Registration, banking and utilities in Paris

Banking and the RIB

A French account produces the RIB — the account identity document — and French life runs on it: rent by virement, utilities by prélèvement, salary paid in, refunds from the health system paid out. Traditional banks want identification, proof of address and often an appointment; online banks are faster but occasionally refused by landlords and by some administrations. Do not underestimate how many forms will ask you to attach a RIB.

• Bring passport, residence document, lease or attestation d'hébergement, and employment contract.
• Ask for several printed RIBs; you will be handing them out for months.
• Prélèvement automatique is how bills are paid — set it up rather than paying manually.

Social security and the numéro fiscal

If you work in France, your employer declares you and the process produces a numéro de sécurité sociale, which is the key to the health system and appears on the carte Vitale. Separately, the tax administration issues a numéro fiscal once you are in the system, and income tax is now withheld at source through the prélèvement à la source, though residents still file an annual declaration. Both numbers take time to arrive and both are asked for constantly.

• The numéro de sécurité sociale is provisional at first and becomes definitive once your file is complete.
• Your espace on impots.gouv.fr is where the numéro fiscal and your declarations live.
• The first annual declaration is usually made on paper; subsequent ones online.

Utilities, internet and the everyday

Electricity is a contract in your own name with EDF or any alternative supplier, arranged for the day of the état des lieux with a meter reading. Internet installation in older Paris buildings can genuinely take several weeks and sometimes requires the syndic's cooperation, so order it the day you sign the lease. The taxe d'habitation no longer applies to main residences, but the redevance and other local charges may appear depending on your situation.

• Set up electricity with a meter reading dated to the état des lieux.
• Order fibre the day you sign; the technician appointment, not the paperwork, is the delay.
• Keep every quittance de loyer — the monthly rent receipt is a standard proof of address.

Status, residence and where to check

What you must do to regularise your stay depends entirely on your nationality and your reason for being in France, and the rules and the online systems change frequently. What does not change is the evidence requested: proof of address, proof of means, proof of health cover and a lease in your name. Confirm current requirements with the préfecture, the official ANEF portal or a qualified immigration lawyer rather than with a forum.

• Most residence procedures now begin on the ANEF online platform.
• Keep the récépissé or confirmation of any application — it evidences your position while it is processed.
• Translations of foreign civil documents usually need to be by a traducteur assermenté.

In order

1. 1Open a French bank account and collect several RIBs.
2. 2Sign the lease and keep the quittances de loyer from month one.
3. 3Register with the health system through your employer and follow up on the numéro de sécurité sociale.
4. 4Apply for the carte Vitale once the number is issued.
5. 5Set up electricity and internet in your own name.
6. 6Declare a médecin traitant with Assurance Maladie.
7. 7Apply to CAF for APL if eligible.
8. 8Complete your residence formalities under current official guidance.