French Social Security considers a person to be a permanent resident of France after the person has resided in France for more than 3 consecutive months. On the other hand, as soon as a person leaves France for a trip lasting more than 3 months, they must notify Social Security. The local French Social Security branch will cancel the insurance on the date of departure, and provide the insured person with a certificate of termination, and if necessary, a document to be submitted to the social security office in the host country to ensure the insured person is covered immediately upon their arrival (in the case of EU countries, or countries that have signed an agreement with France). Note: the person can maintain their benefits in France if they can prove that their stay abroad will last for no more than 6 months.
Since Mauritius has not signed an agreement with France, your son will not be covered by either French Social Security or your private insurance plan. He will have to purchase an expat insurance plan.
Very few French Social Security employees are trained on questions such as these, which is probably why you always get a different answer. More information can be found at the following website: www.cleiss.fr.
There are several solutions available for insuring your son. We'll go over each below, starting with the least expensive option and concluding with the most comprehensive plan.
1. Local health insurance:
You can purchase private health insurance in Mauritius. These plans tend to be quite inexpensive, but they are often limited to expenses incurred on-site, and you have to be careful about the conditions for reimbursements in the private sector. The public sector in Mauritius is far from meeting the standards of Europe. For more information, please see our special page on Mauritius. Finally, in the event of a major problem, local insurance will not cover the repatriation of your son to France.
2. Insurance for international students:
International insurance plans are inexpensive and quite comprehensive as they cover hospitalization and medical costs, in addition to providing numerous assistance and civil liability services.
However, they are limited to medical expenses resulting from an accident or unexpected illness requiring immediate treatment. They do not cover long-term treatment or pre-existing conditions.
These plans last for a maximum of 12 months, after which time they must be renewed.
They are therefore not really recommended for longer stays. For more information, please see our section on this subject.
3. Expatriate insurance:
This is the most comprehensive type of insurance. The plans can be purchased alone or as a complement to the CFE. Assistance and civil liability services are offered as options. In your son's case, we recommend purchasing these options.
If you're considering the CFE, it's not always an easy choice. Please see our feedback on this topic.
From a financial standpoint, expat insurance without CFE will probably cost less in the long run. A simulation or comparison tool can come in handy here. For students, CFE costs €144 per quarter.
You can also find more information in our section on health insurance in Mauritius.
Since your son will soon be 18, it's probably a good idea to enter his age as 18 in the comparison tool. This will avoid calculation errors. We'll check with the selected insurers to see if your son can purchase a plan as an 18-year-old before his birthday in December.
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