Health Insurance

Regardless of whether it is required or optional, the registration process for French Social Security can take many months. It is recommended that you start the process as soon as possible, and sign up for a private insurance for the first few months of your stay in case of emergency.

If you apply for social security membership, the organization must be able to identify you in order to register and give you a social security number. Civil status documents (birth certificate in particular) are very important. In some cases, they will have to be legalized or apostilled. In some cases, they will also have to be translated into French by a sworn translator.

For the translation of Civil Status Documents:

• If you are a citizen of an European Union member state, you must include a multilingual form (to be requested from the relevant administration in your country of origin) with your civil status documents. For example, in France, the form may be requested at City Hall.
• If you are a citizen of a country outside of the European Union and your civil status documents are not drafted in French (only French or multilingual) by the relevant administration or directly by the consular post, your civil status documents must be translated into French by a registered translator.

How do I choose a translator?

If a translation is required for your visa application, you can ask the Consulate for the list of your country’s certified translators authorised by the French consular post.

For translations that will be used during administrative procedures in France (especially for affiliation with social security), it is advised that you choose a certified translator in France from the list of judicial experts with a French Court of Appeal (for Paris, you’ll find the list of certified translators at http://cetiecap.com/)

However, it is possible to have a document translated outside of France. In order for the translation of an official document by a certified translator of a foreign country to be recognized in France, the translator’s signature must be authenticated by the Consulate (otherwise, you can get them apostilled, which is a simplified authentication procedure). In certain instances, the certified translator must also be authorized by the French consular post. For more information, you can contact either the French Consulate or your acc&ss centre.