Moving to France with a disability

Bonjour à tous,

Jody (my husband who has used a wheelchair for 55 years) and I have owned our flat in the center of Nice for nearly 20 years. We have found the city -- and much of the region -- to be extremely easy to navigate, especially the public transportation.

Our summers are spent enjoying all the center has to offer including the accessible beaches . We often bus or, train to other areas to dine with friends and should we need specific transportation we can reserve Mobil'Azur.

When we leave the city by train we purchase tickets in advance and reserve assistance (48 hours ahead of departure) provided free of charge by SNCF. However, in the event we decide last minute to take the train, the station is completely accessible as are most trains.

Most buses have automatic ramps with space designated for wheelchairs.  In June of 2019, the new tramline opened, which enables us to go to/from the Nice airport for 1euro each way all accessible.

Overall, our time spent on the Riviera is easy and enjoyable; we look forward to future trips, further from the center as we learn more about the lovely language and the many accessible transportation options.

We highly recommend the Côté d'Azur.
Madame Dyer

I am my mother's full-time caregiver.  She is the one paralyzed and in a wheelchair.  But my mother had a massive stroke back in 2013 and in addition to the paralysis, my mother cannot speak (aphasia) so she doesn't go anywhere.  Her life essentially exists between two rooms in the house, her room, and the living room.

I have recently learned that as my mother's wheelchair and Hoyer lift are necessities of her daily life, I won't have to pay any luggage fees when we fly over.  You can check this out with the airlines.

I have also researched a bit more and found out that my mom, as she is, for all intents and purposes, "retired" and receives a steady income, she will be able to get legal residency status after three months.  (I know that there is a great deal of footwork/ paperwork/ etc., that has to happen between now and then, and if anyone has any  tips or info about going about this, it would be greatly appreciated.)

We are Bordeaux bound by year's end, 2020.

There are a lot of different types of visas that validate to a residence permit (titre de séjour); I have not heard of one specifically for disabled, but the one for retirees is called "visiteur." All VLS/TDS (long-stay visa, valable titre de séjour) are validated via OFII (office of immigration and integration) - you are supposed to do this within 3 months of arrival, but sometimes it takes longer. Also at 3 months, anyone can apply via CPAM for the French health coverage (assurance maladie, carte vitale). Coverage doesn't start immediately tho; it can take months to get approved and on the system.

Bonjour Ml Walton13

I'm interested in moving back to France from Ireland after Christmas.  I have found living   in Arcachon, and  Bordeaux is unbelievable. You are going to have a incredible experience there with your mom.

I've put out my radar antenna  to locate shared accommodation with a connection point.  A meaningful situation.
Well... your query appeared on Expat so I'm thinking you might need some sort of assistance with you  in giving you ample space and time to expand into all of this with mom. This is a new country, new language and the culture is day and night massively different from the us to say the least in a tres chic way..

I have a stretch of experience in home health care  from alzheimer's to parkinson's, not that your mother has either.
My web site is [link moderated]  This might be a temporary fit for both of us.   If interested please advise. Best of luck regardless.

Kind regards,
Kathleen Woods

@Bhavna thank you for responding. This is helpful.

Hi my wife and I ate both of ill health we can buy a house and put the rest of the money in a bank  but it won't last forever. How can we get help with cost of living . would we get benefits

@Chris Pate

If you and your wife are both British citizens, you'll probably need to shelve your plans to move.

Although neither having a disability nor being chronically sick will automatically prevent you from moving, as third country nationals you'll need residence permits to live in France and you'll not be able to obtain residence permits if you have insufficient funds to support yourselves.

Hello,

We are moving to Nice in July 2023 and our son is 17 and has autism. He is unable to attend a typical high school as he cannot follow at his age/grade level. We are currently waiting for approval from the MDPH to speak to the 'schools' provided by the state but the review of the dossier takes 4 months (!) and then there are enormous wait lists of presumably 2-3 years! Does anyone know of any private schools or solutions for the disabled in the Nice or Aix en Provence area? Any help would be amazing...   

@Bhavna Hello I’m person with MS and my mother already lives in France 🇫🇷 I’m am finding life very difficult and I’m thinking with mum want things can I get help with I get PIP and Universal Credit will these stop and I’m in a council property and my mum is a French resident and her house is bought and paid for pls can u help ?  many thanks Kelly Ray.

@Bhavna Hello I’m person with MS and my mother already lives in France 🇫🇷 I’m am finding life very difficult and I’m thinking with mum want things can I get help with I get PIP and Universal Credit will these stop and I’m in a council property and my mum is a French resident and her house is bought and paid for pls can u help ? many thanks Kelly Ray.
-@charleychan

Hi Kelly,

Because of Brexit, life has just got a lot harder. People from the UK can not simply move to the EU like they could before Brexit. UK citizens need to apply for visas.

I have bipolar and am in a wheelchair and choose to want to live very rural.and am going to bring my large American wheelchair van.with me .I don't want to be social.because I don't like being judged on my disabilitys .will I have any difficulty.in France