Before coming to France for your studies, you need to apply for membership in the French social security citizen by signing up via the etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr official website.

Fill in the mandatory information and submit the supporting documents on the site

You are required to enter the following information :

• last name ;
• first name(s) ;
• date of birth ;
• country of birth ;
• e-mail address
• postal address in France ;
• telephone number;
• start date of health insurance (the date of the beginning of schooling at the institution of higher education).

You will need to submit the following documents :

• evidence of your identity (national ID card, passport, etc.),
• evidence of your enrollment in an institute of higher education for the appropriate academic year, to certify your student status,
• parental authorization (if student is under 16 years old);
• IBAN (international bank account number) or bank statement (RIB) for your refunds;
• a civil status document, which is needed to generate your social security number ("numéro de sécurité sociale"). The following civil status documents are accepted:
  • a complete copy of your birth certificate,
  • a birth certificate showing your parents’ information (or any document issued by a consulate),
  • a family record book (“livret de famille”),
  • a marriage certificate.
• Finally, if you are a foreign student, you will need to show a valid residence permit (“titre de séjour”). To check whether you have the permit you need, or to learn more about the residence permit application process, please contact the French consulate in your country of origin or refer to the information available on Campus France website.
• Agreements may allow to submit other documentary evidence. Please refer to the chapter below entitled “Other documents for your registration as determined by your country of origin”.

Keep the temporary social security number that has been automatically generated for you by the website, and print off your certificate of entitlement.

If you have not been able to register online, please contact by phone at 36 46 (free service + cost of the call). If necessary, you may be referred over to an English-speaking.helpline.

To ensure that your health care costs are covered, it is essential to take the following steps.
As soon as you are enrolled, you can download your provisional certificate from your personal space on the etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr website. It allows you to :

• declare a primary care physician ("médecin traitant") during a consultation with a physician in France. This allows you to have a better medical follow-up and better reimbursed care ;
• subscribe to a complementary health insurance to complete your reimbursements from the French health insurance and reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.

As soon as you are registered (certification of your social security number) :

• you can download your final certificate from your personal space on the etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr website ;
• you will receive a form to fill out and send back to request your Vitale card.  More information about the Vitale card and the importance of updating it ;
• you can open an ameli account. You can also download the mobile application of the ameli account. The ameli account allows you to follow your reimbursements, modify your personal information, ask your questions via ameliBot, the Health Insurance chatbot etc. Learn more about the ameli account.

a) You are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland without any CEAM

You do not need a student visa in order to study in France. You are free to enter France however long you plan to stay or study there.

However, you need to be covered by an insurance submitted by your country for your medical and maternity expenses, or to have enough financial resources to support yourself and your family who may come with you in France.

When you register online on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr, you don’t need to submit a residence card (“titre de séjour”) but you will need to complete your registration by submitting :

• your certificate of entitlement (S1 form),
• or, failing that, a sworn statement of sufficient financial resources.

Apply for your European health insurance card (EHIC) from local health insurance fund. If you have this card, you will not need to register for student social security coverage in France. You will need to apply for the card in your home country and it must be valid at least until the end of the academic year. If you do not have an EHIC, you can have a provisional replacement certificate issued.

Important: if you are a resident of an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland but not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you will need to submit a valid residence permit (“titre de séjour.”)

b) You are a citizen of a non-EU/EEA State

When you register online on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr, you will need to submit a residence permit (“titre de séjour”).

c) You are from Quebec

If you are coming to France as part of a university exchange program

If you are enrolled in a Quebec university (and not enrolled in a French university) you may come under the agreement protocol between France and Quebec, making you eligible for coverage of your medical expenses in France.

Before leaving Quebec, apply to your local health insurance fund there (RAMQ) for a SE 401-Q-106 form “Attestation d’affiliation à leur régime de sécurité sociale des participants aux échange entre établissements d’enseignement supérieur” (Certificate of membership in their social security scheme for students participating in an exchange between higher education institutes) and have it filled in by your university in Quebec.

This form certifies that your medical expenses are covered by Quebec’s social security scheme.

If you are enrolled in a French university

You are a student from Quebec covered by Quebec’s social security system and enrolled in a French institute of higher education.

Before leaving Quebec, apply to your local health insurance fund (RAMQ) for a SE 401-Q-102 bis form “Attestation d’appartenance à un régime Québécois préalablement au depart pour la France” (Certificate of membership in a Quebec scheme prior to departure for France).

This form certifies that your medical expenses are covered by RAMQ’s health insurance scheme while in France.

d) You are from Andorra

Before coming to France, apply to your local health insurance fund for a SE 130-04 form entitled “Attestation de droit aux prestations en nature de l’assurance maladie maternité pendant un séjour sur le territoire de l’autre Etat” (Certificate of entitlement to health and maternity benefits in kind during a stay in the other State).

This form certifies that your healthcare expenses covered by Andorra’s social security system. You can also choose to join France’s social security system.

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To register for health insurance coverage in France, enter your information and upload your documentary evidence using our dedicated website.

First, register onour dedicated website: etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr, and enter the required information:

• last name;
• first and middle name(s);
• date of birth;
• country of birth;
• email address;
• mailing address in France;
• phone number.

Then, upload the required documentary evidence:

• passport or national ID card;
• residence permit, or “titre de séjour” in French;
• long copy of your birth certificate, or standard birth certificate showing your parents’ information, or any document issued by your consulate;
• certificate of enrolment in education for the current year;
• certificate of parental authorization, if you are under age 16;
• your International Bank Account Number, or IBAN, if available;
• any additional documents as determined by your country of origin.

Secondly, create your personal area. For that, download your temporary certificate of membership in the French social security system. Then, upload any missing or rejected documents to your personal area. And, upload your final certificate of membership in the French social security system.

Finally, once your membership has been finalized, you can take additional steps to have your medical expenses reimbursed as quickly and easily as possible. For instance, you can open a personal ameli account on ameli.fr, or using the application. You can even apply for a “carte Vitale”, the French health insurance card, by submitting the required documents: a recent passport photo and an ID card. And, you can declare a referent doctor, or “médecin traitant” in French, during an appointment with a doctor.

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