Retiring in Norfolk Island: Stay, French Pension, Taxation, Medicare and Retiree Health

The Australian Department of Infrastructure states that Australian immigration arrangements have applied to Norfolk Island since 1 July 2016. France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) describes for a French national the eVisitor, for stays of three months at most for tourism, business or visiting relatives, and recommends the visitor visa (subclass 600) beyond three months for tourism. These visas provide for a temporary stay and not for settling.

Home Affairs classes the retirement visa (subclass 410) and the investor retirement visa (subclass 405) among repealed visas: they are closed to new applicants, and a pathway to permanent residence exists for their holders. A plan for lasting residence therefore goes through another category on the Home Affairs list (family or partner, work or another status), to be studied with Home Affairs and, where appropriate, an immigration adviser. Registering on the roll of French nationals living abroad is recommended beyond six months’ stay (see living in Norfolk Island).

France Diplomatie and CLEISS agree: there is no social security agreement between France and Australia. Your French pension remains calculated and paid by your pension funds, with no coordination with the Australian scheme; you simply need to report your departure and new address to your pension fund and your health insurance fund. Assurance Maladie (French health insurance) specifies that a retiree who settles outside a State covered by an agreement is no longer covered by France for care on site.

CLEISS describes the Australian old-age pension (“Age Pension”) as a non-contributory scheme funded by taxation: you must be 67, have been a resident of Australia for a continuous period of ten years or for periods totalling ten years of which five are consecutive, and be physically present on the day of the application. A French retiree who settles at retirement age therefore does not meet these conditions on arrival. The superannuation retirement scheme concerns employees who have contributed in Australia.

The French-Australian tax treaty of 20 June 2006 (decree of 18 June 2009) defines in its article 3 the term "Australia" as expressly including the territory of Norfolk Island: it applies to a retiree settled on the island. Under its article 17, subject to paragraph 2 of article 18, pensions and annuities paid to a resident of a State are taxable only in that State; under article 18, pensions paid by a State, a local authority or a public-law legal entity in respect of services rendered are taxable only in that State, unless the beneficiary is a resident of the other State and holds its nationality without holding that of the first. Article 4 settles cases of dual residence: permanent home, then centre of vital interests, then nationality.

On the French side, service-public.fr recalls that tax domicile is in France if the home, the main place of stay, the main professional activity or the centre of economic interests is there, a treaty being able to provide for different rules. CLEISS indicates that, if tax residence is no longer established in France, the retiree pays neither CSG, nor CRDS, nor the additional solidarity contribution for autonomy; a health insurance contribution is withheld from their pensions as long as they are dependent on a French scheme (rates set by regulation). The treatment of a French-source pension paid to a non-resident, in particular any withholding tax provided for by domestic law, should be confirmed with the tax administration.

On the Australian side, Australian taxation has applied to residents of the island since 1 July 2016, with the exception of indirect taxes such as the goods and services tax (Department of Infrastructure). Australian tax residence is determined by the ATO’s criteria, which publishes rates and thresholds each year: they are not written here. French-Australian tax advice secures the arrangement before departure.

CLEISS and Assurance Maladie present three routes for a retiree settled in a country without an agreement: checking with the country to what extent the local scheme covers their care, joining the CFE voluntarily for a French national, or taking out private insurance. In Norfolk Island, Medicare is open to citizens, permanent residents, applicants for permanent residence (under conditions) and certain temporary visa holders (Home Affairs): a retiree who arrived on a visitor visa is a private patient (Home Affairs). The CFE retirees’ plan is aimed at holders of a French basic scheme pension with no professional activity; its conditions and prices are on quotation (cfe.fr). See the glossary entry CFE retirees’ plan and the guide retiree health insurance abroad.

For stays in France, a retiree’s care is covered if they receive a pension from a French basic scheme, do not work and show at least 15 years of insurance in France; a hospital stay of more than one month requires prior recognition, and the spouse who accompanies them is not covered by this arrangement (CLEISS); registration is with the Centre national des retraités de France à l’étranger (Assurance Maladie). International insurance with worldwide cover completes the arrangement; see retirement insurance abroad.

The island’s health service (NIHRACS) offers an emergency department open day and night, a general practice clinic, a dental clinic, allied health care, residential aged care and home care in partnership with a local provider. There is no operating theatre: surgical emergencies and serious cases are evacuated to the mainland, with a wait for a plane that can reach 16 hours. Evacuation is covered by the Australian government for Medicare cardholders; an ineligible retiree relies on their insurance. The health service advises bringing medication for the whole length of the stay. The conditions of access to long-term care for a non-citizen were not read: to be confirmed with the service and Services Australia.

The page healthcare system in Norfolk Island details these arrangements, and the page healthcare reimbursement in Norfolk Island compares the situations.

The official sources consulted publish neither a median rent nor a ranking of localities for retirees: a rent or purchase price is confirmed on specific offers. A retiree compares the distance between the home and the health services, the shops and the airport. Their budget includes health insurance and any repatriation costs; benchmarks on housing, climate and formalities are on the page living in Norfolk Island.

• Check with Home Affairs the visa category suited to a lasting stay: the eVisitor and the visitor visa are temporary.
• Have the taxation of the pension estimated by a French-Australian adviser, relying on articles 3, 4, 17 and 18 of the treaty.
• Report the departure to the pension fund, Assurance Maladie, the CAF and the tax administration.
• Arrange health cover from the day of arrival: CFE, private insurance, then Medicare if the conditions are met.
• Organise medical follow-up: file, prescriptions, treatments for the length of the stay and evacuation covered by the contract.
• Register on the roll of French nationals living abroad and keep proof of residence.

The Norfolk Island page recalls the rules common to the territory, and Expavy compares international health cover suited to retirees.