Travel to France from UK with US passports

Hello all,

My 2 children and I are planning to travel to France in August with an American aunt and my British husband.  We are US citizens but have ILR in the UK.  Are there any special visa requirements for us to travel on the Eurostar?  I've had a Google, but am fairly well confused by the vwp/shengen/esta/etc. and not sure which applies to us.  I've seen mention of a medical insurance requirement, but as we're covered by the NHS does this requirement apply to us?

Many kind thanks for your help!

No, you just travel as any other American tourist would do.  You enter France as a tourist and you get stamped at the border, and when you return you enter the UK on your visa.

You should look into the European Health Insurance Card, which allows you health coverage across most of the European Union.  You must have the EHIC before you travel, though. Anyone who is traveling with you who does not have the EHIC should carry travel insurance.

http://www.ehic.org.uk/

Sorry to be a bit dense, but I'm not clear on the normal procedure for Americans either.  Do you mean that I enter France with just my passport and get a visitor stamp, and when I return to the UK I point out the ILR page in the passport?

Thanks!

Yes, you present your passport when you arrive in France.  Actually, as you are taking the Eurostar, you will present it in the UK right after you check in and go through security screening.  The French immigration authorities will stamp you in as a tourist. 

When you are leaving France, you will again check in and then you go to a UK immigration officer (in France).  They will ask you the typical things they ask whenever you enter the UK, and you will show them your visa, and they will stamp you in.

Regarding the EHIC Card: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/Pages/Healthcareabroad.aspx

However, the EHIC card is not a replacement for travel insurance and it would be advisable to get travel insurance:

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/Whatiscovered.aspx

I suggest to go to an insurance broker to get appropriate insurance for your situation:

http://www.biba.org.uk/ConsumerHome.aspx

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do

Thank you both very much for your help! <3

Back in March I flew to France from Northern Ireland on an easyJet flight and when I landed, I went through the "other passports" lane.  Upon inspection of my passport, the IO didn't even acknowledge that I was a US citizen, nor did he stamp it, which I found RATHER odd.  So I had to ask someone if I needed to get it stamped since I'm not a citizen of the EU.  And of course one the way out, they didn't stamp it again.  Is it just me or does anyone else think that the French IO's were a bit lax on their jobs?  When I visited on an intercontinental flight from the States, they dutifully stamped my passport on the way in and made sure to do so on my way out. 

When I got back to the UK, I got to present my fingerprints for the first time, which was neat since they'd just introduced it here. 

I don't have stamps for every one of my entries/exits from France. I always ask the IO in fact to give me a stamp in my passport! You have to realize that not all IOs are like the UK ones. I only get asked the crazy questions when I go to the UK, no where else. (sorry if I offended any IOs.)

That was my fourth time in France and it was the only time they didn't stamp it.  The first two were on US-France flights and the IO's seemed super dilligent at their jobs.  Even the third time a year ago flying from Belfast again, they didn't hesitate to validate it.  So who knows!