All international students are entitled to health insurance.

Non-European students and students without a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) must register on the Health Insurance website.

This is compulsory and free of charge: etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr

European students with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) do not need to register online.

• You are a European citizen and in possession of a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or a temporary health insurance certificate. You will be reimbursed for your health expenses under the same conditions as in your country.
• You were already enrolled in a French higher education institution during the year 2019/20 and/or the year 2020/21, and you have already registered. You do not need to renew this process and you will continue to be covered as in the previous year.

Start by registering on the website: etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr

1. Enter the mandatory information:
   • Last name
   • First name(s)
   • Date of birth
   • Country of birth
   • E-mail address
   • Parent’s name
   • Address in France
   • email and phone number
2. Upload the required supporting documents:
   • Passport/ID card
   • Student visa
   • Enrolment certificate for the current year
3. Upload the additional required documents to finish your registration with the French Social Security and receive your final letter of rights:
   • A vital record fully legible in the original language. Along with a translation if possible.
     • One of the following: A long-form birth certificate, a short-form birth certificate showing your parents’ information (or any document issued by a consulate), a family record book (« livret de famille »), a certificate of marriage.
   • Residence permit or document validating long stay visa (VLS)
   • A Bank identity statement (in French: RIB) or an IBAN
   • Parental authorisation statement for children under 16 years of age
   • If necessary, additional documents according to the country of origin

Then create your personal account:

• Download your temporary Social Security registration certificate, and you will immediately have access to the reimbursement of your health expenses by the French health insurance.
• Upload any missing or incomplete documents to your personal account.
• Once you receive a message with an NIR number, you can download your definitive social security affiliation certificate.

Open your personal ameli account: 

• Open your personal ameli account by calling 3646 (French) or 0974 753 646 (English). Your bank details (RIB), social security number and a code received by text message will be necessary to create your personal ameli account.
  

Once your ameli account is opened, you can:  

• Request your “carte Vitale” by providing your ID documents: recent passport photo and ID papers.
• Register a primary care physician (“médecin traitant”) during a consultation with a doctor in France

Your temporary social security number allows you to carry out the same formalities as if you had your final social security number.

The only differences are that with the temporary number you cannot obtain a carte Vitale or create an Ameli account.

Declaring a médecin traitant is the process of choosing a doctor to be the primary care physician for your health care.

The choice of a general practitioner allows you to have better medical follow-up, to be referred to a specialist and to receive better coverage (70% instead of 30%).

This can be done on your first visit to a doctor, when you require medical treatment.

1. Download the form.
2. Ask your doctor to complete this form during an appointment.
3. You can then send it to the CPAM of Maine et Loire:
   CPAM of Maine et Loire
   32 rue Louis Gain
   49937 Angers CEDEX 9

You can make appointments with the following specialists without going through your GP: a gynaecologist, an ophthalmologist, a psychiatrist or neuropsychiatrist, a stomatologist.

More information on ameli.fr

Public health insurance can reimburse up to 70% of health costs

However, in order to have better coverage, it is strongly recommended that you take out private health insurance.

A private student insurance company or another provider can cover all or part of the health expenses that are not reimbursed by the CPAM.

Reimbursements vary according to the contract.

Please note that the French Assurance Maladie offers the Complémentaire santé solidaire for students, which is a help to pay for health expenses if you have limited resources. You can apply under certain conditions (details on ameli.fr).

You have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)

• Complete and sign the healthcare form provided by your physician.
• Attach the following documents:
  • A bank identification number (RIB) to the form
  • A photocopy of your passport or ID
  • A photocopy of your EHIC.
• Send the form and supporting documents to CPAM de Maine et Loire, 32 rue Louis Gain, 49937 Angers CEDEX 9

You do not yet have a carte vitale

You have registered online at https://etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr/#/ but you do not yet have a carte vitale.

• Complete and sign the healthcare form provided by your physician.
• Send the form to CPAM de Maine et Loire, 32 rue Louis Gain, 49937 Angers CEDEX 9

If you have obtained a carte vitale

Please send the following to the CPAM of Maine et Loire

• The “carte vitale”
• The form “Transfert de résidence hors de France”

If you do not have a definitive French social security number

You do not have to inform the health insurance. Your account will be automatically closed.