As an English assistant (as a student as well !) , you are allowed to benefit from CAF as long as you have a legal housing contract (le bail de location).
Not everyone would know what CAF is so everytime you come across an advertisement or a proposition, ask the person if you’d have the right to apply for APL (Aide Personnalisée au Logement) provided by CAF.
If your landlord provides you with just an “attestation de logement” and not a “bail de location”, you would not be able to apply for APL.
Documentation for APL differs from one department to the other. Most of the time, it’s online. As soon as you have your OFII formalities done (you have your medical visit), you can apply for CAF. In most cases, all you would need is your contract and few details about the apartment or studio you are living in.
If you’re eligible for APL, you’d start receiving it (in most cases), from the third month of your application. If you applied for it in November, you’ll receive it in the month of February (for all the previous months except for the month you applied for it). You generally do not get paid for the first and the last month of your stay. That’s some random rule, I don’t know much about. But that’s how it is. (The fact that the French government is kind enough to help us with financial aid is already big.
The amount of APL that you receive depends on the department, area, accommodation, number of people living, and several other factors. But you can expect to get something between 80-120 Euros, if all goes well. (It could be more or less depending on your specific case!)
Well, that’s all I know about CAF and APL. The website you should be looking at for more information is : CAF.fr (you can even do a rough estimation of your rights).
In case you have more questions, or if you get to know about something that I have missed out on, feel free to write to me !
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Bisous et Bisous
