Settling-in services in France: what is included

What does a settling-in service in France include?

There is no standard package. Agencies sell a mix of administrative help, appointments and practical set-up, alone or after a home search. Of the 32 agencies ReloFinder lists with a French office, 28 list settling-in help, 21 list immigration support, 15 list school search and 14 list departure services (France directory, data export of 7 Oct 2026). Those are the services agencies say they offer, not a promise for your case. We found no published price for them, so what it costs to relocate to France lists the official figures instead.

Which admin steps does a newcomer face in France?

The steps depend on your passport and your visa. These are the sourced ones.

• Validate the VLS-TS and pay the tax. Non-EU citizens with a VLS-TS. Deadline: 3 months from arrival. You, online.
• Request a residence card. Non-EU citizens whose visa says “carte de séjour à solliciter”. Deadline: 2 months from arrival. You, through the prefecture.
• Proof of address. Anyone filing a card request. The document must be under 6 months old. You.
• Health insurance rights. Residents. Employees: no waiting period. People without a job: 3 months. You, with the health insurance office.
• Driving licence exchange. A non-European licence. The licence is valid 1 year from settling. You.
• School registration. Children over 3. Deadline: 8 days after the move. Parents, at the town hall and the school.

EU and EEA citizens do not need a residence permit, according to service-public.fr, and skip the first three rows.

How does the residence card work?

For non-EU citizens, a long-stay visa comes first. Two kinds exist. A VLS-TS, valid 4 to 12 months, counts as a permit for that period, so you skip the first prefecture card: you validate it online within three months of arrival and pay a tax. A visa marked “carte de séjour à solliciter dans les 2 mois” lets you enter, and then you ask the prefecture for a card within two months (service-public.fr, verified 21 Aug 2026).

For a talent card, for example, the request is filed on the state’s online portal for residence permits, ANEF. You receive an attestation of filing right away, the prefecture later confirms when the card is available and the tax due, and you pay by electronic stamps, EUR 350 for a qualified employee. The card is handed over against proof of payment (service-public.fr, verified 1 Jun 2026).

The file asks for proof of address under six months old. A lease, a rent receipt or a recent utility bill serves. If you stay in a hotel, the hotel’s attestation and the last bill are needed. If a private host houses you, you need their dated and signed attestation, a copy of their ID or card, and a proof of address in their name (service-public.fr, verified 5 Aug 2025).

What is the integration contract?

For some first permits, the immigration office OFII prepares an integration contract, signed when you are admitted to stay for the first time. It brings language and civic training, and a civic exam is compulsory since 1 January 2026 for people who want a resident card or a multi-year card. Service-public.fr’s table says it applies, for example, to an employee’s VLS-TS and to most private-and-family cards, and not to student, visitor or talent cards (service-public.fr, verified 26 Jun 2026). Ask the prefecture whether it applies to you.

How do I get health cover?

France covers people who live or work in the country in a stable and regular way, through the universal health protection, PUMa. An employee who comes to work in France is covered without a waiting period once the request is accepted (service-public.fr, 2 Apr 2024). A person without a job waits three months after arrival before their rights open, and a non-EEA citizen shows a residence document. You file a form with the health insurance office, the CPAM (service-public.fr, 13 May 2026). The 2026 social security funding law also plans a contribution from some non-working residents, and its amount awaits a decree. We found no official waiting time for the carte Vitale, and we did not read the rules for private top-up cover.

How do I exchange my driving licence?

A licence issued outside Europe is valid for one year from the day you acquire normal residence in France, and exchanging it for a French licence is compulsory to drive longer. Students holding a student card are exempt, and a British licence issued before 2021 stays valid unless it expires, is lost or damaged, or you commit an offence with a loss of points. Not every country’s licence can be exchanged: a simulator on the page shows which can (service-public.fr, verified 1 Jun 2026). We did not read the fee or the processing time.

How do I enrol my children in school?

For a child over three, the page on school enrolment after a move says you must enrol the child within eight days of the change of address. You register the child first at the town hall of your new home with identity documents and proof of address, and the town hall issues a certificate that names the school. You then enrol at the school with the certificate, a document on the child’s identity and family link, and proof of compulsory vaccinations (service-public.fr, verified 23 Sep 2025). The page describes a move within France, so ask the town hall how it applies to a child arriving from abroad. A school search is a separate service, listed by 15 of the 32 agencies on ReloFinder.

What about a bank account and a phone?

We did not read official rules on bank accounts or mobile contracts for newcomers. Which documents a bank or an operator asks for depends on the provider, so ask before you go. Some agencies sell help with these, as part of a package.

Which steps can an agency do, and which need me?

An agent can prepare documents, translate, book appointments, accompany you and chase answers. The official pages address you as the person who files:

• You, online: validating a VLS-TS, and filing a request for a card on ANEF.
• You, at the prefecture, the town hall, the school or the health insurance office: the appointments that follow.
• Not in the sources we read: bank, phone and utilities.

What an agency may do on your own file is for you to agree with it in writing, with who is responsible if the file is refused.

How long does it take?

The official figures are deadlines for you: three months to validate a VLS-TS, two months to request a card, one year on a non-European licence and eight days to enrol a child. We found no official waiting time for prefecture appointments or for the carte Vitale. Treat any promise of a date with caution, and ask what happens to the fee if an appointment slips.

What we could not source

We did not read official rules on bank accounts, mobile contracts, the VLS-TS tax amount, the carte Vitale timing, private top-up cover, or school admission for children who arrive from abroad. We found no published price for a settling-in service. Check the prefecture, the town hall and, for permits, a lawyer. To compare agencies, read how to choose a relocation agency in Paris, or get matched. Our guide to moving to France covers the first 90 days.