What is CAF?

The CAF (Caisse d'allocations familiales) is the French public body that pays family and social benefits. For students, the most important one is housing aid: the APL (aide personnalisée au logement) or, depending on your accommodation, the ALS or ALF. It covers part of your rent each month and is usually paid directly to your landlord, who deducts it from what you pay.

Whether you can receive housing aid depends on your nationality, your residence status, your situation and your accommodation.

Important: new rules since 1 July 2026. If you are a national of a country outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, and you are in France on a visa or residence permit for studies, you can receive CAF housing aid (APL, ALS or ALF) only if at least one of these applies to you:

you receive a higher-education grant based on social criteria (bourse sur critères sociaux), for example from the CROUS;
you work, as an employee or self-employed;
you are on an apprenticeship or professional-training contract.

Refugee and stateless students, and spouses of non-EU students, also remain eligible. EU, EEA and Swiss students are not affected by this change. Read the full conditions

Not sure if you qualify? Try the official CAF simulator before you apply. It is free and tells you whether you are eligible and roughly how much you could receive.

If you are eligible, our team can help you with your application. We can't guarantee that the CAF will grant you aid.

To learn more, read What are the conditions to receive CAF housing aid? and How to apply for CAF housing aid step by step.