Your first months at EPITA Paris, sorted.
Visa, CVEC, health insurance, transport and campus life: plain-English guides, checked against official sources.
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Validate your student visa (VLS-TS)
If your visa is a VLS-TS, you must validate it online within 3 months of arrival. EPITA's deadline is 15 October 2026. Keep the attestation with you.
Open a bank account in France
A French bank account (and its RIB) is needed for health insurance, CAF and Navigo instalments. Here is how opening one usually works and what to do if a bank refuses.
Pay the CVEC and unlock your school certificate
The CVEC is a compulsory yearly student contribution of 105 euros. Pay it online, upload the certificate number in the Student Portal, and EPITA unlocks your school certificate.
Register for French health insurance (Assurance Maladie)
Non-European students register online on the ameli student site, get a social security number, then request a Carte Vitale. Prepare your documents first, especially the birth certificate.
See a doctor in France
Book on Doctolib, check the doctor is sector 1 and takes the Carte Vitale, declare a médecin traitant to be reimbursed 70% instead of 30%, and know who to call in an emergency.
Mutuelle (top-up health insurance) and CSS
A mutuelle is optional private insurance that covers what Assurance Maladie leaves. Low-income students may qualify for the state-supported Complémentaire santé solidaire (CSS).