Your first steps when you arrive in Montpellier, in the right order

You arrive with a suitcase and a list of things to do. The hard part isn’t any single step: it’s the order. The bank wants an address, the CAF wants bank details, the prefecture wants proof of enrolment.

The order that saves you going round in circles

Each step needs a document you get at the step before. In order:

1. An address: your lease, or a certificate of accommodation (attestation d’hébergement). Almost everything else asks for it.
2. Your university enrolment and student card. See the guide Enrolling at university.
3. Validating your visa if you’re from outside the EU, within 3 months. See the student residence permit guide.
4. A bank account and your bank details (RIB).
5. Health insurance, then a top-up insurance. See the French health insurance guide.
6. CAF housing aid, if you’re eligible. See the CAF housing aid guide.

Home insurance, meanwhile, has to be taken out before you even get your keys.

Opening a bank account

Your RIB (French bank details) will be asked for everywhere: by the CAF, your employer, for your rent.

To open an account, the bank asks at least for:

• a valid ID document;
• a proof of address;
• often, proof that you’re a student and a first deposit.

Already have an account in a SEPA-zone country? Your European IBAN must be accepted in France: refusing an IBAN because it isn’t French is prohibited and can be penalised.

Neobanks give you an IBAN quickly, but they are often payment institutions with limited services: no chequebook, hard to deposit cash.

Insuring your home

• If you rent, home insurance is compulsory. You show a certificate when you get the keys, then every year if your landlord asks. It covers at least fire, water damage and explosion.
• Without a certificate, your landlord can end the lease, or take out insurance for you and charge you for it.
• In a Crous residence in Montpellier, it’s also compulsory before you get your keys, with civil liability cover. Theft isn’t included.

Free public transport in Montpellier

Since December 2023, TaM trams and buses have been free for residents of the 31 municipalities of Montpellier Metropole — international students included.

1. Apply for your Pass gratuité (free travel pass): in the M’Ticket app, on the TaM online shop, or at an Espace Mobilité office (Maguelone with no appointment, Comédie by appointment, Mosson).
2. Provide an ID document, a photo and a proof of address; a certificate of accommodation is accepted.
3. Keep your pass on you: you don’t need to tap it, but you must show it if you’re checked. It’s renewed every year.

Living outside the Metropole? You pay the usual tickets and passes.

A phone number

• EU student: thanks to "roam like at home", your plan works in France as it does at home. But on a long stay, your operator can charge extra if it sees you mostly use it abroad. For a whole year, a French plan is the safer option.
• A French number also makes things easier with your bank, your landlord and employers.

Eating for €1 at the Crous

Since 4 May 2026, a meal at the university restaurant costs €1 for all students: one main dish and up to two sides, once per service. You need your student card and an active Izly account. Montpellier has 37 Crous restaurants, brasseries and cafeterias.

Scams that target newcomers

Scammed? File a complaint online on the THESEE platform, or call Info Escroqueries on 0 805 805 817.

Getting help in Montpellier

• SAIEC, the one-stop desk for international students — residence permit, CAF, health insurance, housing: 8 rue de l’École Normale, tram 1, Stade Philippidès stop, 04 67 41 67 87.
• Le Phare du Crous helps you find accommodation, from September to the end of October, at the SAIEC.
• The University of Montpellier’s Welcome Week runs from 21 to 24 September 2026.
• And to meet people from your very first weeks: EISCo’s parties and trips.