Visa-ready plans from $721 per adult, billed annually · see your exact price by age.
The rule in writing
“US and UK domestic health plans are generally not structured to cover treatment abroad for residents and are not accepted for long-stay visa applications in France or Italy.”
Official source: Consulate guidance & documented applicant reports — Last verified:
The rule in writing
“For a long-stay visa (VLS-TS), you must hold private health insurance covering your full stay in France. Travel insurance and short-stay Schengen policies are not accepted.”
Official source: France-Visas (france-visas.gouv.fr) & FrenchEntrée long-stay guide — Last verified:
Will your certificate pass?
What a consulate officer actually looks for on the page.
Passes when it shows
- Private health cover — not travel or Schengen
- Medical + hospitalisation cover valid in France
- Covers your full visa period (up to a year)
- No disqualifying deductible on the core cover
Refused when it’s
- A travel or Schengen “trip” policy
- A deductible / excess on core cover
- Cover that ends before your visa does
Why your US plan stops at the border
Employer and ACA marketplace plans are built to pay US providers inside a US network. Once France is your home, that network does not follow you, and the plan is not structured to cover a resident abroad. See the requirement below.
The consulate knows this. A US plan in the visa file is generally refused because it does not show cover valid in France for the stay.
Medicare does not travel
Medicare almost never pays for care outside the United States. Keeping Part B running does not give you cover in France — it pays US providers only.
If you are weighing whether to keep or drop parts of Medicare while abroad, our Medicare guide covers it. For the visa itself, Medicare cannot serve as your French health cover.
What actually covers you in France
For the visa, you need private health insurance valid in France for the whole stay, stating inpatient and outpatient cover and the territory. Travel and Schengen policies do not qualify.
Cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States, so plan US trips separately. You can apply and get cover the same day with no medical exam.
Public cover in France is a later step
France has a public system (PUMa) that residents can join after they settle in — it is not a visa document. Private cover carries you through the months before public cover applies, and many keep a top-up afterward.
We explain how the French system fits together so you know what the private plan is bridging.
Honest limits: Cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States. Pre-existing conditions are excluded, including conditions you did not know about. We disclose this before you request a quote. Consulates keep discretion, and requirements can change. We show the published rule and its source; the final decision is the consulate’s. US domestic and Medicare cover does not travel with you — see the questions below.