This chapter tells you what you need to know in order to claim income support in France.

If you have worked and paid social security contributions in another country of the European Union, your period of work and the contributions that you have made may be taken into account when your benefits are calculated in France.

In what situation can I claim?

Income support (revenu de solidarité active, RSA) is intended to guarantee unemployed people, or workers who have a very low income, a minimum level of income, which is variable, according to the number of people in their household.

Income support concerns people who are at least 25 years old, and those aged between 18 and 24 years old if they are parents or if they can prove a certain length of time in work.

What conditions do I need to meet?

• You need to be at least 25 years old, or be pregnant, or have one or more dependent children, or prove a minimum duration of professional activity.
• Live in France in a stable and regular way.
• Be French or a national from the European economic area, or Swiss, and provide evidence of a right to stay, or be a national from another country and have stayed in France regularly for at least 5 years (except special cases).
• The average monthly income of your household over the 3 months prior to your application must not exceed a certain level.
• Have, as a priority, your rights established regarding all other social security allowances (unemployment benefit, pensions, etc.) to which you are entitled.
• You will not be able to receive income support (unless you are a single parent) if you are:
  • on parental or sabbatical leave, on unpaid leave or seasonal lay-off;
  • a student.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

• The amount of income support depends on who is in the household: a couple, and dependent children.
• The amount of income support depends on your income and that of each member of your household.

You can make an estimate of your rights with the help of the calculation simulator on the CAF website.

If your household has no professional income, the minimum guaranteed income is a flat sum, which is changeable according to the composition of your family.

The increase is granted to a single parent only temporarily, for a duration of 12 months or until the youngest child reaches 3 years of age. This applies, for example, following a separation, the death of the other parent, or the birth of a child in a single-parent family.

If you have income, the amount of income support actually paid is equal to the difference between guaranteed flat-rate amount and your income.

Jargon busters

Single parent: a single, divorced, separated or widowed person who has dependent children who are already born, or who are due to be born, who does not live in a couple and does not share his or her income and costs with a partner, cohabitee or civil partner. The simple geographic separation of a couple does not constitute a situation of single parenthood.

Forms you may need to fill in

Application form for income support.

If you are shopkeeper, craftsman, agricultural non-salaried worker, or a freelance worker, you also need to complete the additional application for non-salaried workers.

Know your rights

The following links provide further information about your rights. These sites are not the responsibility of the European Commission and therefore do not represent its viewpoints:

• More information on the French administration's website.
• More information on the Family allowance office's website.

Commission publication and websites:

• Unemployment and benefits: your rights as a European citizen abroad

Who do you need to contact?

You can apply for income support, at your choice, at:

• your Family allowance office (CAF) or your agricultural social-security mutual fund (CMSA), if you come under the agricultural system;
• your General Council (department);
• the Communal centre for social action (CCAS) of where you live;
• an association accredited by the General Council.