A friend of a friend told me that Shelby would be studying in Paris some time ago and we met and took a walk around Paris and hit it off. She ended up doing some work for me as well before finishing her studies and heading back to the States. In my quest to continue to try to fill in some blanks for those coming to France, she’s been kind enough to pen this brief essay on CAF, a benefit available to foreigners.
What is CAF
Caisses d’Allocations Familiales (CAF) is a housing subsidy available for students of French institutions.
How Do You Get It
In order to get CAF, you must be a student living in student housing (e.g. Cité Université and CROUS), an apartment, a furnished rental, a studio, or a flatshare, and have a rental agreement in your name (not a sub-let). For private accommodation, your landlord will need to sign the application, which they might refuse to do given possible tax scrutiny by CAF. During your housing search, make sure the potential landlord will accept CAF. This is especially important if you are looking at a flatshare on Appartager or Le Bon Coin. However, if your apartment is eligible and you have roommates, they can (and should) also apply for CAF.
Living in Cité Université or CROUS housing as an international student will make your visa and CAF processes much easier as they are designated specifically for international students and often will help you prepare the forms. Cité Université even has its own visa and CAF office and can be very helpful if your French isn’t great yet.
The Application
The website to apply for CAF is entirely in French.
In order to apply for CAF you’ll need to have the following documents available:
- Photocopy of your passport
- Photocopy of Birth certificate (and translation — you should have it as part of your Student Visa)
- French bank account details (RIB)
- A document that proves your tenancy (an attestation de hébergement, electric bill, phone bill with your address. A rental agreement will not work)
- Completed OFII or proof of school enrollment and a copy of your EHIC (European Health Insurance card)
In the application, you will need to have to declare your total income for the last two years and it will be helpful to have your home country tax returns.
How Much Do You Usually Get?
You will start receiving CAF the month after your lease begins (e.g. move in on the 1st of August, you’re CAF-eligible on the 1st of September). Importantly, you can get CAF retroactively, so if you don’t finish your application until two or three months after you start your lease, you can still get CAF for those months as long as you start your application the first month.
Generally, students receive around 200 euros per month from CAF, but it scales based on your income (less CAF for higher income). You can also complete this simulation to see how much money you might receive. This money goes directly to your bank account which means you don’t necessarily have to use it for rent. It is likely that you will not receive payments right away as the French bureaucracy needs time to process your paperwork, but you will still receive payments for the entirety of the year, sometimes in the form of a lump sum.
Shelby completed her Masters of Public Health at the École des hautes études en santé publique in Paris. During her time in Paris she lived in the 18ème, 17ème, 19ème, and 2ème and still, like Stephen, sees very little reason to go to the Left Bank, unless it’s for a party (and even then…). She works now as a public health strategy consultant at a boutique firm in New York City, but is looking forward to taking advantage of the new work from “home” policies created by Covid. She currently lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with her orange cat, Mauvo.
Photo by Christian Dubovan on Unsplash
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