Welcome Desk - Researchers

These guides are indicative and are not contractually binding on Université PSL. The information has been taken from various governmental sites and the experiences of the PSL Welcome Desk. However, this information is subject to change according to the evolution of services or other reasons.  

Do not hesitate to contact us at welcomedesk@psl.eu for any questions or comments.

Residence Requirements

Entry and Residence in France_EN 

Administration

Register with the French Social Security system_EN 

Health Care in France_EN 

Tax Declaration Assistance Document_EN 

Understanding My French Payslip_EN/FR 

English Translation of Form to Request Health Insurance Coverage (Social Security) 

English Translation of Form for Linking a Minor Child to One or Both Insured Parents (Social Security)

Daily Life

Planning your budget_EN 

Housing_EN 

Find a guarantor_EN 

• Contact your PSL school for their hiring (if applicable) and arrival procedures.
• Complete this form to benefit from PSL Welcome Desk services for international researchers.
• Refer to the practical guides on the Euraxess France platform.
• Gather your documents translated (list of certified translators in France : you can search your language by ctrl+f).
• Find housing (even a temporary solution) before your arrival.
• Confirm your insurance coverage.
• Plan your budget (please check our budget guide).
• Plan ahead for your possible research activities in other European countries during your time at PSL. (Note: Additional procedures may apply.)

Note: if you hold a student visa, please consult the PSL Welcome Desk’s web page for international students.

It is crucial that your arrival in France complies with the regulations according to your circumstances. Your initial status may impact your work authorization, your eligibility for certain benefits, and your future plans in France. It is recommended to discuss your situation with your PSL school and the PSL Welcome Desk before starting administrative processes.

The type of visa granted depends on the duration of your stay, funding, planned activity, and your nationality. If you are already in France, you may need to change your status according to your activity (example: student to 'talent-chercheur' to start a PhD contract).

European Union, European Economic Area, and Swiss nationals do not need a visa or resident permit to live or work in France.

• Use the Visa Wizard to check which visa is appropriate. Commonly seen visas for activity at Université PSL include, among others: ‘talent-chercheur,’ ‘scientifique-chercheur,’ ‘travailleur-temporaire,’ and ‘visiteur’.
• Verify visa requirements for your accompanying family members. The spouse and minor children of 'talent-chercheur' holders may request a 'talent-famille' visa at the same time as the researcher or later, after the researcher has already entered France.
• Gather your documents in accordance with consular office instructions.
• Upon arrival: depending on what is indicated on your visa sticker, either validate your visa (VLS-TS) or request a residence permit (‘titre de séjour’) on the Foreign Nationals in France (ANEF) website.

For help with ANEF requests: FAQ. Do not hesitate to have a look to our guide entry and residence in France.

Finding housing in Paris can be complicated on account of availability, administrative processes, and cost of living. We encourage you to start looking early and contact us as soon as possible if you have any questions.

How do I find housing?

• Contact your PSL school to inquire about possible options offered to international researchers.
• Consult the Euraxess France Housing Guide for International Researchers for helpful links and to get a better understanding of the French system.

Housing ideas for international researchers in Paris*:

• Cité internationale universitaire de Paris (CiuP) (long stay)
• Résidence internationale d’enseignants-chercheurs Champollion (short or long stay)
• Résidence les Carmes (short stay)
• Maison Suger (long stay)
• Bed & Crous (short stay)
• Villa Pasteur (short or medium stay)
• Centre international des Récollets (short or long stay)
• Espacil Habitat (long stay)
  • Résidence Irène Joliot Curie-Paris 13e
  • Résidence Simone Veil-Paris 14e

Good to know: All the residences listed here accept researchers accompanied by their spouses, subject to availability. The Cité Internationale de Paris accepts couples with children. The Centre International des Récollets also accepts children, limited to two, as the units are large studios without separates bedrooms.

*Not an exhaustive list, promotion, or guarantee of availability.

To learn more about housing solutions, please have a look at these guides: 

• Long term housing for researchers 
• Short term housing for researchers 

Useful services

To submit a housing request, you often will be required to provide a ‘garant.’ If you do not have physical guarantor residing in France, you may be eligible for one of the following solutions:

• Visale
• Garantme

DossierFacile can help you assemble your digital file for rental requests.

Once you have found housing, you may also be eligible to receive housing aid from the Caisse d’allocations familiales (Caf).

To know more about housing formalities, please check our housing guide. 

• Contact your PSL school to ask about administrative procedures.
• Depending on your entry document: 
  • VLS-TS (<12 mo): validate on the ANEF (Foreigners in France) platform within 3 months of arrival (obtain a confirmation of validation PDF).
  • VLS (>12 mo): apply for a residence permit on the ANEF (Foreigners in France) platform within 2 months of arrival (obtain a residence permit card).
• Open a bank account.
• Apply for a social security number.
• Take out mandatory insurance policies and consider the complimentary options.
• Gather information about medical care in France (you can check our guide Health Care in France).
• Help your family settle in.
• Work on your French or join the Tandem Program, the PSL Welcome Desk language partner program!
• Renew your residence permit four to two months before the end of your current resident document’s validity. The fee for a late request is 180€.
• Contact the PSL Welcome Desk right away if you encounter a problem.

Note: if you hold a student visa, please consult the PSL Welcome Desk’s web page for international students.

*Social Security designates the system of French social protections, which is composed of five branches including the healthcare branch.  The French social security system aims to guarantee to everyone the possibility to live decently in France. By registering for social security, you open your rights to all branches including Health Insurance.

Apply for a French social security number

The process of obtaining your social security number depends on your situation:

• If you are a PhD student or researcher employed in France, regardless of your nationality, your employer can submit the application online via the platform ‘Immatriculation des Salariés étrangers’. Check with your human resources department. If your employer does not submit the application online, you will need to complete the process yourself by submitting the paper form to the Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie (CPAM). Applications for salaried ‘talent-researcher’ holders are processed centrally at the CPAM in Paris.
• If you are a PhD student, not employed in France but enrolled at the University and a non-EU citizen, you must complete the process on the website etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr. If you hold a ‘talent-researcher’ or ‘scientist-researcher’ residence permit, you must upload it instead of the student permit requested.
• If you are a PhD student or researcher who is not employed in France and is not enrolled at a French university, you may submit your enrollment form to your local Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie (CPAM) after three months of regular and stable residence in France.
• Finally, if you are a citizen of the European Union, Switzerland, or the European Economic Area, we encourage you to apply for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

Health Insurance

After submitting your application, you will receive your temporary social security number (NIA) within about 2 months. This number allows you to receive care and be refunded retroactively through the “feuilles de soin” (receipt of the care your received and fee you payed). 

Then, you will receive a letter with your definitive social security number (NIR), which will allow you to create an Ameli account and order your “carte vitale”. Thus, you will be able to receive care and get reimbursed automatically. You must identify and declare a general practitioner (médecin traitant) and follow the coordinated health path (parcours de soins coordonnés).  

Find all the information in our guide Register with the French Social Security system.  

You may also wish to subscribe to complementary health insurance (“Mutuelle”) to obtain a fuller reimbursement of your medical fees.  

To know more about health French system, please have a look at our guide Health Care in France. 

European emergency number: 112 

For general information about daily life fees, please check our guide on how to prepare your budget.

Bank

• Open a French bank account

Taxes

• Tax season is in the spring of each year. Consult our Tax Declaration Assistance Document for general information.
• Understand your pay slip
• Contact your local tax service (SIP) for more information.

Public transportation

• RATP - Public transportation in Paris and Ile-de-France
• Paris airports
• French train system - SNCF

Driver's license

• If you want to drive a car in France, please check the rules regarding the country where you obtained you driver’s license.

French as a Foreign Language (FLE)

• Check with your PSL school for options.
• PSL Ecole interne if you have a work contract from PSL or one of its schools
• PSL Language Resource Center
• PSL Welcome Desk Tandem Program (language exchange partner)
• Ask the PSL Welcome Desk about the possibility of a license for an online language learning platform.
• City of Paris

Sports

• PSL Sport Registration
• PSL Race at the Bois de Boulogne

Libraries

• PSL School libraries
• National Library of France (BnF)
• Public libraries
  • Municipal libraries of Paris.
  • Affluence to learn more about libraries close to you, their entry conditions, their schedules and their affluence.

Career Development

• Euraxess
• Student entrepreneurship with PSL-Pépite

Early Childcare

In France, there are several types of private and public early childcare options: 

• Assistante maternelle / Childminder (childcare provider that takes care of one or more children at her home); 
• Crèche / Daycare center; 
• Crèche parentale (daycare center run by parents organized as an association) 
• Micro crèches (daycare center that welcomes up to 14 children, some in a bilingual environment); 
• A nanny who looks after you child in your home. 

Daycare is in high demand and requires applying early to multiple places, as early as the third or fourth month of pregnancy, if possible, especially for public daycare centers. You can submit your application on the city hall website or go in person. For private daycare centers, you may apply directly at the facility. 

To find the closest early childcare solution, please check the CAF’s interactive map. 

Another option is applying to the interministerial daycare system, although this is also in high demand.

La Caisse d'Allocations familiales (CAF) - Reminder

The CAF is a Social Security agency responsible for family-related benefits. It provides assistance in two ways:

• Various social assistance programs that help fund facilities such as daycare centers and afterschool programs, thereby reducing costs for families.
• Direct financial assistance to households, paid based on eligibility criteria (housing assistance, birth grants, family allowances, childcare supplements, disability allowances, back-to-school allowances).

As a foreign national, il you can justify that you are a primary and regular resident in France, you may be eligible for most of these benefits depending on your personal, family, and professional circumstances.

Feel free to visit the CAF website to learn more about the available benefits and eligibility criteria.

Please note that most daycare centers are funded in part by the CAF with fees adapted to your income or an allocation paid directly to your bank account. To learn more, please check:

• Childcare assistance: Le complément de libre choix du mode de garde (CMG) | CAF – Caisse d’Allocations Familiales
• Early childcare fees - monenfant.fr

A social security number is not mandatory in your initial application to request CAF assistance, but the formality may be more complicated if you do not have it. Applications for benefits from the CAF are generally submitted online from your personal account, but you can also fill out the form and submit it directly to your local CAF office or send it by mail. Do not hesitate to book an appointment with the Welcome Desk PSL to help you with this process.

School

French lawrequires all children between the ages of 3 and 16 to attend school.

• L’école primaire (or elementary school) includes preschool and elementary grade, from kindergarten through CM2 (the highest grade in elementary school). Enrollment takes place at city hall, which will refer you to CASNAV (a service that supports children who do not speak French as their first language) for an assessment of your child’s language proficiency.

For more information, please check the government website: education in France for a child arriving from abroad. 

Le collège (or middle school) welcomes your children for four years until they complete the national brevet exam. After that, le lycée (or high school) welcomes your child for three years until they complete the baccalauréat. In France, the establishment where you register your child depends on your residential address (and sometimes on the type of program desired; for example, technology programs in high school are only available in certain schools). If you have just arrived in France, you must first contact CASNAV to have your child’s French proficiency assessed.  You will then need to enroll your child in the school that serves your area directly through the school itself.

If your child is unable to follow classes in French, they will be welcomed in a school with an Unité pédagogique pour élèves allophones arrivants (UPE2A). This is a special program for students who have recently arrived in France and need adapted French language instruction. This program will allow them to learn French and be integrated progressively in different classes.  

After school and childcare programs

Afterschool and childcare programs, in French “centres de loisirs”, “centres aérés”, “accueil collectif de mineurs”, are recreation and leisure centers for children and young people before and after school and during holidays. To learn more, please visit the government website on French youth policies.

Because they are funded by the CAF, afterschool and childcare program fees are adapted to your financial resources. Registration takes place at city hall. If you live in Paris, please find all the information on their website.

Please note that in France, students do not have class on Wednesday afternoon, and sometimes also not on Wednesday morning. Additionally, there are frequently scheduled holidays throughout the school year which are divided into three geographic areas (meaning that holiday dates may vary from one region to another). Please have a look at the holiday calendar for the 2026/2027 academic year.

PSL Services

We invite you to contact the Human Resources services of your establishment to learn about possible additional resources. 

• Before leaving, contact your PSL school to request your school certificates, transcripts, and diplomas or arrange for the diploma to be sent by post or picked up by a friend ('procuration'). Contact the human resources department of your PSL school.
• Inform your employer about your departure within the required notice period ('délai de préavis'), request your end-of-contract paperwork, or inform the Unemployment Office 'France Travail'.
• Keep in touch with Université PSL: Alumni networks.

• If renting: inform the landlord or agency in charge of housing of departure by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt ('lettre recommandée avec accusé de reception') within the required notice period as specified in the contract.          
• Carry out check out inspection with the landlord or his/her representative. Your deposit ('dépôt de garantie' ou 'caution') must be returned to you in the two months following your departure.
• Inform the utilities companies (electricity, water, phone, internet, home insurance) if you have a contract.  

• Mail can be forwarded (for a fee) by the post (‘La Poste’) 
• Taxes 
• CAF 
• CPAM, from your Ameli account, ‘my procedures’ (‘mes démarches’). NB: the social security number is kept for life. 
• Inform multiple administrations (tax office, CPAM for primary health insurance, and retirement office) of departure or change of situation in a single online form. You will keep the same Ameli/CPAM personal account throughout your life. 
• Inform complementary health insurance (‘mutuelle’) of your departure. 
• Request European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) (‘Carte européenne d’assurance maladie, CEAM’) if leaving France to stay temporarily in another European country. 
• Check that all debts have been paid (health care fees, pending bills…) 
• Contact bank to determine which procedure is necessary to close account (differed closure or not), and to ensure the transfer of funds to a foreign account. Unless otherwise indicated you will be asked to send a letter requesting the closure of your account including certain elements corresponding to your situation. 
• NB : remember to take into account the return of your deposit, and other possible reimbursements.  

Warning: Keep certain documents.