Health Care Abroad for Brits

[HEPZIBAH]

In a recent thread Major Thom has made reference to a Medical Card which, from his description, I took to be the the The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

I also own a medical card entitling me to free Medicare similar to the UK.

Ah! That will no doubt be the The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which replaced the old E111 about 10 years ago. I have one too, and I'm sure most other members who travel in European countries will have one also. It enables us to get health care in equivalent to our British National Health hospitals/clinics at either Free of Charge care or at the same rate as charged to citizens of that country if there is a fee (as opposed to Tourist/Insurance Rates).

Major Thom then went on to say...

I don't have any of those Hepzi that you have quoted, I do not need them. Once you have reached retirement age ere is a form S1, I had one of those. I then handed it in to the Authorities and in return got my free Medicare certificate. People will only know of S1 forms if they are entitled to state pension and have officially reached retirement age. There is no charge for an S1, and again this is only available to people entitled to state pension or reached retirement age. All other available forms are for workers or people traveling around Europe.

This left me a little confused but, as I've not yet attained retirement, it is not surprising I've not heard of it! Even so, I was curious so I decided to find out more about it.

For anyone else that may be confused, or are not aware of this form, here is the link to the information. I also provide a link to the EHIC for those that my find it helpful.

S1:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcare ... ction.aspx

EHIC:
https://www.gov.uk/european-health-insurance-card

Please Note: These are free. If applying for either go to the sites I've listed. There are other sites which offer these but at a price.

[Dusak]

But could all of this change when the UK finally leaves the European Union? They are already arguing as to who, and how long Europeans can stay living in the UK. At the moment, over five years residency, they can stay, but those trickling in over the change over period? Would other E.U countries want, or feel the need to support expats in their medical needs, as by the sounds of it, a lot will be strapped for cash when an agreement is finally reached.

[HEPZIBAH]

The information I have given is as it stands at the moment. Of course, now Brexit is underway it could all.well change over the next few years. Those links will no doubt reflect any changes as and when they happen.

[Yildez]

I have never understood how anyone can decide to move permanently to another country, especially older people, without checking out health care provision very carefully. Although not the primary reason, an excellent health care system influenced my move to Turkey. I was able to join the national SGK scheme, a lot like the NHS, although of course I have to pay for it - just under £100 a month currently, which would include my husband if I had one.

Until 3 years ago many of the ex-pats here had no health insurance at all, but the new Residence Permit regulations require proof of it. There were a lot of very disgruntled foreigners when this was introduced, and many relocated from Turkey. I hear complaints that the cost of SGK is too high, but in my experience many of the private insurance policies aren't worth the paper they're printed on, while everything is covered under the government scheme.

I love Egypt, and enjoy staying for 3 months - with travel insurance! But a more permanent move? On the basis of local health care in Luxor, I don't think so, even though I know that there are excellent hospitals elsewhere.

[Dusak]

I must be honest, when we moved here the last thing to consider was there any health care system here. We came for the country itself, the weather, and an idyllic way of life, for us that is. Also my then wife suffered from various aches and pains from arthritis and such, which got a lot better, or cleared up after the first year or so. I myself was beginning to have problems with arthritis in the fingers of my left hand while still living in the UK, due I think, to the handling of thousands of bricks in my building career, especially in very cold weather. Those fingers are now back to good health. I'm of the opinion that Living here for me has improved my health. I self medicate for minor things, going to the local pharmacist for advice on tablets, visited the doctors here about five times in all over ten years, agian for minor aliments that I wasn't so sure about. The dentists are all basically the same, the pain and discomfort just as bad whether you pay the local rate or top Dollar. My wife was an hypochondriac since the first day I met here, but only realized it after the first couple of years. She gave good business to the doctors here with symptoms that confused them with every visit she made. I never think of 'what if' concerning my long term health, and if something does crop up, then I will do what most other people have to do in any other country, go down the long path of prognostics. I think that if an individual continually thinks that they are going to be, or fear that they will be seriously ill, they usually end up being so.

[Yildez]

Until a year before my retirement, I would probably have not been quite so concerned about health care. However in 2007, whilst I was here in Datca on holiday, I had a major heart attack - I was extremely lucky to survive, and it was down to fast action by the emergency doctor at our tiny hospital. I spent 2 weeks in intensive care in an excellent hospital in Marmaris, then 6 weeks recovering before I was allowed to fly back to the UK.

Did I have insurance? Errrr no! I came here so often I'd just stopped thinking about it, a bit like Dusak I gave no thought to "what ifs". A huge dose of reality and a £3,000 bill put me straight!

I don't spend any time worrying about my health - I don't need to, it's covered! However, every single morning when I wake up, my first thought is "another day's bonus"! I'm grateful

[Horus]

I reckon you were lucky to get away with just £3000, in many other countries you would have been into tens of thousands of pounds, glad you had the good fortune to be treated so well.

[Major Thom]

I came from the hospital yesterday, waited 10 mins to see the Dr, showed my Cypriot medical card which combines my S1, no charge, then to pharmacy in hospital, 4 items total cost 1.5 Euros. Very happy with the treatment and the hospital was very thorough. There are a lot more advantages of being a Cypriot Tax Resident too, 17500 Euros tax free to all, and then 5% on all income over. I think a lot of things do cater for Brits and it may be due to the British Territory here. The Cypriots would not be keen on Europeans having to leave Cyprus, because they know the economy would collapse due to a high percentage of Europeans living here. You still need papers to travel to the North of Cyprus, mainly Turkish people living there, they are trying to reunite the Country but there seems to be little interest at this moment of time, but I think it will come eventually.

[Ruby Slippers]

I'm confused! MT, I thought Cyprus was just an interim place for you to stay while you were waiting to settle in Australia, and yet, here you are, talking about taxes etc! Is Cyprus going to be your permanent home then? I thought you were staying in a hotel there.

[carrie]

Oh please don't encourage him. How many times do we need telling how much you can earn without paying tax, I am beginning to believe he left Luxor because he couldn't afford to live here any longer.

[Horus]

I don’t know why MT keeps referring to British ‘Territories’ they are British ‘Bases’ which form part of a settlement agreement. Cyprus was a ‘Protectorate’ of the United Kingdom from 1878 ceeded by the Ottoman Empire in return for Britain giving military support for Turkey against the Russians. It became part of the British Empire by military occupation between 1914 and 1925 when it then became a Crown Colony. There were many problems in the intervening years with all sides claiming various aims, from independence to unity with Greece, all of which created problems and conflict on the island. In 1957 and due to the Suez Crisis the British accepted just having ‘bases’ on Cyprus instead of treating Cyprus itself as a base.

MT would be well advised to do some research on acronyms like EOKA, words like ‘Enosis’ & ‘Taksim’ and names such as Colonel George Grievas and Archbishop Makarios to see that Cyprus has never been a fully peaceful island. I was there during the Turkish invasion of 1974 and believe me it was not pretty, he should take a ride up towards Paralimni where he can find a little café with a roof terrace. If he buys a tea or coffee he can use the fields glasses that the owner leaves out so that you can look across the UN peace line towards Famagusta. If he talks to the owners daughter she may call her mother and interpret as she speaks no English. When I spoke to her she was sobbing tears as I pointed out various buildings in the town from photographs she had on the walls all of which were now piles of rubble. Her daughter had never seen her mothers birthplace and her mother was so pleased to have a visitor who could tell her daughter what it was like, she kept holding my hand and crying for her lost past life, it was very sad to see. You could also walk along the beach all the way from Protaras towards Famagusta (a fair jaunt in the sun) and again you will come to a barbed wire fence with a UN sign telling you not to enter, it has been this was since the invasion and what was once a lovely town with an old quarter, it is now a complete ghost town. I doubt if anyone who ever lived there will ever see that town again in their lifetime.

If he talks to locals other than an expat community he will find that both sides Greek and Turkish Cypriots still hold a lot of enmity towards each other and as a result of the invasion both sides lost land and properties, a problem that still festers even today. Although some progress has been made I doubt very much if the issues will get settled any time soon, so although it can be a beautiful island there has often been trouble in paradise.

[carrie]

Worst holiday of my life spent there, late Easter one year I fancied some sun and went to Cyprus, it was freezing and poured down the whole time. Met up with two ladies who went there at the same time every year and they told me that this was a "one off" usually it was nice. Just my luck I suppose. I did think it was a beautiful island, when I could see it through the downpour.
Horus I am old enough to remember Archbishop M with his black clothes beard and evil ways. I suppose MT has done about as much homework there as he did before coming to live here. Just wish he would get on with his life there and stop inflicting us with his interpretation of life in Cyprus, much of which is wrong but there again what's changed?

[Yildez]

I don’t know why MT keeps referring to British ‘Territories’ they are British ‘Bases’ which form part of a settlement agreement. Cyprus was a ‘Protectorate’ of the United Kingdom from 1878 ceeded by the Ottoman Empire in return for Britain giving military support for Turkey against the Russians. It became part of the British Empire by military occupation between 1914 and 1925 when it then became a Crown Colony. There were many problems in the intervening years with all sides claiming various aims, from independence to unity with Greece, all of which created problems and conflict on the island. In 1957 and due to the Suez Crisis the British accepted just having ‘bases’ on Cyprus instead of treating Cyprus itself as a base.

MT would be well advised to do some research on acronyms like EOKA, words like ‘Enosis’ & ‘Taksim’ and names such as Colonel George Grievas and Archbishop Makarios to see that Cyprus has never been a fully peaceful island. I was there during the Turkish invasion of 1974 and believe me it was not pretty, he should take a ride up towards Paralimni where he can find a little café with a roof terrace. If he buys a tea or coffee he can use the fields glasses that the owner leaves out so that you can look across the UN peace line towards Famagusta. If he talks to the owners daughter she may call her mother and interpret as she speaks no English. When I spoke to her she was sobbing tears as I pointed out various buildings in the town from photographs she had on the walls all of which were now piles of rubble. Her daughter had never seen her mothers birthplace and her mother was so pleased to have a visitor who could tell her daughter what it was like, she kept holding my hand and crying for her lost past life, it was very sad to see. You could also walk along the beach all the way from Protaras towards Famagusta (a fair jaunt in the sun) and again you will come to a barbed wire fence with a UN sign telling you not to enter, it has been this was since the invasion and what was once a lovely town with an old quarter, it is now a complete ghost town. I doubt if anyone who ever lived there will ever see that town again in their lifetime.

If he talks to locals other than an expat community he will find that both sides Greek and Turkish Cypriots still hold a lot of enmity towards each other and as a result of the invasion both sides lost land and properties, a problem that still festers even today. Although some progress has been made I doubt very much if the issues will get settled any time soon, so although it can be a beautiful island there has often been trouble in paradise.

I too have seen Famagusta across the barbed wire, but from the Turkish side. Beautiful, beautiful beach, backed by high rise hotels, some with fire damage, all slowly crumbling away. Kibris, Turkish Cyprus, is beautiful and has many ex-pat residents, but has a fragile economy mainly reliant on tourism. I liked it, but much prefer mainland Turkey.

The idea of MT talking to locals other than ex-pats? Like he did with his neighbours etc in Luxor? Hmmmm, I shouldn't hold your breath!

[A-Four]

it is now a complete ghost town.

I think the Famagusta Gazette along with 40,000 of the residents of that fine city may some what disagree with the above statement. The Greek Cypriots to the south always tell their tourist this fairy story. In the early 80's when I was there small boats from Ayia Napa full of tourist would come about two miles offshore to the city, their guide would tell them that the whole place was compleatly deserted,............and they believed it.

R.A.F. AKrotin and R.A.F. Dhekelia are both B.O.T.'s though administered as Sovereign Base Areas. The British Government no longer sees the need for these such bases, especially when soon it will have a very modern aircraft carrier. However, both bases have first class instruments that help G.C.H.Q. with its information gathering services for the whole of the Middle East.

Earlier this afternoon Boris Johnson left Whitehall for Switzerland to join in with the Cyprus Settlement Talks,.............I wonder if the Greek Cypriots have been told about the new aircraft carrier that will soon operate in the Med. .

[HEPZIBAH]

As this thread has now turned to focus on Famagusta I will share this article which I found just now on Victoria Hislop's website.
(I've just posted in Literary Corner about her book The Sunrise, set in and around Famagusta.
viewforum.php?f=27 )

The day my family fled Famagusta


October 12, 2014
Forty years on, lawyer Maria Hadjivasili, who escaped with her family, revisits her home town with author Victoria Hislop

Mail on Sunday, October 12 by Victoria Hislop For “You”

Maria Hadjivasili: "What happened in 1974 totally altered the course of my family's life"

Maria Hadjivasili has the easy, relaxed glamour of a successful professional woman in her 50s. Divorced with a grown-up daughter, she runs her own law practice in Nicosia. Our paths first crossed earlier this year when I was on a research trip to Cyprus and I was captivated by her story of an idyllic childhood cut short. Her life followed a completely different path than the one she had imagined in 1974 at the age of 17, before conflict divided her island.

‘I thought I was going to become an artist, get married, have children and have a calm, easy life, going to the beach every day,’ she reflects. ‘But what happened in 1974 totally altered the course of my family’s life.’

Maria grew up in 1960s Famagusta, then one of the most glamorous and sophisticated seaside resorts in the Mediterranean. The beach, with its famously pale sand and turquoise sea, was lined with luxury hotels that attracted millionaires and celebrities such as Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot and Paul Newman. Nearly half of the island’s hotel rooms were in the town, which was also home to Cyprus’s main port.

Today, however, glamour and wealth have given way to decay and the main tourist area – a quarter known as Varosha – is an uninhabited ghost town, its port a Turkish military zone, a no-go area fiercely guarded by the Turkish army.

Forty years ago Maria’s home was abandoned when the family fled the invading Turkish forces – sewing was left half-finished on the kitchen table, food abandoned to rot in cupboards, jewellery to languish in drawers and clothes in wardrobes, gardens to overgrow. It was a state of affairs repeated thousands of times over in Famagusta as 40,000 Greek Cypriot residents were forced to flee with only the clothes on their backs.

(read the full story and see the photographs/video at the Mail Online http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/art ... -1974.html )

Posted in Famagusta, The Sunrise

[Horus]

Your post beat me to it Hepzi, I was about to post:

Of course we can always rely upon A4 to be pedantic and try to and make a one up man ship comment on someone else’s post. Famagusta is not inhabited as you are inferring and the largest tourist area which includes the old town are still sealed off and guarded by Turkish troops, this area is known as Verosha and is the abandoned southern quarter of the city. No doubt your lack of knowledge or ignorance fooled you into thinking that Famagusta was just a city and not a District comprising several villages which of course have people living in them. It now lies in the Northern Turkish held part of the island and all those Greek Cypriot inhabitants that fled to the South were never allowed to return and are unlikely to be allowed to in the near future. Any residents in the greater area of Famagusta is comprised mainly of immigrants Turks that were shipped over from the Anatolian area of Turkey after the invasion in order to boost the proportion of Turks resident on the island. Famagusta as recognised by anyone who has actually been there is as I stated a ghost town with trees growing up in the road junctions and the pavements with smashed windows and derelict buildings. Please get your facts right before trying to score points.

[FABlux]

But could all of this change when the UK finally leaves the European Union?

Apparently there were reciprocal arrangements between UK & France, & quite a number of other European countries, before the EU so hopefully that will just continue. We did our registration today for our medical cover in France. I expected all sorts of hassles having spoken to other ex pats here & looked for advice on the internet, including the official website and getting conflicting information.

We took our completed forms (downloaded from the site) along with birth & marriage certs, passports, electricity bills (to show residency) & our S1s & pension statements. Handed them over to a young man who photocopied them & said we would receive the registration number in 1 month. He said we could have used an EHIC for the next month but because we hadn’t been living in the UK we hadn’t felt we should apply for them.

He also said we could have applied as soon as we arrived as we had S1’s but the official site said after 3 months so we waited until now, it also said we needed translations of all certificates and again we didn’t?! Reminds me of another country I could name!

[carrie]

Sorry to hear you're having problems Fablux, perhaps you should have gone to Cyprus. Something in your report does sound kind of familiar though.

[A-Four]

I know Cyprus, both North and South quite well, way back in the early 80's Ayia Napa was a small tourist town where the local women folk would perform a traditional dance in the centre of town, several times a week during the summer season, and of course free of charge. As for Potaraus, well that was a very small fishing village towards the east.

At the turn of the century both these places became rivals, after 6pm the only way to get from either place to the other was by expensive taxis. Both became famous for their music scene brought about by the likes of Tall Paul and Boy George,..........these days although many 18 to 30's still flood to these places, the music tends to be what we call similar to 'old skool & anthems' , similar to what we find on KISS. If others don't understand what I've written here Keefy certainly will. .

To try and get a true understanding of the plight of the peoples, both Greek and Turkish, Nicosia offers a unique 'Berlin Wall' effect of this divided island nation, very sad indeed, and although many Western tourist tend to take side with Greeks, the Turkish minority suffered much worse, and even so today, though amazingly the cost of living in the Turkish North is more than 50% cheaper, believe it or not.

Move away from the two place I here mention in the south of the island and the places are remarkable Limassol, to the west, is relaxing with it street cafes similar to Nice, in Southern France, and it's best kept secret is of course the Troodus Mountains which are to the far west of the island, astounding. .

If I was MT and his good lady wife, I would certainly understand them falling in love with Cyprus, but I give a warning buy nothing. A number of retired British forces staff have bought property on purpose built estates not far from Dhekelia, and these are safe to re-purchase, but the environment is rather stark, with little green vegetation.

[Major Thom]

I would not even buy a brick overseas again A4. Learned my lesson in Luxor. No matter which Country I lived in. We will be here a year. No interest in Brexit. No interest in flea pits etc just interested in having a ball. Music, Music, Music, No Stress,No Stress, No Stress. Freedom Freedom Freedom. Get what you want, when you want, great seafood, A bit of a stupid remark to say we could not afford Egypt. 1gbp = 23 LE when 1gbp = 1.13Euros. 1 liter of petrol here = 1.20 Euros etc etc, it's much more expensive to live here. A 2 bedroom apartment about 400Euros a month. Utilities water around 30Euros every 2 Months, Electric around 80Euros every 2 months. I can live here fine thank you, but would put the boot on the other foot and say, the main reason why people stay in Luxor is the fact they cannot afford to move to civilized places. Why else would you subject yourself to poor medical facilities, poor road networks, corruption, poor quality of goods, shabby clothes in shops, crops that have been grown from canal water that contains, dead carcasses and all sorts of other parasites that effect your health, but most of all a crumbling economy that cannot support the up and coming bills arriving on the doorstep from Countries that have aided in the past. Sooner or later Countries sending aid to Egypt will wake up and realize their aid is making people rich, it's not going to where it was intended. You can only ask security aid for so long before questions are asked. And don't think ISIS is not in Egypt, or any other terrorist group it's full of them, they have only gone to ground waiting the right opportunity.