Relocation · checklist
First 30 Days in the South of France: Newcomer Checklist
Your first month in France feels like a blur of acronyms. In reality there's a clear order to it all. Here's an honest checklist that plenty of people in our chat have already worked through.
Why a checklist
French bureaucracy isn’t complicated, it’s sequential: each step hangs on the last. Without an address you can’t properly open an account; without an account (RIB) you can’t apply to CAF or sécu. So keep things in order.
Week 1 — address and visa
- Proof of address (justificatif de domicile). A rental contract or, if you’re staying with friends, an attestation d’hébergement + the host’s ID + a recent utility bill of theirs (electricity/internet).
- Visa validation with OFII. If you arrived on a VLS-TS visa, this is step one: do it online on the OFII website, pay for the electronic stamp (timbre), then have your medical exam.
Week 2 — bank and phone
- Bank account (RIB). You’ll need it for almost everything. Both traditional banks and online banks work fine. If you get turned down, there’s the “droit au compte” through the Banque de France.
- A French SIM with a local number — appointments and confirmations all hinge on it.
Week 3 — health and benefits
- Sécurité sociale (sécu). Apply through PUMA via your CPAM: titre de séjour/visa, RIB, a translated birth certificate. While your Carte Vitale is being made, you’ll be issued a temporary attestation.
- CAF. If you’re renting, apply for APL: you’ll need your RIB, rental contract and titre de séjour.
Week 4 — taxes and loose ends
- Tax number (numéro fiscal). At the centre des finances publiques: you file a return even with zero income — your avis d’imposition gets asked for everywhere afterwards.
- Préfecture appointment for your titre de séjour through ANEF — grab a slot early, this is often the slowest part of all.
The main pitfalls
- Get documents translated by a sworn translator (traducteur assermenté) — an ordinary translation won’t be accepted.
- Don’t drag your feet on OFII — a late visa validation creates problems with your status.
- No préfecture slot? Check for openings at different times of day, send your file by registered mail (recommandé), and as a last resort file a référé with the administrative court.
Specific addresses (which préfecture, OFII, CPAM and CAF apply to you) are in your city guide. And for first-hand tips on “how it went for me in Montpellier/Nice/Marseille” — head to the chat.