Published on: September 12, 2023 | By: @rprasanth_kumar | Last updated on: September 27, 2024
The Social Security system provides free access for students to the public health insurance coverage in France. It is managed by a network of CPAM (Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie) agencies across France. The system provides a partial reimbursement (upto 70%) of your health expenses in the country. The coverage includes the following basic services such as,
- Doctor and Hospital expenses (consultation, treatment, surgery, etc)
- Expenses for medicines prescribed by a doctor.
- Expenses for Ambulance, when prescribed by a doctor.
The remaining 30% can be covered by a complimentary private health insurance known as mutuelle.
This entire process is handled via a unique Social Security Number (SSN) generated after the registration. In addition to the health insurance, the SSN is used by a lot of other French governmental agencies like CAF, Pole Emploi, etc.
When to apply?
You should apply for social security coverage as soon as you complete your academic registration with your college or university and open a bank account. It should be done immediately after arriving in France.
Where to apply?
A dedicated online portal etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr for international students processes the applications. It requires the following personal details to start the application.
- Last name
- First name(s)
- Date of birth
- Country of birth
- E-mail address
- French postal address
- Mobile number
- Start date of the health insurance (the date of the beginning of schooling at your college or university.
Documents required
- A certificate of registration for the current academic year.
- Accepted: Any nominative document which mentions the academic year, after validation of the final registration by your college or university. Examples: proof of final registration “Scolarité”, student identity card, etc.
- Refused: if no specified period, if not nominative, certificate of pre-registration, etc.
- Proof of identity: Your passport
- A valid student visa.
- Confirmation of validating your student visa online. If you have not yet validated your student visa, you must do it here on ANEF
- A proof of civil status
- An apostilled copy of your birth certificate,
- An apostilled copy of your marriage certificate (if married)
- Accompanied by a French translation, but it is not mandatory for documents issued in Europe.
- Note: Birth certificates issued by your Embassy based on your passport, may or may not be accepted. There have been numerous cases of rejections across France.
- A RIB (IBAN details) from your bank account, preferably from a French bank.
Temporary Social Security Number (NIA)
After your uploading all the required documents and submitting the application, the online system generates your temporary social security number.
- It is known as Numéro d’identification d’attente (NIA) and starts with with 1 (male) or 2 (female).
- This provisional number gives you the same social security rights as a permanent number. So, you will be provided with a temporary document known as l’attestation de droit provisoire à la Sécurité Sociale. This can be used for all social security related purposes.
- However, you can neither login to your personal ameli account nor apply for the Carte Vitale card using this number.
- The timeline for generating a NIA varies according to the number of applications received by your local CPAM. So, it is difficult to give a definite deadline.
- Some applicants receive it immediately after submitting the online application, while it takes almost 2-3 months for few people.
Permanent Social Security Number (NIR or SSN)
When your identity is confirmed by the national registry system, the temporary number (NIA) will automatically convert to the Numéro d’inscription au repertoire (NIR).
- This will be your permanent social security number (SSN) indefinitely.
- The waiting period for the permanent number varies between 3, 6 or 9 months, depending on the conformity of your documents and the date of receipt of these documents.
- If you do not submit the pending documents within 9 months, your temporary number will be deleted from the system.
- After receiving the permanent SSN, you can login to your Ameli account and download another attestation known as l’attestation de droits à la Sécurité Sociale.
- It is normally valid for a year and can be downloaded again from your ameli account.
- This attestation can be used everywhere, to prove your social security rights, until you receive your Carte Vitale card.
- However, the medical expenses won’t be reimbursed automatically. You must pay and then get it reimbursed by CPAM. This is done by sending the “feuille de soins” form (paper version) issued by the doctor, to your local CPAM office.
- If you have issues in logging into your ameli account, please contact your local CPAM office using the details mentioned in the contact section below.
Carte Vitale
To get your medical expenses reimbursed automatically, you need to a Carte Vitale.
- The health care professional whom you consult (doctor, dentist, etc.) will use this card to generate an electronic “feuille de soins” form.
- This information is sent directly to your local CPAM by the healthcare professional.
- Thus, you are reimbursed in a week without having to take any additional steps.
- To apply, you should login to your ameli account and go to the section “Mes démarches”.
Mutuelle or Complimentary private health insurance
Generally, the Social Security system provides around 70% coverage of your medical expenses. So, a private complimentary health insurance “mutuelle” is required to cover the remaining 30% of the expenses.
This is provided by multiple organizations across France and usually costs 10-20 euros per month. Here is a short list of organizations providing student mutuelles in France.
Contact Information and Help
You can refer to this detailed article about CPAM helpline How To Contact The French Health Insurance Organisations – CPAM ?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: How do I get my social security number in France?
- You can get your French social security number by submitting the application form Cerfa N° 15763*01 and the other required documents to your local CPAM office.
- The complete procedure has been explained above in this article.
- If you are a student, the initial application process is completely different. The following article explains this topic in detail. Social Security For International Students In France
Q2: Is your social security number on your carte Vitale?. How to find my social security number?
- Yes, the French social security number will be available on your Carte Vitale.
- If you do not have a Carte Vitale, you can find the SSN on your “attestation de droits” which can be downloaded from the documents section on the Ameli website.
Q3: How long does it take to get social security number in France?
- Normally, it takes 2-3 months for the temporary number and another 2-3 months for the permanent social security number.
- So, it can take approximately 6 months but sometimes even longer.
- However, you can start enjoying all the social rights after the creation of the temporary SSN.
Q4: Why does my French social security number have 15 digits?. Is a French social security number 13 or 15 digits?
- The French social security number “SSN” consists of 15 digits: 13 digits containing information such as the gender, year, month, and place of birth plus a 2-digit key number.
Q5: Can foreigners get carte vitale?
- Yes, all residents in France are eligible for a social security number and then a carte vitale. The process to obtain them has been explained in detail above.
Q6: Do I need to activate my carte vitale?
- Yes, after receiving your “carte vitale”, you must activate it by going to a local pharmacy and requesting them to complete an update of the card.
- This process must be repeated at least once every year. If not, the card will become inactive and the automatic reimbursements will stop.
Q7: How long is a carte Vitale valid for?
- The carte vitale does not have any expiry date.
- However, it must be updated at least once a year as explained earlier.
Q8: How to download social security certificate in France?
- You can download the French social security certificate known as “attestation de droits” from the documents section on the Ameli website.
Q9: Can I create an Ameli account with temporary social security number?
- Unfortunately, you have to wait until you receive the permanent social security number.
- Also, the first login to Ameli requires a temporary code and this can be obtained by calling the CPAM helpline How To Contact The French Health Insurance Organisations – CPAM?
Q10: What is the difference between temporary and permanent Social Security numbers in France?
- The temporary SSN has the same rights as the permanent SSN except the following 2 things, creating an Ameli account and applying a Carte Vitale.
- A permanent SSN is required for these steps.
