France guide · verified 2026-07-04
After You Land in France: First-Weeks Checklist
After you land
France front-loads a handful of mandatory registrations into the first weeks: validate the VLS-TS with the OFII (a hard 3-month deadline), register for free student health cover, pay the CVEC and complete university enrolment, open a bank account, and, where relevant, pick up the subsidised student transport pass.
Validate the VLS-TS with the OFII, within 3 months
MandatoryComplete the online validation at administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr with visa details, personal information, the exact arrival date, and a French address, then pay the validation tax. This turns the VLS-TS into a working residence permit for the first year.
When: Within 3 months of arrival, hard deadlineCost: €150 (2026): €100 student-rate tax + €50 fiscal stamp, per the loi de finances 2026 (art. 128) effective 1 May 2026, reconfirm on the ANEF portalYou get: A validated VLS-TS + downloadable proof of validation.This is the most commonly missed step for Indian students in France, mark the exact 3-month date the day the student lands.- Validating your long-stay visa (VLS-TS) on arrival in France, Campus France
- Validate a long-stay visa as a residence permit (VLS-TS) and pay the tax (R52684), service-public.fr
- ANEF, Administration numérique pour les étrangers en France (OFII validation), Ministry of the Interior
- Nouveaux montants des taxes demandées aux étrangers à compter du 1er mai 2026 (loi de finances 2026, art. 128, modifiant le CESEDA), Préfecture du Bas-Rhin (Ministry of the Interior, État territorial)
Register for free student health cover
MandatoryRegister on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr with a passport/valid residence document, proof of enrolment, an IBAN/RIB, and (for non-EU students) a birth certificate translated into French. Registration itself is free; a provisional social-security number typically follows within a few weeks. Registration is compulsory for anyone studying in France more than 3 months and outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland.
You get: A social security number (NIA) enabling reimbursement of medical costs.Pay the CVEC and complete enrolment
MandatoryPay the €105 (2026/27) CVEC via messervices.etudiant.gouv.fr / cvec.etudiant.gouv.fr before finishing administrative enrolment, most universities require the attestation as a prerequisite. Scholarship-exempt students must still complete the online exemption step to obtain the attestation.
Cost: €105 (2026/27), or free with an exemption attestationYou get: CVEC attestation, required for enrolment.Open a French bank account
RecommendedA local bank account (RIB/IBAN) is needed to receive health-insurance reimbursements, pay rent by direct debit, and register for services like the student transport pass. Many banks offer no/low-fee student accounts, bring the residence document, proof of enrolment, and proof of address.
You get: A French IBAN for reimbursements, rent, and utilities.Pick up the subsidised student transport pass where available
OptionalIn Île-de-France (Paris region), the Imagine R Étudiant pass gives unlimited travel across zones 1 to 5 (all modes except a few airport/tourist services) for students under 26, priced at €401.30 for 2026/27 (including an €8 administrative fee), payable as a lump sum or in 9 monthly instalments. Other regions run their own subsidised student passes through the local transport authority, check the equivalent scheme for the student's specific city.
Cost: €401.30/year (Île-de-France, 2026/27) or the local-region equivalent
Unlike Germany's Anmeldung (which unlocks nearly everything else locally), France's keystone deadline is the OFII validation of the VLS-TS. Missing the 3-month window can affect the residence permit's validity, later renewal, and re-entry to France if the student travels home before validating.
Sources
- Validating your long-stay visa (VLS-TS) on arrival in France, Campus France
- Étudiants Internationaux, social security registration portal, ameli.fr (Assurance Maladie / CNAM)
- CVEC, Contribution Vie Étudiante et de Campus, CROUS / Étudiant.gouv (Ministry of Higher Education)
- Forfait imagine R Étudiant, Île-de-France student transport pass, Île-de-France Mobilités
Where this fits
This is one step of the full France journey: admission, tests, application, visa, money, arrival and stay-back, every figure cited to an official source.
More on France
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