Health Insurance for International Students in France

Do international students need health insurance in France? Yes, and most non-European students are covered by the French public health insurance at no cost, once they have registered. Here is how the system works, what to prepare before you leave, and what to do in your first weeks.

This guide follows the official rules published by the Assurance Maladie, Service-Public and the student portal etudiant.gouv.fr. It is written for students arriving in France with a long-stay student visa, including AI2 students on the Écouen campus near Paris.

How student health cover works in France

Health cover in France has two layers. The Assurance Maladie, the public health insurance, reimburses a large part of your medical costs once you are registered. A complementary health insurance, called a complémentaire santé or mutuelle, can reimburse what the public insurance does not. The first is compulsory and free for students; the second is a choice, and Campus France recommends it strongly.

Reimbursements are paid to a bank account. The Assurance Maladie’s student site warns that without bank details (a RIB), the costs you have advanced to doctors cannot be reimbursed to you, so opening a bank account in France is part of the process.

Before you leave: cover for your first days

Your French entitlements do not start on the day you land. The student site states that they begin on the date when three conditions are met:

• you begin studying in a higher education establishment and hold the corresponding final certificate of enrolment;
• you are present on French territory;
• you hold a valid residence permit or card showing that you are in France legally.

If you arrive before that date, the Assurance Maladie advises a private insurance policy covering illness, maternity, disability, hospitalisation and repatriation for the period before your studies start. AI2’s visa checklist lists travel insurance until you join the French health insurance for the same reason.

Students from the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland usually rely on their European Health Insurance Card instead, requested in their home country and valid until at least the end of the academic year. France also has reciprocal agreements with some other countries.

Registering on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr, step by step

If a document is missing or non-compliant, you are notified by email; the site closes a file after two unanswered reminders, so check your inbox and spam folder.

Documents the Assurance Maladie asks for

Students who already work in France

The student registration site is for students without a professional activity. If you already work alongside your studies when you register, the Assurance Maladie says you cannot use that site: contact the health insurance fund (CPAM) of your place of residence by calling 3646 (free service plus the cost of the call), which explains the steps. The same 3646 line is the one to call if you change address, so that your CPAM can update your file. With a student residence permit you may work up to 964 hours a year. See working while studying in France.

Complementary insurance (mutuelle)

A mutuelle tops up the reimbursements of the public insurance. Campus France describes it as not mandatory but strongly recommended, and suggests comparing quotes from student health mutuals, insurance companies and banks. Its advice: check that the policy you choose includes civil liability valid for both your private and student life, so that you are covered at your place of study and at your internship.

Students on low incomes can check whether they qualify for the Complémentaire santé solidaire (C2S), a state scheme that pays the complementary part of health costs. It is free or paid depending on your income, and foreign residents must meet residence conditions; Service-Public offers an online simulator to estimate your rights.

Seeing a doctor and getting reimbursed

In France you choose a médecin traitant, a regular doctor who coordinates your care and refers you to specialists when needed. Consulting through this coordinated care pathway means you are better reimbursed. You are free to choose any doctor who agrees to take the role, a general practitioner or a specialist; the doctor can declare it online with your Vitale card, or you both sign a declaration form. You can change doctor whenever you wish.

Many doctors take online appointments. In an emergency, call 112 (European emergency number) or 15 (SAMU, the emergency medical service).

The CVEC student contribution

The Contribution de vie étudiante et de campus (CVEC) is a separate payment that funds student services. According to etudiant.gouv.fr, it is €105 for the 2026/2027 academic year and concerns students enrolled in initial training in a higher education institution in France, each academic year. It does not apply to continuing education, which includes work-study under a professionalisation contract, while apprentices are liable. Some scholarship holders, including French government grant holders, are exempt or refunded, but even exempt students must obtain an attestation on cvec.etudiant.gouv.fr and present it at enrolment.

Whether the CVEC applies depends on your programme and status, so ask your school before paying. AI2 students can raise it with admissions when they receive their enrolment instructions.

Your health checklist for the first weeks

• Validate your VLS-TS on the ANEF portal within three months of arrival.
• Keep private or travel insurance until your French entitlements start.
• Collect your certificate of enrolment and open a French bank account.
• Register on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr and upload all documents at once.
• Choose a complementary insurance, and check the C2S if your income is low.
• Declare a médecin traitant once you have your Vitale card or attestation.

Budget for a mutuelle and home insurance in your monthly costs: AI2 includes them in its estimate of €900 to €1,700 a month on life in France. Housing steps are in student accommodation in Paris, and the visa stages in the visa guidance.

Sources checked in October 2026: Assurance Maladie: registration site for international students · Service-Public: VLS-TS validation and tax · Service-Public: médecin traitant · Service-Public: Complémentaire santé solidaire · Service-Public: work for non-European students · etudiant.gouv.fr: CVEC FAQ · Campus France: health, healthcare and mutuals · Campus France: validating your VLS-TS on arrival

Frequently asked questions

Also read: life in France · visa guidance · cost of studying AI in France · AI2 FAQ.