to be here legally. Cover for France is about the months before the public system takes over, and about a visitor visa whose insurance requirement is strict.
What health insurance covers in France
Health insurance is built for long-term residents, slow travelers spending 6+ months in one place, expats. The lines below are the base. Exact terms are carrier-specific, so always check the policy document for the France situation you care about.
What you get
- Inpatient hospitalisation, surgery, and ICU
- Outpatient GP visits, specialists, scans, labs
- Prescription drugs
- Maternity and chronic-condition cover (on better plans)
- Mental-health and preventive care (plan-dependent)
What it won't do
- Routine cover in your home country (usually excluded if you're a tax resident)
- Cosmetic procedures
- Pre-existing conditions on day-one of most plans (medical underwriting)
What care costs in France
A taste of what health insurance protects you from. The full local cost breakdown lives in the France guide.
| GP consultation (public Sector-1 tariff) | 30 euros ($32 USD) |
|---|---|
| Specialist consultation (public tariff) | 40 to 60 euros depending on speciality |
| Emergency department visit, not admitted (forfait patient urgences) | 23 euros ($25 USD) |
Health insurance in France: FAQ
In most cases France expects long-stay residents and visa applicants to show proof of health coverage. The specific bar (carrier, sum insured, residency-vs-travel cover) depends on your visa class; the France guide covers the country's current visa-and-residency stance.
Premiums vary by age, plan and deductible far more than by country; the underwriting risk is priced, not the postal code. The France guide breaks down local treatment costs so you can see what your insurance protects you from, then run a real quote for your own number.
It depends on your situation: how long you're staying, your visa class, your age and health, and whether you want cashless treatment or are fine with reimbursement. Rather than push one plan, we match you against the options that actually fit a stay in France: answer a few honest questions and see only what's relevant.
Other insurance for France
Different stages of nomad life need different cover. Here's the full set we've mapped for France.
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Three minutes of honest questions, then we'll show you the health insurance options that actually fit your situation in France.
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