Updated October 2026. A newborn in France is automatically covered as an ayant droit on a parent's Assurance Maladie file, and maternity care is reimbursed at 100% of the official tariff once you are affiliated. Statutory maternity leave is 16 weeks for a first or second child, rising to 26 weeks from a third, and is paid through a daily allowance capped at €104.02 as of January 2026 if you qualify. CAF also pays a one-off prime à la naissance of €1,093.11 per child, subject to income limits.
Key takeaways
- A newborn is covered as an ayant droit on a parent's Assurance Maladie file; the child gets their own ameli account only at 16.
- Maternity leave is 16 weeks for a 1st or 2nd child, 26 weeks from a 3rd, 34 weeks for twins, 46 weeks for triplets or more.
- Paid leave requires 6 months' affiliation or 150 hours worked in the prior 3 months; the daily allowance is capped at €104.02 (from 1 January 2026).
- CAF's prime à la naissance is €1,093.11 per child, paid before the end of the month after your 6th month of pregnancy, if you are under the income ceiling.
- PAJE also includes ongoing monthly support beyond the one-off prime; check caf.fr for current rates.
- Non-working newcomers wait 3 months before they can apply for PUMa, and visa or expat insurance usually carries a 10 to 12-month maternity waiting period.
How is a baby's healthcare covered in France?
A baby born in France does not need a separate health insurance application at birth. Minors are ayants droit (dependants) on a parent's Assurance Maladie file, so the child's medical costs are reimbursed under the parent's existing PUMa (Protection universelle maladie) cover from day one. The child only opens their own ameli account and gets an independent carte Vitale at 16. See our health insurance guide for how PUMa, CPAM, and the mutuelle fit together for the whole household.
Once a parent is affiliated, the Assurance Maladie covers maternity care at 100% of the official tariff, according to ameli.fr. Two costs can still reach you. Secteur 2 doctors may bill dépassements d'honoraires above the tariff, which the state never reimburses, and a private room counts as a comfort item, typically €50 to €120 a night. A mutuelle covers both, depending on its level. Add the baby to your mutuelle as soon as the birth is registered: a family of four paid €186.71 a month on average with AXA in 2026. Low-income households can claim the Complémentaire Santé Solidaire (C2S), free for a single person under €10,421 a year, with ceilings that rise with household size.
Register the birth with your CPAM
What if you are pregnant before your PUMa cover starts?
Pregnant newcomers who work have no gap: affiliation starts with the employment contract, and a provisional number follows within weeks. Non-working newcomers face the PUMa rule instead. They must show three months of stable residence before they can apply, under service-public.fr (F34308), and processing then takes weeks to months. A carte Vitale can take 3 to 14 months in total, so many newcomer births happen before the card arrives.
Visa or expat insurance rarely fills that gap for a birth. International plans apply a maternity waiting period: about 10 to 12 months with April International and 10 months or more with Cigna Global. A policy bought on arrival will usually not pay for a delivery in your first year, so read the maternity clause before you buy. Hospitals and doctors still treat you on paper feuilles de soins while your file is pending. Keep every form: paper claims stay reimbursable for up to two years, so care received once your rights open can still be claimed after your number arrives. EU citizens can rely on their EHIC until their French file opens. Non-working residents with capital income above €24,030 a year should also budget for the CSM, which URSSAF bills in November of the following year, even if they hold private cover.
Sources: service-public.fr (F34308), ameli.fr, URSSAF, and April International and Cigna Global policy terms, accessed 13 October 2026. See our guide to the newcomer gap for the bridge insurers and their prices.
What people in France report
- â—‹ Pregnant before the card: A pregnant newcomer feared the carte Vitale would not arrive before the birth; replies explained that PUMa cover is real, hospitals treat patients on paper anyway, and non-working residents may later receive a CSM bill. (r/Expats_In_France, 2025)
- â—‹ EU worker file moves faster: A pregnant EU citizen received a provisional number in about two weeks and the carte Vitale in three to four months, a sign that EU and worker files move far faster than PUMa files. (r/Expats_In_France, 2025)
- ○ No guaranteed timeframe: Ameli's certified forum experts say a PUMa file takes from a few weeks to a few months depending on the département, with no guaranteed delay, and that doctors still treat you on paper feuilles de soins meanwhile. (forum-assures.ameli.fr, March 2023)
- − A year to the carte Vitale: An early retiree says the carte Vitale took about a year after applying at the three-month residence mark, and advises budgeting private health cover for the whole first year in France. (r/ExpatFIRE, 2025)
Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey.
How long is maternity leave and how is it paid?
Statutory congé maternité in France depends on how many children you already have and whether it is a multiple birth:
- 1st or 2nd child: 16 weeks total (6 weeks before the due date, 10 weeks after).
- 3rd child or more (when you already have 2+ dependent children): 26 weeks total (8 before, 18 after).
- Twins: 34 weeks total (12 before, 22 after).
- Triplets or more: 46 weeks total (24 before, 22 after).
These are the minimum legal durations; some collective agreements (conventions collectives) grant more. During leave, Assurance Maladie pays a daily allowance (indemnité journalière) if you meet one of the standard conditions: at least 6 months of affiliation as a working insured person by your due date, or at least 150 hours worked in the 3 months before your leave starts. As of 1 January 2026, the daily allowance is calculated from your salary over the prior 3 months, capped at the monthly social security ceiling (€4,005), after a standard 21% deduction for social contributions (CSG/CRDS), giving a maximum of €104.02 per day.
Check your exact eligibility
What financial help does CAF give when you have a baby?
CAF(Caisse d'allocations familiales) pays a one-off prime à la naissance (birth grant), part of the wider PAJE(Prestation d'accueil du jeune enfant) package. As of April 2026 it is worth €1,093.11 net per child; for a multiple birth, one full prime is paid per baby.
To qualify you must have completed your first prenatal check-up, declared the pregnancy before the end of the third month, been resident in France for more than 9 months of the relevant calendar year, and sit under the household income ceiling. As of 2026, the ceiling for a two-income couple is €49,054 for one child, €56,478 for two children, €65,386 for three, plus €8,908 for each further child (single parents use the same thresholds). The prime is paid before the end of the month following your sixth month of pregnancy.
The prime à la naissance is only the one-off part of PAJE. The package also includes a monthly allocation de base and childcare support (the complément de libre choix du mode de garde), both means-tested and outside what we could verify precisely for this page. Check your caf.fr account or caf.fr for the current monthly rates for your situation.
Sources: ameli.fr (congé maternité duration, updated 4 September 2025; indemnités journalières conditions and amount, updated 1 June 2026) and service-public.gouv.fr fiche F2550 (prime à la naissance, verified 1 April 2026). Figures change from year to year; verify the current amounts on ameli.fr and caf.fr before relying on them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a newborn need its own health insurance registration in France?
Not immediately. A baby is covered as an ayant droit (dependant) on a parent's own Assurance Maladie file from birth, using the parent's existing carte Vitale rights, and only opens their own ameli account once they turn 16. You still register the birth with your CPAM so the child is added to your file and, where relevant, to your mutuelle.
Does French health insurance cover the cost of giving birth?
Yes, once you are affiliated. The Assurance Maladie covers maternity care at 100% of the official tariff. Costs can remain where a secteur 2 doctor bills dépassements d'honoraires above the tariff, which the state never reimburses, and for a private room, typically €50 to €120 a night. Only a mutuelle covers those, depending on its level.
Will expat or visa health insurance pay for a birth in France?
Usually not in the first year. International plans apply maternity waiting periods of about 10 to 12 months with April International and 10 months or more with Cigna Global. A non-working newcomer who is pregnant on arrival should apply for PUMa as soon as the three-month residence rule allows, and keep every paper feuille de soins meanwhile.
How long is maternity leave in France?
For a first or second child, statutory congé maternité is 16 weeks total: 6 weeks before the due date and 10 weeks after. From a third child, it rises to 26 weeks (8 before, 18 after). Twins get 34 weeks (12 before, 22 after), and triplets or more get 46 weeks (24 before, 22 after). These are the minimum legal figures; some collective agreements top them up.
Do you get paid during maternity leave in France?
If you qualify, Assurance Maladie pays a daily allowance (indemnité journalière) for the length of your leave. To qualify you generally need either six months of affiliation as a working insured person by your due date, or at least 150 hours worked in the three months before your leave starts. As of 1 January 2026 the maximum daily allowance is €104.02, calculated from your recent salary up to the monthly social security ceiling and after standard deductions, so check your own payslips or ameli account for your exact figure.
What is the CAF prime à la naissance and how much is it?
It is a one-off birth grant from CAF, worth €1,093.11 net per child as of April 2026, so twins receive €2,186.22 in total (one full prime per baby). To qualify you must have had your first prenatal check-up, declared the pregnancy before the end of the third month, been resident in France for more than nine months of the relevant year, and be under the income ceiling for your household size. It is paid before the end of the month following the sixth month of pregnancy.
Does CAF pay anything ongoing after the birth, not just the one-off prime?
Yes. The prime à la naissance is one part of the wider PAJE (Prestation d'accueil du jeune enfant) package, which also includes a monthly allocation de base and childcare support (complément de libre choix du mode de garde). This guide covers the one-off prime, which is the figure we could verify directly; check your CAF account or caf.fr for the current monthly amounts, since they depend on your income and childcare choice.