AVFS: up to €735.80 a month for older foreign residents who want to live back home without losing support

France has a benefit that exists only for foreign nationals: the aide à la vie familiale et sociale (AVFS). On 1 October 2026 the Ministry of Solidarity updated its page on the aid with current amounts. It is a narrow scheme, but it may matter if you have older relatives or friends who worked in France for decades and live in a workers' hostel.

What it is for

The ministry's page describes the problem like this: migrant workers who came to France in the 1960s and 1970s travel back and forth regularly between France and their home country. If they spend more than six months a year in their country of origin, they risk losing some social benefits, such as the ASPA (the minimum old-age pension). AVFS is a monthly allowance for low-income foreign retirees who want to live in their country of origin, either temporarily or permanently.

Some background. The ministry names chibanis as the main group of recipients. That is the term used in France for older migrant workers from the Maghreb. People from sub-Saharan Africa are also named. Many of them spent their working lives in foyers de travailleurs migrants, hostels built to house migrant workers.

Who qualifies

According to solidarites.gouv.fr and service-public.gouv.fr (both pages checked on 1 October 2026), the conditions are:

• foreign nationality;
• aged 65 or over. Service-public lists an exception: 62 for people officially recognised as unfit for work (inaptitude au travail) or receiving the AAH;
• lawful, continuous residence in France: at least 15 years before applying for most nationalities. For EEA and Swiss citizens, service-public gives more than 3 months;
• living alone in a foyer de travailleurs migrants or a résidence sociale at the time of applying;
• annual income below a ceiling;
• having received or applied for all pensions the person is entitled to.

How much

Amounts as of 1 October 2026:

• maximum: €735.80 per month;
• with an annual income of €8,829.60 or more, no aid is granted;
• with an annual income up to €735.80, the maximum is paid;
• with an annual income above €735.80 but below €8,829.60, the amount goes down as income goes up.

The aid is paid monthly, for the previous month, at the start of the following month. The first payment arrives within two months of the decision.

What you lose and what you keep

This is the key thing to weigh up beforehand. AVFS cannot be combined with the RSA, ASS, ASPA, AAH or APL. Switching to AVFS means giving those up, so the amounts need comparing before applying, not after.

What stays: the ministry stresses that recipients keep health cover for medical care in France, wherever they live.

Ongoing obligations: an income declaration every year (form cerfa n°16150). Anyone who spends more than six months a year outside France also has to send a certificat de vie, a proof-of-life certificate.

How to apply

A single fund handles the aid for the whole of France: MSA de Picardie. Applications use form cerfa n°16149, available on the MSA website. The 15-year residence condition has to be proven, so it makes sense to gather old titres de séjour and tax notices early. The hostel's or résidence sociale's social service and the local CCAS usually help with the paperwork.

The final decision on eligibility and amount rests with MSA.

Source: Ministère des Solidarités — L'aide à la vie familiale et sociale des anciens migrants dans leur pays d'origine, updated 01/10/2026. Conditions and forms cross-checked against service-public.gouv.fr, F36192 (checked 01/10/2026). Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0.