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ProceduresAdminApplying for child benefit

Applying for child benefit

Comité de la Démarche AccessibleProposed by Comité de la Démarche Accessible Updated on il y a 16 jours

Family allowances are financial aid sent by the CAF (Family Allowance Fund) from the birth of a second child until the child turns 20.

Family allowances are sent monthly to help pay for children's school, clothes, food, or leisure activities.

The amount of this aid varies depending on household resources, the number of children and their ages.

You are entitled to family allowances from the month following the birth of a second child. For example, if your second child is born on January 15th, entitlement will begin on February 1st.
Please note that to claim family allowances, you must be in France (parents and children).
You can register with the CAF (Family Allowance Fund) and apply for family allowances as soon as you submit your asylum application, if your children are already in France. When you receive a positive response from the OFPRA (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons) or the CNDA (National Court of Asylum) regarding your international protection (refugee, subsidiary protection, stateless person), send the document to the CAF, which will calculate your family allowances from the date you submitted your application. This is called " retroactivity of rights ".

How to do it?

The CAF automatically sends you family allowances as soon as it is aware of a second dependent child.

If you are already registered with the CAF (Family Allowance Fund) and you already receive the RSA (active solidarity income):

You must indicate in your RSA application your dependent children (your children who live with you in France).

> Read: the Refugees.info fact sheet "Applying for RSA"

If you are already registered with the CAF, but you do not receive the RSA:

Report a change in your household composition online via your CAF account .

Don't forget to send the birth certificate extract of your children or the pages of your family record book or the civil status document from the OFPRA (scan or photocopies).

> Read: the fact sheet “ Registering and logging in to the CAF ”

To find the address of the CAF agency closest to you, you can enter your postal code by clicking here , then click on “Contact us”.

If you are not yet a "benefit recipient", you must:

  • First, apply for "family allowance" benefits by clicking here , then create an account on the CAF website.
You also have the option of connecting with your FranceConnect account.
> Read the guide Connecting to a website with FranceConnect .
  • complete the information,
  • send the requested documents concerning your family and professional life and the birth certificate extract of your children or the pages of your family record book, or the civil status document from the OFPRA.

> Read: the fact sheets “ Registering and logging in to the CAF ” and “ Scanning a document ”

To find the address of the CAF agency closest to you, you can enter your postal code here , then click on “Contact us”.

Allowances are sent to your account every month. The allowances to which you are entitled for the month of February, for example, are therefore sent at the beginning of March.

The money you receive is called a “benefit” or “aid” or “allowance”. A person who receives aid from CAF is called a “beneficiary”.

The amount of benefits depends on the household's resources. For example, your 2022 resources will be taken into account to calculate your rights for the year 2024.

When your child reaches the age of 14, you will receive a monthly increase for them (i.e. the amount of your allowance will be higher). However, if you only have 2 dependent children, you will not receive an increase for the eldest.

What happens next?

If your personal situation changes (for example: a new person arrives in the household, you move, or you separate), you must inform the CAF.

If your professional situation changes (new job for you or your spouse, end of employment contract, start of internship…), you must also report it.

Don't forget to also send your new bank account details (RIB) if you are changing bank accounts.

>> To do this, on the CAF website, in “My profile” , click on “Report a change”.

Each change in circumstances results in a recalculation of your financial assistance: if your salary or rent changes, the CAF sends you more or less money.

The CAF has access to information from other administrations, such as the tax authorities.
If you provide different information or make a mistake, you must also report it to the CAF. If the CAF sends you too much money relative to your situation (an "overpayment"), they can ask you to reimburse it.
But be aware that if you fail to report an error, it may be considered "fraud". You could be penalized.
If you move to a different department (for example, from “62 Pas-de-Calais” to “14 Calvados”), it is possible that benefits may stop during the transfer of the file to your new CAF.
You must declare a move, even if the rent has not changed or if your landlord is the same.
If you were receiving housing assistance, you need to submit a new application for assistance for the new accommodation.

After submitting your application for assistance, your file is "pending processing." You must wait; there is no need to send another letter or email. The CAF receives a high volume of applications, and processing times can sometimes be lengthy.

You can track the progress of your application online or via the Caf-Mon Compte app. Online, go to caf.fr > Espace Mon Compte > Mes démarches section.

If the CAF (French family allowance fund) needs additional documents (such as a new residence permit), a red box will appear on your account homepage (on the website or app): you will receive a notification. You must send the document(s) as soon as possible to update your file.

You can download the free CAF - My Account app to track your file and benefit payments or report a change.

Depending on your family and professional situation, you have the possibility of requesting other social assistance from the CAF. Everything is explained on the CAF website.

CAF aid is only available to people present in France.

Some aid depends on your income (salary, unemployment benefits), others do not.

Some aid is sent to your bank account every month. Other aid is one-off: it is sent only once.

CAF aid can be combined (you can receive several CAF aid at the same time), but you must make several separate requests.

To find out exactly what aid you are entitled to depending on your situation, you can do a simulation on this site .
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