Expat insurance and health insurance in Guernsey

Guernsey is not part of the British NHS: the island's government describes a health service of its own, combined with a local social security system. The general practitioner works in a private surgery, independent of the public Health & Social Care committee; the patient pays directly for the consultation, prescriptions and tests, and the States of Guernsey subsidise residents' consultations (a subsidy of £12 for a doctor's consultation and £6 for a nurse in the scale, revised every year, of the local social security scheme). The public Princess Elizabeth Hospital provides inpatient care, outpatient consultations and an emergency department open 24 hours a day; care and accommodation there are in principle not billed to the patient, unless private treatment is chosen, whereas emergency visits carry a charge.

A specialist benefits scheme (consultations, procedures and hospital stays with consultants) is funded by social security contributions, with no payment at the point of service for members; new residents are covered as soon as they register. Dentist, optician, physiotherapist outside the scheme and ambulance remain at the patient's expense, with a subscription possible for the ambulance. For visitors, the Government of Guernsey states that the island is independent of the NHS and of European health insurance card holders, and that visitors from countries without a bilateral agreement pay for their care: the list of agreements cites Australia, Austria, Iceland, Jersey, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom, but not France. The reciprocal health agreement signed with the United Kingdom, in force since 1 January 2023, is based on residence in the United Kingdom and covers necessary care from recognised providers.

• Status and competent embassy: a Crown Dependency, outside the United Kingdom and the British overseas territories, with its own institutions (States of Deliberation). France Diplomatie places Guernsey under the French Embassy in the United Kingdom (58 Knightsbridge, London) and designates the French Consulate General in London as responsible for Jersey and Guernsey.
• Entry: valid passport. Since 23 April 2026, an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) is required of non-visa travellers arriving directly from outside the Common Travel Area: £20, valid for two years, stays of up to six months; a valid UK ETA also covers Guernsey. The national ID card is accepted only for holders of EUSS status, a family permit or a frontier worker permit, and for day trips with two shipping companies designated by the Government of Guernsey.
• Short stay: up to 90 days in 12 months without a permit, with no right to work. Remote working for an employer outside the island is regulated (ten days in 30 and 90 days in 12 months without a permit, according to the Population Management Office FAQ); any longer stay requires a permit.
• Settling: since 1 January 2021, EU nationals other than British or Irish must obtain a visa before coming other than as a visitor, and employees need a visa and a document from the Population Management Office. Anyone who lives or works in Guernsey holds a permit or certificate. Housing falls under the local market (people qualified by residence or holding certain permits) or the open market (Open Market), accessible to everyone.
• Tax and social registration: anyone who arrives or works in Guernsey registers with the Revenue Service, which gives them a tax number and a social security number. All residents above school-leaving age contribute according to their status (employee, self-employed, non-employed).
• Insurance: no private health insurance is required on entry, but the doctor, dentist, optician and ambulance are paid for. An expat health insurance or membership of the Caisse des Français de l'Étranger (CFE) complements the local system; for a stay without a reciprocal agreement, insurance with repatriation is essential.
• Student: higher education is mostly pursued in the United Kingdom; a student insurance remains useful, as the 1965 convention targets employed workers.
• Seconded employee : continuation of the French scheme possible under conditions, with no maximum duration specified by CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison); bills are submitted to the affiliation fund with form S 3125c.
• Retiree: no certificate is issued before departure and the 1956 convention opens no reimbursement in Guernsey on the basis of a French pension; cover is obtained through local social security, on the basis of residence.

For cars and driving licences, the Government of Guernsey's settling-in guide provides for re-registering an imported vehicle within 14 days and exchanging a foreign licence for a Guernsey licence within the year following arrival.

Guernsey is not part of the European Union: EU regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 do not apply there and the EHIC is not accepted there according to the island's government. Coordination with France rests on the exchange of letters of 19 November 1965, in force since 1 December 1965, which builds on the general Franco-British convention of 10 July 1956 and the administrative arrangement of 8 September 1958. It targets employed workers of French nationality or originating from the islands (Guernsey, Alderney, Herm and Jethou) and coordinates sickness-maternity, invalidity, old age and survivors, work accidents and occupational diseases and death, as well as family benefits for seasonal agricultural workers. Self-employed workers are not mentioned in it.

• Temporary stay: CLEISS publishes no page for holidaymakers in Guernsey and the convention only mentions care received with the fund's prior authorisation for an illness that arose before departure; a tourist arranges their own insurance, and retroactive reimbursement of unplanned care may be requested from the French fund under general law (article R.160-4 of the French social security code), with no guarantee.
• Secondment: the employer can keep the employee on the French scheme under conditions; care is submitted for reimbursement with form S 3125c; the sick note is sent to the fund within 48 hours; family benefits cannot be exported. The maximum duration is not specified.
• Expatriation: the employee falls under local legislation for themselves and their resident family; before departure, the CPAM issues a certificate of French insurance periods (no standard form) which the local body takes into account.
• Retiree: the 1956 convention does not allow reimbursement of care in Guernsey on the basis of a French pension; cover is through Guernsey social security, on the basis of residence. During stays in France, a French pension with at least 15 years of insurance opens entitlement to care under conditions.
• Taxation: no double taxation treaty; the France-Guernsey agreement of 24 March 2009, in force since 4 October 2010, provides only for the exchange of tax information.

1. Before departure: notify French agencies of your departure (CPAM, CAF, France Travail, pension funds) and, for an expatriation, ask your CPAM for the certificate of insurance periods.
2. Check your passport and, for a stay of less than six months, obtain the ETA on the official UK government website or its app.
3. Contact the Population Management Office (population@gov.gg) and the Immigration & Nationality Division (immigration@gcis.gov.gg) for the permit, certificate and visa depending on your situation; the employer applies for the employment permit themselves.
4. On arrival: register with the Revenue Service (tax and social security numbers), then register with a general practice.
5. Take out supplementary cover for uncovered care (dental, optical, ambulance, repatriation) or join the CFE; for repatriation costs, check the contract's ceiling.
6. Seconded employee: keep paid invoices, send them with form S 3125c and forward any sick note within 48 hours.
7. Retiree: contact CLEISS and your pension fund before departure, and prepare access to care in France through the Seine-et-Marne CPAM if needed.
8. Exchange your driving licence within the year and re-register an imported vehicle within 14 days.
9. Register with the roll of French nationals living abroad at the French Consulate General in London.