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Newsletter from your consular officer in the consular district of Venezuela – Trinidad & Tobago – Saint-Lucia

Number 7 . Brigitte Saiz

Best wishes for 2016 from your consular officer

What is changing as of 1st January 2016 in France Minimum salary wage, activity bonus, Universal Health Coverage, interest-free loan, consumer disputes, stamp fees, taxis tariffs, company insurance plan, environmental incentive, cycle-related mileage allowance, safety jackets for bikers, drons, new regional setup... Fin in the web site Service-Public.fr a first selection of the changes that have been enacted as of 1st January 2016.

New developments regarding consular registration Whichever your country of residence, the consular registration –or renewal- will be possible online (without needing to go to the French consulate) as of January 2016. The consular card will be withdrawn and replaced by a document to be downloaded and printed online. These procedures will be available in the web site Service-Public.fr. the portal Monconsulat.fr will disappear. Your valid consular card remains valid until its expiration.

New developments about formalities related to public records and notary transactions in the French consulate Director for Fren citizen living abroad and consular administration Christophe Bouchard and President of the Notary Superior Council Pierre-Luc Vogelhave signed on 25 November an agreement about dematerialization of electronic data exchange and public records data exchange between the notary professionals and the public records Central Office. In addition, the Public Records Central Office has adhered to the electronic data communications platform COMEDEC. This platform simplifies the passport requests or notary transactions’ formalities. Thanks to this measure, users will not need to produce a birth certificate in support of their proceedings, as the request will be automatically sent via this secure platform. Data are subsequently transmitted by the civil registrar to the prefectures or notary offices (in our case the consulates) that have issued the request.

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Newsletter from your consular officer in the consular district of Venezuela – Trinidad & Tobago – Saint-Lucia

Number 7 . Brigitte Saiz

Simplifying family law in France The Public Order n° 2015-1288 released on 15 October 2015 modernizes and simplifies three main domains of the French family law: divorce procedures, under-age children property protection and adults legal protection. The Order has entered into force on 1st January 2016. Find more information on Service-Public.fr (in French).

Universal Health Coverage: implications for insured individuals As stated earlier, the Universal Health Coverage (Puma) is in place as of 1st January 2016. This reform of the Social Security Law guarantees a right for health costs coverage to any person working or living in France in a regular and stable manner all along their life. Since mentioned persons are henceforth covered by a health insurance – due to their professional activity or through their place of residence –, the basic CMU system that existed since 1999 has become unnecessary and has therefore been withdrawn. For persons over 18 years, the notion of beneficial owner (“ayant droit”) is eliminated. It will only be maintained for under-aged children. The reform includes also new control procedures, particularly aimed to identify individuals having left the French territory. Details about this new coverage system can be found on Ameli.fr.

French retirement pension payment delays: corrective measures are available Several measures are defined in the Social Security Law against delays in the payment of retirement pensions: waiting exceptional benefit, interim pension settlement, advance payment...Find additional details in the site Service-Public.fr.

French supplementary pension: new online simulator to estimate its amount The Agirc and Arrco (supplementary pension systems) have put a simulator online that allows estimating the supplementary pension amount, and therefore help you to decide your retirement date. You need to hold the overall indicative estimation that you should have received before performing the simulation. You can find more information in the Agirc-Arrco web site.

Modification of the rules for the French nationality declaration The law n°2015-1776 of 28 December 2015 regarding the adjustment of societies to ageing population provides for the possibility for foreign individuals which are ascendants of French citizens and have been living in France for the last 25 years, to obtain the French citizenship by declaration. Please find here the details of the law (in French).

The 2016 French fiscal calendar Do you pay taxes in France? Do you wish to know the tax return deadlines for 2016? You can find the full 2016 French fiscal calendar on www.impots.gouv.fr.

Saint Sebastian and Wroclaw are the 2016 European capitals of culture The Spanish city of Saint-Sebastian (San Sebastián in Spanish, or Donostia in Basque language) and the Polish city of Wroclaw have been elected European capitals of culture for 2016. You can find additional details in Service-Public.fr and on the web sites dedicated to this event.

New 20 € bills A new 20 euros bill has been put into circulation as of du 25 November 2015, as part of the issuance of a 2nd series of banknotes which is characterized by a graphical representation of Europe (Greek mythological figure) in the watermark and hologram of each bank note, as well as new security features. The implementation of this new series will be made along several years, and will continue with the issuance of 50 €, 100 €, 200 € et 500 € banknotes.

“Climat HD” : a new online app to experience the climate of the past and of the future What was the climate of your region in 1900? How will it evolve towards 2100? In order to understand it, Météo France has created Climat HD (also available on tablets), an online application that will allow you to experience the climate evolution in France between 1900 and 2100.

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Newsletter from your consular officer in the consular district of Venezuela – Trinidad & Tobago – Saint-Lucia

Number 7 . Brigitte Saiz

Service-Public.fr: get to know this online service The website Service-Public.fr provides access to application forms, online services, simulators, and nearly 200 letter templates that you (Franch citizen living abroad) can use in some cases and which allows to exercise your rights and facilitate your administrative steps. Some examples are the following:

Forms: To request a visa for long term stay in France (for your foreign spouse for instance) ; French citizenship declaration related to marriage with a French citizen;

Teleservices: Public record request (birth, mariage or death certificates -occurred abroad-) ; Job search in France or in Europe ; Spontaneous application for international expert job ; Application for French International Volunteer in Business (VIE) in Administration (VIA) ;

Templates: Request the child support payment to the debtor ; Civil Solidarity Act template ; Log a complaint before the French Republic prosecutor.

A check-list for expatriation A «check-list for expatriation» has been especially drafted to allow new French expatriates to verify in a glance all administrative formalities to be made before departure, upon arrival to the foreign country, and before returning to France. The French Foreign Affairs Ministry website also proposes «15 steps to set off with peace of mind».

COUNSEL section – links for better information (all in French)

Preparing your return to France Legal guide for French citizen living abroad

MonConsulat.fr (my French consulate website) Your rights and proceedings (French ministry of justice)

French taxes for French citizens abroad

Ministry of Foreign affairs agencies

Traveling advices

Pôle emploi international

French Embassy in Venezuela

Custom clearing formalities in France

The Government's report on the situation of the French citizen living abroad (2014)

French schooling abroad: CNED and AEFE web sites

French Embassy in Saint-Lucia

CONTACT ME Email: BsaizConseillereC@gmail.com On call through Skype: prior appointment through email (above). My user name in Skype is Brsaiz

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