EHIC cards

hi toon. the emergency health card is issued to all e.u. citizens of  which you are one. when i first came to cyprus i had my card issued by the u.k. when it expired i applied to britain via the phone for a new card, i was informed that as a resident in cyprus i had to apply for a replacement card from the e.u.  country i was residing in. i was working in cyprus at the time paying social insurance and had been issued with the what is now the grey medical card and entitled me to full medical care. i applied at the citizens advice office for a renewal of the emergency e.u. card i was informed that it was not necessary as i had the grey medical card, i stated that if i went to another e.u. country on holiday my grey medical card would not suffice in another e.u. country. i was issued with another e.u. health care card with  c.y. and the cypriot flag on it. as a european citizen residing in cyprus you are fully entitled to the emergency e.u. health card it is obligatory under e.u.law that your e.u. country of residence issues you with your entitlement,

only if you are working and paying into the NI socal security system of the country you are living in - cyprus cards are based on contributions , uks is based in residency.

thats the problem

hi again toon, i would contact the office that deals with the cards  in the u.k. and tell them the difficulty that you are having. if for example you went to an e.u. country looking for work and couldn"t find any work  and your card expired what would happen then? what are your rights as an e.u. citizen entitled to free emergency care in an e.u. country that has refused to issue you with a card. your right to receive emergency medical care  have to be protected when you have been  unable to pay contributions in an e.u. country. britain pays the bill, only one a few of the e.u. countries that does pay it"s medical bills for expats, contributions in the country does not seem in keeping with e.u. law. it sounds as though cyprus is making up it"s own rules once again for economic gain.

I probably will have to try again  - but in the meantime I have raised the issue twice now with the EU commission....but that said it was the same in Malta.... the RHA prevented me from having the EHIC yet the RHA was for emergency limited cover while in Malta not emergency treatment when in another EU member state.

its a very strange black hole  - i neither fall into paying contributions nor residency in my homeland state - nor do I fall into the contributions in my present member state although i am resident but have never paid into it here in Cyprus...

as an e.u. citizen you should not be finding yourself in this ridiculous unprotected predicament toon. i would speak to the office in the u.k. about all this stupidity you are experiencing perhaps the people that you have spoken to in cyprus  are not up to date or know about the e.u. legislation regarding the guidelines or even the possibility that the problem you are having getting a replacement card may or may not have been addressed in the european parliament?, it wouldn"t surprise me. however toon contact england a.s.a.p. good luck.

i did get a reply from  Your Europe

Thank you for contacting Your Europe Advice.
1. Your Healthcare Rights Before Receipt of Your Pension
As we understand that you are considering becoming resident is Cyprus.
Under Article 11(3)(e) of Regulation 883/2004 on social security coordination, you would be subject t to the Cypriot rules on social security and healthcare.
Regrettably, since you would not be working in Cyprus (and not yet in receipt of a pension), you would not be automatically affiliated to the Cypriot social security system and therefore you would not have a right to obtain free healthcare.
When residing in another EU country and not employed, under Directive 2004/38, you must have comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the host Member State . There is no requirement that healthcare insurance needs to be private cover or that it needs to be in place prior to your arrival in Cyprus.
However, we understand that the conditions for cover by the Cypriot public health scheme requires you to have contributed at least three years into the Cypriot system. However when calculating this three-year period, we consider that regard should be had to the contributions you have made in the UK in order to count then as assimilated periods :
http://www.moh.gov.cy/MOH/MOH.nsf/All/F … enDocument
Further information can be found here:
http://cyprus.angloinfo.com/information … ical-care/
If you do not meet the conditions, you and your wife would therefore need to arrange for separate healthcare cover until you start receiving your pension.
However, if before receiving a pension, you have acquired permanent residence after living continuously for a period of 5 years in Cyprus, we consider that you should be able to obtain healthcare benefits in the same way as all other Cypriot citizens who are not economically active.
This is because the Directive gives you an unconditional right to equal treatment with all resident Cypriot citizens in a comparable situation.
You may therefore want to shop around for international healthcare until age 65 by contacting an insurance broker.
By way of example, the following companies provide international healthcare cover:
http://www.allianzworldwidecare.com/int … ?choice=enhttp://www.axappphealthcare.co.uk/inter … -insurancehttp://www.cignaglobal.com/health-insurance-plans/http://www.bupa-intl.com/
2. Your Healthcare Rights After Receipt of Your Pension
If you have a right to sickness benefits in Cyprus before being in receipt of a pension, then you would continue to be covered by the Cypriot system from the time you start receiving a pension. Note that social security contributions are not payable by persons aged over 65 in Cyprus. You should also be issued with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) by the Cypriot authorities
According to Article 24 of the Regulation on social security, where you and your wife start receiving a pension from one or more countries (in your case the UK) and you have no right to obtain sickness benefits in kind under the legislation of the country where you reside (Cyprus), you should be entitled to receive healthcare (termed sickness benefits in kind ) in Cyprus insofar as if you would have been entitled to obtain such healthcare in the UK were he living in the UK. Healthcare will be provided to your uncle in Cyprus at the expense of the social security institution of the country from which you receives your pension (Article 24(2)(a) applies). Therefore, you will remain subject to social security in the UK and your healthcare will be provided to him in Cyprus at the expense of the UK authorities. Once you receiving you UK state pension, you will have a right to register with the Cypriot healthcare system using Form S-1 (previosuly Form E-121). You should also be issued with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) by the UK authorities.
You can get the forms from The Pension Service at the following address:
The Pension Service
International Pension Centre
Tyneview Park
Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE98 1BA
Tel: 0191 21 87777
[email protected]
Once you have obtained form S-1, you should use it to register with the Cyprus health service:
http://www.hio.org.cy/en/index_en.htm
You can find out more how the Cypriot system works on the UK s DoH website:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcare … yprus.aspx
We hope this answers your query.

am sure i got a reply from the DWP as well i wil try and find it

the way i read it toon it sounds like your u.k. contributions have been ignored, it seems very unjust to me.

Thats exactly what am thinkig too...

found it

reply from the DWP

We have provided, in our previous email, information on the various healthcare forms available.  If you do not have entitlement to one of the forms (S1, E121, E106, E109), then we cannot issue you with a European Health Insurance Card.
It appears that, as yet, you do not have entitlement to a healthcare form issued by the United Kingdom (UK) and therefore do not have entitlement to the EHIC issued by the UK.   The UK only issues European Health Insurance cards to those persons who are either resident in the UK or covered by one of the healthcare forms.  National Insurance contributions are not taken into consideration.

an earlier reply from the DWP

The EHIC is issued by the Business Services Authority (BSA) upon receipt of a completed EHIC application form. This form is issued by the Overseas Healthcare Team to those persons who hold a registered healthcare form in the European Economic Area (EEA) member state or Switzerland.

In order to issue an EHIC application form to you, we must have confirmation from your country of residence that you are registered for state healthcare via one of the following forms: S1, E121, E106, and E109.  Below is a summary of the forms available so that you may determine if you are entitled to one of the healthcare forms mentioned.


Form S1 / E121

Form S1 / E121 can be considered for people who are in receipt of a United Kingdom (UK) state Retirement Pension, Incapacity Benefit, Employment  support Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Widows Benefit or Bereavement Benefit when they go to live in another EEA member state or Switzerland.


The S1 / E121 is issued, if entitlement exists, when the benefit or pension is awarded and the transfer of residence is known.

Form S1 / E121 is issued by the office responsible for paying your benefit or pension.


Form S1 / E106 Residual

Form S1 / E106 Residual can be considered for people who are moving to another EEA member state or Switzerland and do not intend to work there. Entitlement to form S1 / E106 is based on contributions paid in the United Kingdom within the last 2 tax years.

Form S1 / E106 is issued by the Overseas Healthcare Team, you can apply by telephone on 0044 191 2181999 up to 4 weeks before you move.


Form S1 / E106 Workers

Form S1 / E106 Workers can be considered for people who are posted to work in another EEA member state or Switzerland for their UK employer and are paying UK National Insurance contributions.

Form S1 / E106 Workers is issued by the International Case Workers(ICW) at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), you can contact them by telephone on 0044 191 2037010.


Form S1 / E109

Form S1 / E109 can be considered for the dependent family members of a UK insured person, where the insured person lives in the UK and the dependants live in another EEA member state or Switzerland. The S1 / E109 does not provide cover to the insured person.

Form S1 / E109 Workers is issued by ICW at HMRC, you can contact them by telephone on 0044 191 2037010.


If you are issued with one of the above forms you should take it to your local Social Security / Sickness Office. They will register the form and return one copy to us as confirmation of registration. Once we have received the correctly registered form we will issue the EHIC application form to you.

hi toon, it sounds like the european union / u.k.   boot for those that have have made their contributions.

certainly appears that way - but the fight is not over till the fat lady sings....

i wil take this to the top - as i think its wrong....

I have petitioned the EU commission and have raised it also in the EU chat event for the 24th November

hi again toon. i wish you the best of luck with it. i am sure there must be a lot of other people in the same situation. a lot of the the ill thought legislation in the european union leaves a lot to be desired like some of the representatives in brussels. all the best.

CHEERS

Any updates on this?

llp wrote:

Any updates on this?

You can only get the card from the country you are resident in. If not you have pay for private insurance. The EHIC is only for temporary stays and for emergency treatment. It was never to be an alternative to regular healthcare.

So nothing has changed.