Planning your arrival

Student residences & housing partners

Finding a place in Paris: up to 20% off your rent. EICAR has negotiated reserved rates and services for its students with residences and platforms close to the campus in Ivry-sur-Seine – benefits you would not get on your own. Discounts are applied directly to your rent, and there are solutions even if you do not have a guarantor in France.

• Yugo – Paris Ivry student residence, right across the street from the school: 20% off your rent for the whole lease and 20% off the application fee (temporary promotion, with a promo code given to you by your admissions advisor when you enrol at EICAR).
• Les Estudines – 3 student residences in Ivry-sur-Seine: up to 20% off your rent – Paris Ivry: 15% off 11 months of rent; Quai d’Ivry: 7% off 11 months of rent; Porte d’Ivry: 20% off the first 3 months of rent.
• Aparto – Paris Liberté student residence, Charenton-le-Pont: a discount on your rent every month, for the whole lease, on presentation of your EICAR enrolment certificate.
• Studapart – rental platform dedicated to EICAR students: 3 months of free home insurance, the Studapart guarantee if you have no guarantor or are not eligible for Visale, and cancellation insurance if your visa is refused.
• ColombAge – intergenerational home-sharing: a senior rents you a spare room in exchange for a moderate rent or small services (being at home at night, shopping…). Book an appointment with ColombAge by email and provide your EICAR enrolment certificate.

How to benefit

1. Choose your partner and complete your application online on its website.
2. Provide your EICAR enrolment certificate for the current academic year.
3. The discount is applied directly to your rent.

No guarantor? The Visale guarantee acts as your guarantor free of charge, and Studapart offers an alternative to a personal guarantor.

Complementary Healthcare Insurance (“la Mutuelle”)

Complementary healthcare insurance coverage is available to all students, regardless of age. This insurance secures coverage of all or part of the expenses not covered by the basic healthcare plan. Supplemental plans cost on average €200 per academic year. This insurance is not mandatory.

Civil Liability and Accident Insurance

It is compulsory for all students to obtain civil liability insurance to cover you if you are the victim of, or responsible for an accident during your academic year. It must be renewed in the Fall of each new school year until the end of your studies.

If you possess civil liability and accident insurance in your home country, you will have to provide the school with the valid insurance certificate which states the coverage conditions and the period of coverage.

One of the largest student group health and liability insurance plans is HEYME. They provide complementary healthcare insurance as well as civil liability insurance. To ensure immediate coverage at the start of classes, we invite you to subscribe to the “Responsabilité civile” plan for €12 per year. It covers your civil liability.

You can also consult your French bank or other insurance companies for “Responsabilité civile” coverage.

Learn more about healthcare

How to obtain healthcare, civil liability, & other insurance coverage in France

Pre-Departure Check List

Here are some important things to remember when preparing your departure to Paris:

• Use your name exactly as it appears on your passport or birth certificate on your school application and all supporting documents.
• Your visa: Make sure you have fulfilled all visa and residence permit requirements.
• Registration & tuition fee payment: Complete the registration process with EICAR and confirm your attendance to the program to which you have been admitted. Please do not hesitate to write via email or to call EICAR for any questions you may have. Ascertain that you will be able to pay the tuition fees on time. We must remind you that failure to make tuition fee payments may result in suspension of your studies and withdrawal of your visa.
• Money: Make sure you have access to enough funds to cover your tuition fees, your accommodation fees and initial expenses. Contact your home bank before travelling to ensure you will be able to access your account when you arrive in France.
• Accommodations: Have you booked a flat in one of the student residences in partnership with EICAR or will you be looking for private accommodations once you arrive? Whatever the case, be sure to have a place to stay when you arrive. EICAR does not have any housing facilities of its own.
• Arrival Date: Give yourself enough time to settle in before Orientation day. We do not recommend that students attempt to find and secure lodging while in the first days of our intensive programs.
• Book your flights and make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months into the future.
• Your Official Documents:  Have your official documents easily accessible when arriving to France. We advise you to travel with these documents in your hand baggage, photocopies in your check-in luggage, scanned copies on your computer. Upon arrival, make sure to keep photocopies in a safe place separate from the original documents.
• Valid passport for international students; official identity card for European Union nationals.
• A long-term student visa for non-European Union students.
• A birth certificate translated in French (parents’ names must be mentioned).
• The original documents you used to obtain a visa from the French consulate or embassy in your home country. You may be asked to present these at customs and they will be necessary when you apply for a residence permit.
• The “pré-inscription” certificate you received from EICAR.
• Officially certified copies of diploma/degree certificate and transcripts (in both original language and translation in English if applicable).
• For European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland citizens: a European Health Insurance card.
• Copy of prescriptions for any medication and eye glasses, if necessary.
• Health and vaccination records.
• For married students: a marriage certificate translated into French and certified by the appropriate authorities.
• If you intend to drive in France, don’t forget your valid driver’s license.
• Clothing: Prepare for the four seasons of the year. Paris goes through all four in an often unpredictable manner: sunshine, rain, rare snowfall. However, other parts of the country offer the possibility to ski in winter, sunbathe at the seashore in the summer.
• Specific Support: Please inform us if you require any specific support or arrangements due to a physical disability.

Checklist

Settling In and Beginning Daily Life

Support services

Every year, from early September to the end of October, the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris opens the Welcome Desk Paris, a one-stop service for international students, at the Maison internationale (17 boulevard Jourdan, Paris 14th, RER B or tram T3a, Cité universitaire stop). A multilingual team welcomes you without an appointment, Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, to help with your procedures: residence permit, visa, housing assistance, health insurance, work.

Under one roof, you will find in particular:

• the Préfecture de police de Paris, for residence permits;
• the CAF (Caisse d’allocations familiales), for housing assistance;
• the CPAM (Caisse primaire d’assurance maladie), to register with the French health insurance system.

Phone and Internet

Having a personal cell phone is a necessity while living and studying in Paris. It is essential to be able to contact the school, family, friends and emergency services.

If you possess an unlocked phone or if you plan to purchase one here, France has several cell phone providers. Having a French phone number is necessary while living in Paris. Foreign cell phone numbers are not always appreciated by callers. Their providers may surcharge them for these calls.

You can also buy a prepaid cell phone card that you can recharge when credit has run out or sign up for a contract. A contract can be monthly or annual. To sign up for a contract, you will need: an ID or valid passport, your bank account information, a French permanent address and a utility bill (electricity, gas…). The company will ask for your bank information so that each month, the amount of the bill is automatically debited from your bank account. The utility bill that you present is proof that you are living in France.

The easiest way to set up cell phone and internet service is to go directly to any one of the providers: Free, Sosh, Red, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Orange … Inquire about the most reasonably priced service for your needs. If you choose a cell phone plan, you must already have an address in France & proof of residence and French bank account.

Bank account

Having a French bank account is invaluable for long stays in France and is highly recommended for anyone accepted to our Bachelors and Masters programs. It will be easier to pay rent, phone bills and other expenses. French housing financial aid, reimbursements from the French Healthcare Insurance will be deposited directly to this account. In addition, you will not be charged for each transaction and you will not have to worry about the exchange rate.

To open a bank account, each bank may ask you for different documents but it is recommended to have the following documents with you:

• Passport
• Student card
• Residence permit (if you are not an EU citizen)
• Proof of address in France – utility bill or apartment rental lease. (this can also be a signed letter from your landlord with copy of her/his identity card)

Transportation

Paris offers a huge public transportation network including metro, bus, tramway, RER and Transilien suburban lines, as well as self-service bike rentals, electric car rentals & scooter rentals.

The ideal travel plan is the Navigo pass and the most convenient option for regular travel on the public transportation system. The student Navigo pass is called Imagine R for students under the age of 26. With the Imagine R annual travel pass, you save more than 50% off the price of a regular Navigo monthly travel pass. For students over the age of 26, you can apply for the regular Navigo monthly pass. You can pick up an application form for either pass at any train station.

Since 2015, the Navigo monthly and weekly passes are valid in all zones of the Île-de-France region for a single price.

Until you get your Navigo pass, you can buy single tickets loaded onto a Navigo Easy card or your smartphone (paper tickets and books of 10 no longer exist): in 2026, a Metro-Train-RER ticket costs €2.55 and a Bus-Tram ticket €2.05, whatever your destination in Île-de-France.