Living in Guadeloupe from Mainland France: Prices, Housing, Schools, Formalities and Risks to Know

According to Légifrance’s legislative drafting guide, Guadeloupe is, like Réunion, both an overseas department and an overseas region, governed by Article 73 of the Constitution, whose first paragraph provides that laws and regulations apply there as of right. For a French citizen, no entry formality applies: the procedures are those of a move within France, with health insurance, taxes, school and housing to arrange.

The territory remains distinct on two practical points. For customs purposes, Guadeloupe is part of the territory of the European Union but is a third territory for tax purposes: goods and vehicles sent from mainland France fall under the import regime (customs). At European level, CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) ranks Guadeloupe among the outermost regions, to which the European social security coordination regulations apply. The guide social security and health in Guadeloupe details the scheme that applies.

The strengths identified in the official sources:

• The French framework in everyday life: employment law, the SMIC (French minimum wage), social security, public school, the euro and the Vitale card are those of the whole of France.
• A university hospital and public hospitals on the archipelago: the Guadeloupe University Hospital (CHU), in Pointe-à-Pitre, and the Basse-Terre hospital, which serves a catchment area of more than 100,000 inhabitants.
• Housing whose running cost is close to that of mainland France: the 4% price gap noted by Insee covers rent, charges, water and electricity; electricity and gas are cheaper there, water more expensive.
• A tropical climate: a sea at 26-29 °C all year round and maximum temperatures of 28 to 33 °C depending on the season (Météo-France).
• Tax and pay advantages for certain profiles: income tax abatement, salary supplement for State civil servants (see the guide working in Guadeloupe).

The points to anticipate:

• The cost of living: prices 16% higher than in mainland France, the gap having widened over successive Insee surveys, and food 42% more expensive (Insee).
• The labour market: an unemployment rate about twice that of mainland France (Insee).
• Natural hazards: hurricanes during the wet season, earthquakes, a volcano under surveillance, sargassum strandings.
• Health risks: dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases, leptospirosis, the legacy of chlordecone pollution.
• Distance: any shipment from mainland France goes through customs, and some specialist care requires health-related travel.

Insee counts about 380,000 inhabitants: the population is falling slightly, departures, mainly of young people to mainland France for study or work, exceeding arrivals. The most populous municipalities are Les Abymes (51,055 inhabitants), Baie-Mahault (30,924), Le Gosier (27,757), Petit-Bourg (24,665) and Sainte-Anne (23,973). Lamentin is the most dynamic municipality (+2.0% a year).

• Pointe-à-Pitre and Les Abymes: the Guadeloupe University Hospital (route de Chauvel), the Fouillole and INSPE campuses of the Université des Antilles and the Pointe-à-Pitre sub-prefecture.
• Baie-Mahault, Le Gosier, Petit-Bourg, Sainte-Anne: with Les Abymes, the five most populous municipalities; the CGSS indicates that its Baie-Mahault site (Jarry industrial zone) hosts the Urssaf (the social security contributions collection body) and not the Assurance Maladie (French national health insurance).
• Le Moule, Saint-François, Port-Louis, Sainte-Rose, Capesterre-Belle-Eau: municipalities where the CGSS has an Assurance Maladie branch, by appointment.
• Basse-Terre: the Basse-Terre hospital, located at the foot of the Soufrière according to the facility, and a CGSS branch.
• Marie-Galante and Les Saintes: islands of the archipelago; Marie-Galante has a CGSS branch and a public hospital.

Population density is 235.9 inhabitants per km². The neighbouring territory of Saint-Martin (French part) is attached to the CGSS of Guadeloupe for social security.

Insee’s spatial price comparison survey finds prices in Guadeloupe 16% higher than in mainland France according to the Fisher index, the gap having widened since earlier surveys. The gaps by item:

• food and non-alcoholic beverages: +42%, the highest gap (dairy products, meat, soft drinks);
• communication services: +36%; alcohol and tobacco: +25%;
• leisure and culture: +17%; health: +16%; household equipment: +12%;
• transport: +9%; clothing and footwear: +7%;
• housing (rent, charges, water, electricity): +4%; restaurants and hotels: +1%.

On the income side, the median monthly net salary in full-time equivalent in the private sector is close to €1,800, and the median annual standard of living about €15,800, with a poverty rate of about a third (Insee).

Two tax particularities show at the till. VAT is 8.5% at the standard rate and 2.1% at the reduced rate (impots.gouv.fr). Goods arriving in the territory bear octroi de mer, to which regional octroi de mer is added; it also applies to parcels received from mainland France, unless exempt (customs).

Insee counts about 240,000 dwellings, of which about 180,000 main residences. About 59% of main residences are occupied by their owner and about 14% of dwellings are vacant. The current cost of housing (rent, charges, water, electricity) comes out 4% above that of mainland France, but the official sources read do not publish an average rent per square metre for the archipelago: it can be checked with agencies and listings, comparing neighbourhoods.

The usual precautions apply: visit before signing, check the condition of the property and its exposure to risks (the georisques.gouv.fr site shows whether a municipality is at risk), take out home insurance. For a tenant, rental risk insurance is compulsory (service-public.gouv.fr). After a natural disaster, victims first declare the damage to their insurer, then to the mayor, who asks the prefect for recognition of the state of natural disaster (prefecture).

Education is compulsory from age 3 to 16 (service-public.gouv.fr). Registration is done first at the town hall, then at the school; after a move, it must take place within 8 days at the town hall of the new home. Failing to enrol a child without a valid reason exposes you to a fine of up to €1,500. Public school falls under the Guadeloupe education authority (académie); the authority’s start-of-year statistics could not be read at the time of consultation (site inaccessible) and are not reproduced here.

For higher education, the Université des Antilles is present in Guadeloupe on three sites: the Fouillole campus (Pointe-à-Pitre), the Camp Jacob campus (Saint-Claude) and the INSPE campus at Morne Ferret (Les Abymes). Administrative enrolment takes place in the summer before the start of the academic year, and the student life and campus contribution (CVEC) is required before enrolment. On health, a student generally remains on their parents’ scheme on first enrolment, becomes an independent insured person at 18 and can apply for the Complémentaire Santé Solidaire (C2S, supplementary solidarity health cover) if their resources are low (service-public.gouv.fr).

1. Declare the change of address: the single online declaration lets you notify the health insurance fund, the tax office, the family allowance fund and France Travail (the French employment agency) in one go; the mutual insurer, the pension fund, the bank and the insurers are notified separately (service-public.gouv.fr).
2. Open your rights at the CGSS: appointment on ameli.fr or on 36 46. With no professional activity, Cerfa form S1106 is sent to the fund of the place of residence; 6 months of residence in the last 12 months may be requested in case of inspection (Assurance Maladie).
3. Ship your belongings and vehicle: customs declaration, octroi de mer and, for a vehicle, the import regime even if it was bought in the European Union; customs advisers can be reached on +33 1 72 40 78 50 from overseas (customs).
4. Identity and vehicle procedures: the registration certificate, driving licence, identity card and passport are requested online on the website of the State services in Guadeloupe, which also refers to the Pointe-à-Pitre sub-prefecture and to the France services centres. For the registration certificate, the new address must be declared (service-public.gouv.fr).
5. Enrol the children in school: registration at the town hall then at the school, within 8 days of the move.
6. Register on the electoral roll of the new municipality, at the town hall or online.
7. Choose a GP of record (médecin traitant) and review your supplementary health cover (see who reimburses what in Guadeloupe).

Météo-France distinguishes the dry season, from January to April (minimums of 19 to 23 °C, maximums of 28 to 31 °C, rare and brief showers), and the wet season, from June to November (minimums of 22 to 25 °C, maximums of 31 to 33 °C, frequent rain), which corresponds to the hurricane period. Hurricane vigilance has several levels, from yellow to purple, with instructions for each: for example, from orange, prepare the home, stock up and protect boats.

For major risks, the prefecture refers to the departmental major risks file (2014 edition), to Météo-France for hurricanes, to the volcanological and seismological observatory for the volcano and seismicity, and to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission for tsunamis. The observatory publishes a monthly bulletin that sets the vigilance level for the Soufrière and records seismicity on the regional faults, notably in the Les Saintes area.

On health, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and Santé publique France monitor arboviruses every week. The weekly bulletin classifies the dengue situation by surveillance phases. The Aedes aegypti mosquito can also transmit chikungunya. The ARS recommends removing standing water, protecting yourself from bites and seeking care in case of high fever without taking aspirin or anti-inflammatories. For sargassum, the prefecture’s health recommendations (opinion of the Haut Conseil de la santé publique of July 2018) advise moving away from stranding areas and seeking care in case of irritation. For chlordecone, Anses (the French food and health safety agency) recommends limiting root vegetables and tubers from family gardens in contaminated areas to twice a week.

National emergency numbers: 15 for the SAMU (emergency medical service), 17 for police emergency, 18 for the fire brigade, 112 for the European number, 196 for sea rescue and 3237 for the on-call pharmacy (Ministry of the Interior). How hospital provision works is described in the guide healthcare system in Guadeloupe.