1. Office Hours of M. Pierre Georges Bonnefil
  2. French Education in New York
  3. Obtaining a Carte Vitale for french retirees resident abroad
  4. Obamacare
  5. Food stamps in New York City
  6. Other French speaking consulates


1-Office hours of M. Pierre Georges Bonnefil, Esq., attorney specializing in immigration matters. Mr. Bonnefil maintains monthly hours at the Consulate General of France. It is imperative that you telephone in advance to make an appointment at (212) 606-3600.

2- French Education in New York 
– French-English Dual Language Programs in New York City Public Schools. Fabrice Jaumont, 212 439-1408, dlp@facecouncil.org
– After school programs: EFNY helps to promote the teaching of French and French-Speaking Cultures in New York Public schools and how you can get involved.  info@efny.net


3-Obtaining a Carte Vitale for French retirees resident abroad.
Until only recently, retired French citizens resident abroad were not eligible to receive a carte vitale. Now at long last, all French citizens who receive benefits from the French general retirement scheme (régime de retraite de base) are also eligible to receive health coverage from the French national health insurance fund (assurance maladie), regardless of where they currently live or how many trimesters they used to redeem their retirement benefits (non-citizens must have participated in the French general retirement scheme for at least 15 years in order to qualify).
To receive their carte vitale, French citizens residing abroad who qualify for the French general retirement scheme should request an application entitled pli collecte from their local health insurance office in France (caisse primaire d’assurance maladie, or CPAM). The relevant CPAM office is either that of their last place of residence in France, or wherever they last received medical treatment. The CPAM will then issue a carte vitale within several weeks after receiving a completed pli collecte application.
Expatriated French citizens covered by the Caisse des Français de l’étranger will automatically receive a pli collecte application from the CPAM office of the Indre-et-Loire, with which they are affiliated.


4- Obamacare

The Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare”, also concerns French citizens resident in the United States and requires them to purchase health insurance beginning January 1st, 2014. Dual citizens residing outside the United States for more than 330 days per year or residents of other countries are exempt from the new law. Exemptions also exist for:

  • Members of a recognized religious sect with religious objections to insurance;
  • Illegal immigrants;
  • Prisoners;
  • Taxpayers whose income is below 100 percent of the poverty line;
  • Members of Native American tribes;

Those uninsured for less than three months of the year; and
Those exempt from filing a tax return because their income falls below the filing limit.
Qualifying insurances include:

  • Medicaid
  • Medicare
  • CHIP
  • Tricare

Employer-sponsored health insurance policies
Individually-purchased health insurance policies
If you receive health coverage through the Caisse des Français de l’Etranger (CFE), or through a combination of the CFE and a complementary health plan, you are considered compliant under the new law. Alternatively, the State Insurance Exchanges have begun offering health insurance policies with better coverage than the CFE for a similar cost, but please be aware that these policies do not cover health care received abroad, except in the case of emergency.
You have until March 31st, 2014 to purchase health insurance through a State Health Exchange, if offered by your state, or through the Federal Healthcare Exchange at www.healthcare.gov. After this deadline, an annual penalty of $95 per adult, and up to $285 per family (or 1% of family income, whichever fine is greater) will be charged. In 2015, this penalty will increase to $325 per adult, and up to $975 per family (or 2% of family income, whichever is greater), then in 2016, to $695 per person, and up to $2,085 per family (or 2.5% of family income, whichever is greater). The penalty will appear on the tax bills of the non-compliant starting in April 2014.

5- Food stamps in New York City.
Commonly known as “food stamps”, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides a monthly food stipend for low-income working people, seniors, and the disabled.

  • Eligibility and benefit levels under the program are determined based on income, household size, housing expenses, and existing financial assets.
  • In New York, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance credits SNAP benefits to a participant’s Electronic Benefits Account, which is linked to a Common Benefit Identification Card (CBIC) and associated PIN number.
  • In October 2013, about three million New Yorkers, or about 15% of the New York state population, were SNAP beneficiaries.
  • If counted as income, SNAP benefits can be thought to have lifted about four million people, of which 1.8 million children, from poverty in 2012.
  • SNAP is also a good return on investment for local economies: each dollar used to fund SNAP generates $1.79 in economic activity.
  • 25% of the families we help, are eligible for this program.Sources: Food Action and Research Center, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, U.S. Census Bureau, USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

6- Other French speaking consulates.

Consulate General of Belgium
1065 Ave. of the Americas, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10018, tel. 212-586-5110
Consulate General of Canada
1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1175, tel. 212-596-1628
Consulate General of Ivory Coast
Honorary Consul, 1212 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10026
Consulate General of Republic of Haiti
271 Madison Avenue #5, NY, NY 10016, tel. 212-697-9767
Consulate General of Dominican Republic
1501 Broadway, Suite 410, New York, NY 10036, tel. 212-768-2480
Consulate General of Senegal
271West 125th St., NY, NY 10027, tel. 917-493-8950, 641 Lexington Ave., Suite 1435, New York, NY 10022, tel. 212-223-1735
Consulate General of Switzerland
633 Third Avenue 30th Floor, New York, NY 10017, tel. 212-599-5700.
Consulate General of Bermuda

Please note that this list is not exhaustive.