CAF is rental assistance allocated to those who qualify by the government. They provide several aids, the one for the accommodation is called APL.

CAF is a great resource for international students who need financial aid. If you are living in a studio apartment, you can earn as much as €206 euros a month. If you are living in a shared flat, you can earn as much as €118 a month.

Read on to see if you qualify for CAF and how to apply. The amounts mentioned only concerns Paris.

The following are the requirements to be eligible for the CAF:

Low income: As a student, you most likely have a low income, typically under €10,000 a year, and thus qualify.

Qualified housing: If you intend to apply for CAF and you are currently looking for apartments, verify that the apartment qualifies for CAF before you sign the lease.

If you are living in student housing, you will probably be qualified, but you should confirm because it can happens some offer are not eligible (residence considering as an hotel…).

Requested documents:

• passport or ID card
• your visa
• the validation of your visa
• birth certificate with filiation (the name of your parents), stamped and dated
• translation of the birth certificate made by an official translator
• attestation de loyer form filled in by your landlord (page 1 for individual owners or 2 for residences)
• An accommodation contract in your name
• Your European or French RIB 
• If you have worked during the current year, they may ask you for your income. 
• Your French address
• You don’t need your social security number to apply for CAF, nor a French phone n°
• Only if you live at CROUS: tenant code  
• Only if you live at Arpej: form 
• Proof of income (only for the Europeans) 
• A health insurance proof (only for the Europeans) 

When to apply?

Only once you are in the flat. It’s better to wait to have your definitive accommodation because if you change residence before receiving the aid you won’t be able to change the address on your account.

Once you receive the aid, for your old flat, you have to refund the aid from the date you were not living in the old flat. And only from that moment, you will be able to make a new request but you will lose some aid. 

Example: you made a request for the aid on the 1st of Sept but leave your flat on the 1st of January and you receive the aid on the 1st of March. They sent you the aid for the months of Oct (because the aid starts the month following your application) to February. You will have to refund the month of February and you will be able to make the request on the 1st of March (when they send your aid your profile is unblocked). You will receive the aid from the 1st of April so you will lose the aid of February and March.

That is why it can be better to wait to be in your definitive flat before asking the CAF. This situation is only in the case, you are not receiving the aid yet.

Delay

The aid starts the following month of your application ONLY if you have finished your online application.

If you start paying your rent in September and apply during this month, the aid will start in October. There is a difference between the month where your aid starts and the month you receive the aid.

Indeed, you have to count around 5 months to receive the aid once your file is completed. If you finish your application in September, you will receive your aid around February (the aids of October to January at the same time and then monthly). 

If you start paying your rent in September but only apply for it online, in October, your aid will start in November.

Same for departure, if you live the 1st of June (or during this month), your last month of aid will be May (received the 5th of June).

The delay is case-by-case, it can take from 5 months to one year if your file is blocked for some reason. It depends on your reactivity because you are the only one who can unblock it by tracking your file, answering their request and contacting them.

In all cases, you will receive those several pending months of aid at once, as soon as your file is accepted, and then monthly. 

The aid is received every 5th of the month on your French bank account. 

Check here how to track your file.

Feel Francais do it for you!

If you are struggling with your application, Feel Français offers services to complete the application and ensure you receive your CAF aid asap. Subscribe to one of our pack to be helped.