How do you get health insurance cover in France when you are a foreigner settling there?

You get health insurance cover in France by following steps that depend on your country of origin: the European Economic Area (EEE) and Switzerland, the United Kingdom or another country. The steps also depend on your status: employee, retired person, student or jobseeker.

Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04

You are a student from the EEE or Switzerland: which steps give you health insurance cover in France?

If you have a document portable S1 as a student from the EEE or Switzerland, you register with the French Assurance maladie on the site etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you are a student from the EEE or Switzerland with no carte européenne d'assurance maladie (CEAM) and no document portable S1, you register with the Sécurité sociale on the site etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you have obtained a carte européenne d'assurance maladie (CEAM) from the social protection body of your country of origin, you present the CEAM in France and you are covered under the same conditions as people insured by the French scheme.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04

You are a student from the United Kingdom: which steps give you health insurance cover in France?

A UK student with a CEAM, provisional replacement certificate or GHIC who presents to French health professionals a CEAM valid at least until the end of the current academic year is covered under the same conditions as a French insured person. A UK student with a portable S1 document or with no CEAM, provisional replacement certificate, GHIC or S1 registers on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
As a student from the United Kingdom with a document portable S1, you must register on the site etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you are a student from the United Kingdom and you have no CEAM, no certificat provisoire de remplacement, no Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) and no document portable S1, you must register on the site etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
As a student from the United Kingdom with a CEAM, a certificat provisoire de remplacement or a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), you present your CEAM to health professionals in France and you are covered under the same conditions as people insured by the French scheme.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04

You are a student from another country: which steps give you health insurance cover in France?

As a student from another country, you must register on the site dedicated to the reception of students to get cover for your health costs when you arrive in France.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
For a student from another country, agreements with Andorra, Monaco and Quebec provide special provisions.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04

You work or you are retired and you come from the EEE, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or another country: which steps give you health insurance cover in France?

An EEE or Swiss expatriate who works and lives in France is insured under French health insurance, except in cases such as civil servant status. Under Puma, any person working in France has health costs covered from the 1ère heure d'activité. The employer carries out the DPAE hiring formalities. The expatriate contacts the caisse d'Assurance maladie of the place of residence to finalise registration.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If your employer posts you temporarily to France, for 24 months maximum unless a derogation applies, and you live in France, you must ask the Assurance maladie body you belong to in your country of origin for the document S1 before your departure.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If your employer posts you temporarily to France, for 24 months maximum unless a derogation applies, and you live in France, once in France you must hand the document S1 to the caisse d'Assurance maladie of your home to be covered for expenses in France.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you are a civil servant (fonctionnaire) of another European country sent to France, you must first ask your affiliation body for the document S1. If you are a civil servant (fonctionnaire) of another European country sent to France, you must then present the document S1 to the competent caisse d'Assurance maladie in France.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you are retired from another European country and you come to live your retirement in France, you must ask the caisse that pays your pension for the document S1. If you are retired from another European country and you come to live your retirement in France, the caisse that pays your pension sends the document S1 to your caisse d'Assurance maladie in France.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04

You are a student from the EEE or Switzerland with a document portable S1: which documents do you attach to your registration with the French Assurance maladie?

You attach the form S1 to your registration request with the French Assurance maladie.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
You attach a proof of enrolment (attestation d'inscription) for the current academic year to your registration request with the French Assurance maladie.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
You attach a proof of civil status (justificatif d'état civil) to your registration request with the French Assurance maladie.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
You attach a relevé d'identité bancaire (RIB) to your registration request with the French Assurance maladie.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04

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You are a student from the EEE or Switzerland with no CEAM and no document portable S1: which documents do you attach to your registration with the Sécurité sociale?

You attach a proof of enrolment (attestation d'inscription) for the current academic year to your registration request with the Sécurité sociale.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
You attach a proof of resources (attestation de ressources) to your registration request with the Sécurité sociale.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
You attach a proof of identity (justificatif d'identité) to your registration request with the Sécurité sociale.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
You attach a proof of civil status (justificatif d'état civil) to your registration request with the Sécurité sociale.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
You attach a relevé d'identité bancaire (RIB) to your registration request with the Sécurité sociale.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04

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You come to work in France as an expatriate: from when does your health insurance cover start?

If you come to work and live in France as an expatriate, you are covered for your health costs from the 1st hour of activity under the protection universelle maladie (Puma).Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you come to work and live in France as an expatriate from the United Kingdom, you open the right to health cover under the Puma without a waiting period from the first hour of activity. If you come to work and live in France as an expatriate from another country, you open the right to health cover under the Puma without delay.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you have a carte européenne d'assurance maladie (CEAM) as a student from the EEE or Switzerland, your card must be valid at least until the end of the current academic year.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you work in France as an expatriate and your family members live in France with you for more than 3 months, the French Assurance maladie covers them for health care, medical treatment and hospitalisation.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04
If you come to work and live in France as an expatriate from the EEE or Switzerland, you are insured in France, subject to exceptions, for example if you are a civil servant. Under the protection universelle maladie (Puma), any person working in France has health costs covered from the first hour of activity.Service-Public · Checked 2026-11-04