🏘️ What is the step-by-step CAF process?

The CAF (Caisse d’Allocations Familiales) is a French public organization that helps students pay part of their rent.

If you’re coming to study in France and renting accommodation, you can often receive monthly financial aid to reduce your housing budget!

👉 Click here to find all CAF tutorials!

🏚️ How does the housing benefit application work?

1. Prepare your documents 📚🧾

Before you start, make sure you have:

• A passport or ID card, and your birth certificate.

• If you’re from an EU country: your school enrollment certificate and your European Health Insurance Card.

• If you’re from a non-EU country: a valid residence permit.

• A French bank account (RIB).

• The amount of your financial resources.

• A housing certificate signed by your landlord (if requested at the end of the process).

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2. Apply online 💻✨

👉 Click here to start your housing benefit application!

The application is done entirely online.

You’ll go through several steps:

Step 1 – General information 🧩

You’ll indicate:

• whether you live alone or as a couple,

• whether you are a student,

• whether you pay rent,

• your move-in date,

• whether you are financially dependent on your parents.

Step 2 – Your personal information 🪪

The CAF will ask for:

• your civil status,

• your nationality,

• whether you arrived from abroad,

• your family and professional situation (e.g. student, working student, etc.),

• your address in France and your move-in date.

Step 3 – Housing information 🏡

You’ll need to provide:

• the size of the accommodation,

• the number of people living there,

• the exact amount of your rent,

• the date the first rent was paid,

• the landlord’s information (address, SIRET number if it’s a residence managed by a company, etc.),

• whether you occupy a second accommodation for an internship (rare).

The CAF will also check that the accommodation is considered “decent”: at least 9 m² for one person and basic facilities (window, toilet, etc.).

Step 4 – Resource verification 📊

The CAF uses your past income to calculate the amount of aid you’re entitled to.
You can check what’s been recorded in the “My resources” section.

Step 5 – Validation ✅

You review all the information and submit your application.

At the end, the CAF provides:

• your CAF beneficiary number,

• a downloadable summary of your application.

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