Know your child benefit rights

France’s social security system encourages large families. The teenage narrator of Christiane Rochefort’s 1961 novel Les Petits Enfants du Siècle Josyane, opens her tale with “Je suis née des allocations et d’un jour férié” (I was born because of child benefit, and a bank holiday).

She is the first of 11 children who help her working class parents, living in the post-war boom period, called Les Trentes Glorieuses, gain a washing machine, a fridge, a television and a car.

In France, anyone (no matter what they earn), who is a registered taxpayer, is eligible for allocations familiales if they have at least two children aged under 20.

The benefit starts from the month after the birth of your second child. If you have two children you receive €120.32 per month, if you have three children this rises to €274.47, and then €154.15 is given per additional child.

It should not be confused with other benefits administered by the same bodies - the local Cafs (Caisse d'Allocations Familiales), of which there are at least one per department, which are overseen by the Caisse Nationale d'Allocations Familiales.

The allocations familiales are increased (called a majoration) by €33.84/month per child aged 11 to 16 and €60.16/ month from 16 to 20.

This has now changed for children born after April 30, 1997 (ie. who were 11 this spring). They now only attract an increase from age 14, of an extra €60.16/ month, with no separate increase at 16.

If you only have two children, the oldest one does not attract a majoration.

Between age 20 - 21 there is an allocation of €76.08 per month until the month before your child's 21st birthday if they are still living at home.

To qualify you should have received allocations for three children or more in the month before they were 20.

If your 20-year-old works they must not earn more than €802.16 a month to qualify.

If your Caf knows you because you have been getting a different benefit, you will get allocations familiales as soon as you let them know you have had a second child.

Otherwise you need to fill out a déclaration de situation form - available for download here.

Alternatively see the Caf site for contact details of your local branch - you can put in your postcode to find the nearest one, which may have a choice of offices.

As an expat, you can benefit from the allocations from the month following your arrival in France. Along with the declaration form you will need to provide the Caf with a bank Rib and copies of an identity document for all members of your family.

You need to be a permanent resident (a “déclaration sur l’honneur” is enough - a formal promise stating: “J’atteste sur l’honneur...) and your children need to be enrolled in the school system (you will need to show a “certificat de scolarité” or shown you have applied for enrolment).

A recent feature of the Caf site is a ‘mon compte’ section where you can check details of your account with them and notify them of changes to personal details.

As of this year allocataires no longer have to tell their caisse about their income - the Cafs are going to be informed from the information on your tax return. Also changing is the date on which the Cafs fix your allocations for the next 12 months. From 2009 it will be at the start of January instead of in July.