Foreign young people in France: which help can you get?

Your rights in France depend mainly on two things: your nationality (European Union or not) and the residence permit you hold. French benefits are for people who live in France: while you still live abroad, you cannot claim them.

EU or non-EU: the key difference

• Citizens of the EU, the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) or Switzerland don't need a residence permit. For most help, you are treated almost like a young French person, as long as you have a right to reside and, for some benefits, have lived in France for a minimum period.
• Everyone else needs a valid residence permit (or a receipt, “récépissé”). Depending on the help, the permit must also allow you to work, or you must have held it for a number of years.

Mission locale and the CEJ allowance

Missions locales welcome all 16-25 year olds who live in France, whatever their nationality, for information and guidance. To sign a Contrat d’engagement jeune (CEJ) and receive its allowance (up to €566.17 a month in 2026):

• EU citizens don't need a residence permit;
• non-EU citizens must be legally resident, with a permit that allows them to work. France’s highest administrative court (Conseil d’État) confirmed this on 12 June 2023.

Housing benefit (APL)

Non-EU citizens need a valid residence permit. Since 1 July 2026, non-EU students holding a student visa or student residence permit can only get APL if they receive a means-tested grant (bourse sur critères sociaux), have a job, or are on an apprenticeship or professionalisation contract. EU students and refugees are not affected by this change.

Prime d’activité (in-work top-up)

For people aged 18 and over who work on a low income.

• EU citizens: right to reside, and at least 3 months living in France.
• Non-EU citizens: a permit allowing work held for at least 5 years, or a resident card, refugee status, subsidiary protection, stateless status, or being a single parent of a child under 3 with a residence permit.

The right to work

• EU students and workers can work without a work permit. As a student, work must stay secondary to your studies (964 hours a year).
• Non-EU students with a student visa (VLS-TS) or student residence card can work up to 964 hours a year. The employer must declare you to the prefecture at least 2 working days before you start. Algerian students follow a separate agreement and need a work permit.
• Other residence permits: the wording on your card decides. Some allow work, others don't.

Coming to France to study

• EU citizens: no visa. For a first year of a bachelor’s degree, apply on Parcoursup like French students.
• Students living in one of the 75 countries covered by the “Études en France” procedure (for example Algeria, Brazil, Canada, China, India, the United States or Vietnam) apply online through Campus France, all the way to the visa request.
• Other countries: contact the institution directly and apply for a student visa on the official France-Visas website.

Every situation is different. Before an important step, check with your mission locale or on service-public.gouv.fr. Then find your mission locale.