Initial process for accessing French healthcare / carte vitale.
We are currently staying in our holiday apartment in France and are in the process of purchasing our permanent home here, having sold our property in the UK.
We are both in receipt of UK Government pensions which, as we understand it, must be taxed in the UK. I am 60 and my wife is 57. We want to be able to access the French healthcare system and be classed as tax residents in France before/after Brexit. I had planned to register as an auto-entrepreneur, with my wife also covered, by renting out our apartment in the summer, for this purpose. However, we think this will only generate a nominal income, perhaps just cover costs, so may not be our best option.
Is there a system of registering as a retiree and making voluntary contributions to social charges, rather than registering the apartment as a gite and, if so, would this be a better option for us?
How would we start either process?
We have read a lot of conflicting information on this subject and are now completely confused! We have begun French lessons, but our language skills are currently very limited.
Many thanks in advance,
Stan