How to succeed at le CAF

When I first heard about the housing benefits that the French government generously reimburses students with for living in France, it sounded too good to be true: The Caisses d’Allocations Familiales will pay approximately 30%* of your rent when you live in France as a student. After minimal research, I believed that the process would be pretty simple: fill in a form, supply a few documents and wait for my newfound wealth to roll in. However, after my application and subsequent payment took a total of 9 months to be processed, I have learned that the CAF, whilst in itself, being an outstandingly disorganised system, really does sépare le bon grain de l'ivraie.

*Dependent on town, apartment, amount of housemates, etc. 

Rewind to September 2013. After finally getting my Certificat de Scolarité from AMU, my application file was complete. Along with this document to prove my student status, my application included the forms from the CAF themselves, a copy of my letting agreement, bank details and copies of various identification. I proudly handed it all in at the office, thinking: me - 1, la Paperasse - 0.

However, the adviser who looked through my application stated that I should have provided the bank details of my landlady, not my own, as apparently “that’s always what happens with foreigners”. After explaining several times that the money should definitely be paid to my own account, it was quite clear that she would not be swayed (and I couldn’t handle any more of the scathing over-the-glasses-look.) I left feeling deflated, thinking that this confusion would only be a one off...

A few days later I returned, feeling safe in the knowledge that the money should definitely be paid to me and fully prepared (psychologically and with vocabulary) for the advisers. However, this time my dossier was declared ‘parfait’ straight away, but then the passport photocopy was thrown away, as apparently it didn’t need to be sent. This adviser also happily informed me that the average wait time for a response from the CAF in Bouches-du-Rhône was only 4 weeks. At that moment, I should have made the effort to look suitably impressed, as it would be the fastest response time I would ever experience.

Over the 8 months that followed, I received many letters requesting me to supply more documents (one of which was my passport photocopy) and fill in the same forms again. I also swapped my correspondence address to my home in England before I left the country and, after receiving a letter from the CAF to this address, was promptly told via the online courriel service that the CAF could not contact me at an address that was different to the (French) one on file…

One very important document was also still missing (la déclaration de situation - I had provided it in September). After 4 different advisers told me that it could not be sent to me/there was simply no way for me to access it, I then discovered it, readily available, on their website.

By this point, I had re-sent approximately two thirds of the documents I had handed in at the start. It seemed as though someone had simply thrown my file away and I was now slowly replacing each document, one by one, month by month. In a last ditch attempt, I sent a string of 10 desperate messages via the courriel service (the only way to get a response if you don’t like having the phone put down on you) explaining my situation and finally, two weeks later, the lovely Nicolas took pity on me and informed me that the backdated payments should be in my account within the week.

After finally getting my hands on the payment (approx. €150 per month- Aix rent is pricey!), I can say with certainty that the endless forms, phone calls and emails are worth it- and good French practice!

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Please note, my experiences are from the Bouches-du-Rhône CAF. Some areas may be friendlier (or worse!) and other areas may ask for different documents. For example, my English birth certificate was accepted, but a friend in Paris had to get theirs translated.

** under 'Contacter ma CAF' – if your payment hasn’t been processed then you should fill in the 'Vous n'êtes pas allocataire d'une Caf?' but mention your numéro d'allocataire in the message (comes with login details). However, each area has a slightly different website layout.