International student in France: the formalities of your first month

Information checked on 11 September 2026.

The first weeks in France have a flavour of their own: everything is new, everything is urgent, and every step seems to require another one first. Our article on administrative steps on arrival gives the general order, valid in most countries. This one is specific to France and to the status of international student: CVEC, Assurance maladie (French public health insurance), visa validation, the right to a bank account, CAF. Here is a week-by-week checklist, to adapt to your arrival date and your institution's calendar.

Week 1: CVEC, enrolment and visa validation

The CVEC: who pays, how much, how

The contribution de vie étudiante et de campus (CVEC, the student and campus life contribution) is due from every student enrolled in initial education at a higher education institution, international students included. You must obtain your certificate before you enrol: the institution will ask for its number. For the 2026-2027 academic year, it is €105, according to the official website cvec.etudiant.gouv.fr and service-public (news item of 21 August 2026).

• Payment: online by bank card (a relative's card is accepted), or in cash at an approved outlet of the FDJ Nirio network, free of charge.
• Exemptions: among others, French government scholarship holders, refugee students, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and asylum seekers allowed to remain in the country. Even if exempt, you must obtain the certificate.
• Not liable: some programmes, such as the BTS, are not subject to it; no step is required.
• Refund: if you paid while exempt, refund requests for 2026-2027 are open until 31 May 2027.

A scholarship from your home country is not, as such, on the list of exemptions: check your case on the website before paying.

Administrative enrolment

Administrative enrolment is separate from admission: it is what makes you a student of the institution and gives you your student card and your certificate of enrolment (certificat de scolarité). This certificate will be asked of you everywhere this month, for health insurance, the bank, transport. Download it as soon as it is available and keep several copies.

VLS-TS validation

If you arrived with a long-stay visa serving as a residence permit, you have three months to validate it online on the ANEF website and pay the fee, €100 for a VLS-TS « étudiant » according to service-public. Do it in the first week: the procedure is detailed step by step in our article validating your VLS-TS.

Week 2: social security and top-up health cover

Registration with social security is done on the dedicated website etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr, by answering an online questionnaire. The Assurance maladie then covers part of your health costs during your studies. The documents requested from a non-European student:

• an identity document (passport);
• your residence permit, i.e. the VLS-TS;
• your certificate of enrolment for the current year;
• a RIB (bank account details), to receive reimbursements;
• a civil status document, for example a birth certificate (international agreements may provide for other documents depending on your country).

The website assigns you a provisional social security number and lets you download a provisional certificate. Once your file is validated, you receive a final certificate and a form to request your carte Vitale (French health card). Then declare a médecin traitant (regular GP): you will be better followed and better reimbursed. Also open your ameli account, which lets you track your reimbursements.

The Assurance maladie does not reimburse everything. The remaining share can be covered by a complémentaire santé (top-up health insurance, or mutuelle). If your resources are modest, the complémentaire santé solidaire (C2S) can cover it, free of charge or for a contribution capped at €8 a month if you are under 25. A student under 25 can apply in their own name if they do not live with their parents, are not on their tax return and do not receive tax-deductible maintenance. Run a simulation on the official website before taking out a paid mutuelle.

Weeks 2 to 3: opening a bank account in France

A French account makes everything easier: rent, health reimbursements, wages, CAF. Banks usually ask for an identity document, your residence permit, proof of address and often your certificate of enrolment; the list varies from one bank to another. Compare student offers, and watch out for account or card fees that add up.

If a bank refuses to open your account, you are not without recourse. Anyone domiciled in France, whatever their nationality, who has no account can use the droit au compte (right to a bank account).

Week 3: phone, transport and home insurance

• Phone: a French no-commitment plan is enough to start with. A French number is often required to authenticate online services; keep your old number active until you have switched your accounts over.
• Transport: the networks of large cities offer passes for young people or students. Check the website of your city's network; proof of enrolment is often required.
• Home insurance: if you rent, insurance covering at least tenant risks (fire, water damage, explosion) is compulsory, whether the home is furnished or not, as long as it is your main residence. The landlord may ask you for the certificate when the keys are handed over, and then every year.

Week 4: CAF, work and budget

The CAF (Caisse d'allocations familiales, the French family and housing benefits office): the rules on housing benefit have changed for international students. Since 1 July 2026, non-European students who are not holders of a « bourse sur critères sociaux » (means-tested grant) are no longer entitled to the APL (housing benefit), with exceptions, notably for apprentices and students who have a professional activity. Check your situation with the simulator on caf.fr, and read our article on housing benefit for international students before building your budget on this aid.

Work: with a validated VLS-TS « étudiant » or a student residence card, you can work up to 964 hours a year without a work permit; beyond that, you risk having your residence permit withdrawn. The employer must declare your hiring to the préfecture. The details are in our article working as an international student.

Budget: keep the first month's accounts separate, because it concentrates the start-up costs (CVEC, visa validation fee, security deposit, insurance, equipment). Write everything down, even small sums: this first month will tell you whether your budget holds.

Pitfalls to avoid in the first month

• Fake paid services: premium-rate numbers pose as organisations that would help you with your Crous (student services) procedures. The official CVEC website warns against these scams and reminds you that the only number to reach a Crous is 09 72 59 65 65.
• Phishing: emails, text messages and calls try to steal student account details. Never give your login details over the phone.
• The three-month deadline for the VLS-TS, easily forgotten once classes start.
• Originals: scan your passport, visa, certificates and attestations. You will pull them out dozens of times.

For what you needed to prepare before leaving, see our checklist before leaving to study in France, and for the full journey, our complete Campus France guide.

Not spending the first month alone

The paperwork fills the days; it is the evenings that weigh. The first month is also the one in which you build, or fail to build, a circle around you. On Compatri, the community of your country in your city brings together compatriots, students or long-settled residents, who went through the same steps at the same counter. You can message them, join affinity groups such as « Étudiants africains » (African students), and spot upcoming meetups near you: a meal, an outing, a first chance to talk about anything but paperwork. If you have not left yet, our article joining your community before you leave explains how to arrive already knowing a few faces.

Official sources

• CVEC: student and campus life contribution
• Ameli: coming to study in France (FR)
• Complémentaire santé solidaire: students and young people under 25 (FR)
• Banque de France: the right to a bank account
• Service-public: foreign student, long-stay visa or residence permit
• Economie.gouv.fr: what to know about home insurance (FR)