The justificatif de domicile: the paper all of France asks for

A justificatif de domicile is proof that you live where you say you live, and in France almost every counter asks for one. France registers you nowhere, you see. This paper is the French way of solving that.

All of them want to see one:

• the bank;
• the school;
• the insurer;
• the registration plate;
• later, your children's carte d'identité.

Whoever knows the game builds up a little pile from day one. Whoever doesn't gets stuck at the third counter.

Why doesn't France register you?

Because the law does not ask for it. As an EU citizen you may settle in France after three months. The residence card you can apply for in doing so is, according to Service-Public, "not compulsory, but can prove useful".

If you work, the card citoyen UE/EEE/Suisse – Toutes activités professionnelles is free and applied for online. On a permanent contract it is valid for five years.

After five years of uninterrupted legal residence you have a permanent right of residence. You can prove it by any means, such as employment contracts, bank statements and tax assessments. You only lose it after two consecutive years of absence.

What France may do, and what the same page is precise about: a non-working EU citizen must have health insurance and "sufficient resources so as not to become a burden on the French social assistance system". The administration may not demand more than these amounts per month:

Situation	Living alone	As a couple
Without children	€ 651.69	€ 977.54
With 1 child	€ 1,115.80	€ 1,173.05
With 2 children	€ 1,394.75	€ 1,368.55
With 3 children	€ 1,673.70	€ 1,629.23
With 4 children	€ 1,952.65	€ 1,824.74

In practice that requirement surfaces in only one place: at the CPAM, the health insurance fund of your place of residence, when after three months without work you want into healthcare. There the proof of address is the key once more. You show those three months of residence with rent receipts and bills.

What counts as proof

The classics, always in your name and with your address on them:

• An energy, water, internet or telephone bill (mobile counts too).
• The quittance de loyer: the rent receipt from your landlord or the letting agency.
• Your avis d'imposition (tax assessment). As a newcomer you only have that after your first return, but after that it is the strongest of all.
• A certificate from your home insurance. This is often the quickest proof of all, because that policy is compulsory for a tenant.
• The title deed, if you have bought.

If you are living with someone (temporarily), there is a fixed form for that: an attestation d'hébergement, a declaration of accommodation. It consists of three documents:

• a signed declaration from your host;
• a copy of their identity document;
• their own proof of address.

A counter may not demand more.