other members living in France re IB to ESA

Worried wrote:

Hi Berlioz,

You will have to take your ESA50 to be filled in on the back page by your local doctor. I presume your Form is both in French and english. It has been about 6 months since I got my ESA50. It takes longer living here because everything must be translated.
I do not know anyone else that has been through the system here and have not found any information on the Expat websites.

Thank you for your reply Worried and the input from other posters in this thread.
I am lucky that my 'French' Doctor is actually English so I will ask him to write his part in both English AND French on the ESA50 so that the assessor will understand. My husband speaks flutent French but I expect with my luck they will send an appointment during the 2nd week of the month when he works in London! I don't want an official translator as in my experiance they 'summerise' answers/sentances which would be a disaster for me. Also if it is more than 1/2 hours drive in daylight he will have to take me. Is it possible to insist on an appointment that my husband can attend?
I normally send, with the ICB forms a copy of a very detailed medical report prepared in 2005 for the Court by my BUPA pain Clinic Consultant in Cambridge. It summerised the treatments and results I had so far with the Rheumatologist, Orthopediac surgeon, Pain Clinic interventions,Physio. I had critical Illness insurance for my mortgage, they actually settled the claim after 2 years before it went to court as the report clearly states that my fibro was of long standing and progressive, I had low stamnia, associated working with increased stress and pain levels,and also had various associated medical conditions and in his opinion I would be unable to work again in ANY capacity.I was an Accounts Dept Manager. I suppose I Should I get my husband/doctor to translate it to French ????
Since this report was prepared I have been also been diagnosed with Hypothyroid,colitis, and gluten intolerance, had bladder surgery and am having eye surgery soon as I have High Myopia (severly short sighted) (-10.5 d)and can't tolerate contact lenses anymore and often trip/fall and break bones wearing my glasses!
The ESA50 form has so little space for detailed answers and multiple diagnosis, I realise it is scored by computer. Another poster mentioned that additional information/letter was missing from the paperwork the French assesor was given. I'm typing this at 5am as I cannot sleep with stressing about this and my husband is away this week so I have only the dogs, cats and chickens to mull over all this with!
I really don't know what I would do without this website!
Sorry for the long post but I'm sure you all understand how it all just goes round and round in your brain and it has made me feel better just venting!

Hi Berlioz,

You could send your medical report from 2005 although I was told that the consultant letter I sent dated 2006 wasn't up to date enough so wasn't valid. I don't know why as it stated that my condition was severe and permanent and it is very unlikely that I will work again.

As my accident was at work I had a medico-legal report which was in 2005 and an addendum report in 2006 which I didn't bother sending with my ESA form. I took a consultant letter from a recent consultation to the assessment, as I didn't receive it until after I returned the ESA form, and also a more detailed letter from my GP.

I wish I had found this site before I had completed the form.

I don't know if you would want to phone Newcastle to ask and see what they say. As a legal document it may be relevant despite the date.

Thanks for your reply cochondinde relaying the timetable for you being called for a medical. Looking at the dates you have posted it looks like DWP were just waiting for your form to be sent back, before automatically sending you for a medical. Not sure if you read the front page of the Daily Mail yesterday, but they were questioning the competence of foreign doctors when examining us benefit scroungers living in the sun. If it wasn't so serious it would have been funny.

We will post back my wife's ESA-N-50 form tomorrow, like I mentioned it has taken nearly 3 weeks to complete in a manner we are reasonably happy with. Her doctor has specified that she has limited mobility and in constant pain, but not sure if this will be good enough for DWP. I am now trying to look on a medical as being positive if she is sent for one, as if my wife is examined by a French doctor, rather than just bombarded with questions from somebody behind a computer, I have some faith that justice will be done when a decision is made back in the UK. If she is placed in the WRAG group without a medical, then obviously it will mean appealing and returning to the UK for the appeal, so maybe a medical here in France is the lesser of the two evils.

Keep fighting!

I live in Fance and sent my ESa 50 back to England in November 2011. I am now waiting to see what happens next. I telephoned Newcastle to see if they had received my form, they said they had and it was with their interpreters, that was early Dec and I havn't heard anything else. When i spoke to Newcastlle about the form they told me that I would be treated in the same way as someone living in England, this is not the case, if you live in England and you are not transferred to esa from ib you can claim jobseekers allowance, we can't do that here, also if you lose your entitlement to esa you also lose any entitlement to health cover here in France(by means of the E121) which is pretty serious in its self. I have lived here for 9 years, before this I worked full time and paid into the English system all my working life, I was involved in an accident which was no fault of mine and suffered life changing injuries. Another point I think is worth stating is that if you are lucky enough to have £16k in savings, you are not entitled to esa anyway, but if you have enough points to be put into the WRAG, and have 16k, would you still be entitled to the health cover of the E121 even though you are not getting any money in the way of benefits?

If anyone living in France is worried about what will happen to them regarding losing health cover etc if we lose our IB when transferred to ESA.........I think we should try and keep in touch with each other through this forum, and give each other as much information as possible regarding our own experiences, so that we can build up a base of information built on our experiences. There doesn't seem to be any help/advice for people in our position, and as Gordon says he is unable to comment on the availability of benefits outside the UK. To be fair when I moved here 8 years ago I was told by the DWP that IB was transferable, and there would not be a problem providing we stayed in the EU. If you live in France, please check this website maybe once a week for any updates from other members in the same position, so at least we will be able to give some support and some information to each other.