As any student, you can receive financial allowance from the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales (CAF) to help you pay your rent.
What are the conditions to benefit from it?
- If you are not European: validated "Student" visa or "Student" residence card
- Have a lease contract with your name
It is not possible to obtain the housing benefit if you live in a hotel / Airbnb - Do not have family relationship with the landlord
- Have a bank account in France or a bank account in the SEPA zone: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and Vatican City.
- Have all required documents (list below)
Make sure to have all supporting documents before applying
When to apply?
As soon as you arrive in your accommodation.
Indeed, the CAF will take into account the date of your online application and not the date of entry into your accommodation.
The allowance is due from the 1st day following the month of your application.
For example: If you apply for the housing benefits on the 15th September, your rights to the housing benefit will start in October, that will be pay at the begining of November.
If you do not have a French Social Security number yet (French Health Insurance number): answer "No" to the question "Je possède un numéro de Sécurité sociale".
You will get a provisional CAF number at the end of the process, via email or text: P + 8 figures. You will also find it on the summary screen.
Processing times
Caution: The processing times can be very long.
See the CAF website to know more.
Example: On the 9th October 2023, the CAF is processing applications submitted between the 28th and the 30th July 2023.
As the CAF take into account the date of your online application, your rights to the APL are retroactiv: the first payment take into account the current month and the passed months since your application.
Step 1: Create your CAF account
Create your account in 3 steps on www.caf.fr:
- Fill the information concerning your identity and contacts
- Introduce the verification code received by text or mail (check your spams)
- Define your own password
You will then receive your CAF number called "N° allocataire" per post mail.
Step 2: Application for the housing benefit
Go to www.caf.fr > Aides et démarches > Mes démarches > Submit an application / “Faire la demande”.
Consult the CAF tutorials in English/Spanish to know how to fill your form depending on your accommodation:
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If you move
You move in France:
- Don't forget to inform the CAF about your new address in France from your CAF account.
- To benefit from the allowance at your new address, you will mandatory have to re-apply (See Step 2).
You move abroad:
- Don't forget to inform the CAF from your CAF account.
More information
