International non-European student: your social security and health insurance card, step by step.

1. Register yourself on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr: free and mandatory. Documents: passport, residence permit, student enrollment certificate, bank account details, birth certificate.

2. With the temporary certificate, you can already declare a primary care doctor and subscribe to supplementary health insurance.

3. The permanent number unlocks the health insurance card and the ameli account; the temporary one (7 or 8 at the beginning) is not enough, you need the permanent one (1 or 2).

4. At your primary care doctor (general practitioner, sector 1): €30 per consultation, 70% of the rate reimbursed minus €2 flat contribution, which is €19.

5. Without a declared primary care doctor: same consultation at €30, only €8.40 reimbursed.

6. Low income? The CSS is free or costs less than €1 per day; in mainland France, a single person is entitled to it without contribution up to €10,421 per year (limit as of April 1, 2026).

Tip: register as soon as you have your student enrollment certificate.

And you, how did it go? Tell us in a post: it will help the next people. Full guide: https://pionra.world/fr/p/securite-sociale-carte-vitale-arrivee-france