Living in French Guiana from Mainland France: Housing, Prices, Taxes, Schooling, Climate and Formalities

The institutional framework of French overseas territories distinguishes overseas departments and regions, governed by article 73 of the Constitution, from overseas collectivities, governed by article 74. French Guiana falls into the first category: national texts apply there by right, with possible adaptations. Since December 2015, a single collectivity, the Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana, exercises the powers of the department and the region, while remaining governed by article 73 (IEDOM).

French Guiana is also one of the nine outermost regions of the European Union, with the other overseas departments, Saint-Martin, the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira (IEDOM). For a French citizen, no visa or residence permit formality is to be expected from the mainland: the formalities are those of a move within France. The territory borders the Atlantic Ocean, Suriname to the west, along the Maroni river, and Brazil to the south and east, along the Oyapock; a 378-metre binational bridge has linked French Guiana to Brazil since 2017.

Some rules specific to the overseas departments matter for a newcomer: VAT is provisionally not applicable in French Guiana, income tax benefits from an allowance, and civil service law provides for increased salaries and adapted leave and travel rules to take account of remoteness (IEDOM). The page social protection and healthcare in French Guiana details the health insurance framework.

The strengths noted in the official sources:

• The French framework in daily life: currency, labour law, general social security scheme, national education and Vitale card, with no immigration formality.
• A structuring space sector: the Guiana Space Centre, in Kourou, is the base of the Ariane and Vega launchers, and the sector has 42 major companies in French Guiana (IEDOM).
• Lighter taxation: 40% allowance on income tax, capped at €4,050 (impots.gouv.fr), and VAT provisionally not applicable.
• A young and dynamic territory: nearly a third of the population is under 15 (Insee).
• An exceptional natural heritage: 96% of the territory is covered by forest, a potential the IEDOM describes as real for ecotourism.

The points to anticipate:

• The cost of living: prices 13.7% higher than on the mainland according to the Insee survey, with marked gaps for food and communications.
• Housing: a shortage that the IEDOM links to population growth, with annual needs estimated at several thousand homes.
• Employment: a job market where the unemployment rate of 15-64 year-olds is around 30% in the census (Insee); see the guide working in French Guiana.
• Remoteness: communes in the interior reachable only by plane or pirogue, and care that is sometimes far away; see the guide health system in French Guiana.
• The equatorial climate and mosquito-borne diseases: yellow fever (compulsory vaccination), dengue, chikungunya and malaria (ARS French Guiana and Santé publique France).

Average density is 3.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (Insee), as a large part of the territory is uninhabited. According to the census, 90.9% of inhabitants are in "road Guiana", close to the road linking Apatou, in the west, to Saint-Georges, in the east; the communes of Camopi, Grand-Santi, Maripasoula, Ouanary, Papaïchton, Saint-Élie and Saül, not connected by this road, account for 9.1% of the population (IEDOM).

• Cayenne and the island of Cayenne: Cayenne, Matoury and Rémire-Montjoly together make up 43.8% of the Guianese population. Cayenne is the most populous commune, with about 64,000 inhabitants. The Centre littoral urban community has 152,190 inhabitants, i.e. 52.8% of the population. Cayenne-Félix Éboué international airport is located in the commune of Matoury.
• Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni: the territory's second commune with about 52,000 inhabitants, on the border with Suriname; the Ouest guyanais community of communes has 98,344 inhabitants, i.e. 34.1% of the population (IEDOM).
• Kourou: seat of the Guiana Space Centre, whose activity structures the local economy and the network of subcontractors (IEDOM).
• The interior: Maripasoula, Saül, Papaïchton, Grand-Santi and Camopi are not connected by road and depend on air or river transport; a social aid scheme, in force since 4 July 2024, allows residents of French Guiana to receive financial aid on plane tickets, increased for residents of communes in the interior (IEDOM).

The road network totals 2,159 kilometres of national, departmental and communal roads. The main axis is a national road of about 450 kilometres running along the coast, from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to Saint-Georges (IEDOM). Félix Éboué airport welcomes about 500,000 passengers a year; 70% of international passengers travel to metropolitan France.

According to the price comparison survey carried out by Insee, the general price level is 13.7% higher in French Guiana than on the mainland. This gap is close to those of Guadeloupe (15.8%) and Martinique (13.8%), and higher than in La Réunion (8.9%). By item, the gaps are 39.4% for food and non-alcoholic beverages, 35.5% for communications, 16.5% for health, 14.5% for leisure and culture, 8.6% for furniture and household appliances, 5.8% for transport, 5.5% for housing, water and energy and 4.5% for restaurants and hotels; alcoholic beverages and tobacco (-2.1%) and clothing (-1.7%) are slightly cheaper. The IEDOM explains these gaps by a long value chain, limited competition, the isolation of the territory and the narrowness of the market.

Some prices are regulated: those of petroleum products are set by prefectural order, and a quality-price shield, negotiated each year between the prefect and large retailers, commits the establishments concerned not to exceed a set price for a list of everyday consumer products (IEDOM). Changes in consumer prices vary from one year to the next (IEDOM).

Taxation has several particularities:

• Income tax: tax from the scale for taxpayers domiciled in French Guiana is subject to a 40% allowance, capped at €4,050, set according to the address on 31 December of the year of income (impots.gouv.fr).
• VAT: it is provisionally not applicable in French Guiana (article 294 of the General Tax Code, according to the IEDOM).
• Octroi de mer: an indirect consumption tax, collected in the overseas departments on imports of goods and on certain deliveries of local products; its base and rate are set by the Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana (IEDOM).
• Property taxes: in the overseas departments, exemption from property tax on built properties for main residences whose rental value does not exceed 40% of the average rental value of dwellings in the commune, a threshold that the municipal council can raise to 50% (IEDOM).

Overseas-specific exemption schemes for employer social security contributions also exist for businesses (IEDOM). For a personal situation, the tax office remains the point of contact.

Insee counts about 100,000 homes, of which about 88,000 main residences (85.7%) and about 10,000 vacant homes (9.8%). Among main residences, 52.2% are occupied by tenants and 39.9% by owners; houses account for 56.8% of homes and apartments 38.4%. The average number of people per household is 3.20.

The IEDOM notes a housing shortage accentuated by population growth: about a third of main residences are overcrowded. Insee and the Directorate-General for Territories and the Sea estimate that several thousand homes a year must be built and renovated, including a large share of subsidised homes. The Agency for Urban Planning and Development of French Guiana counts more than 23,000 informal homes in the communes of the coastal centre (excluding Rémire-Montjoly) and in Papaïchton, i.e. 41% of the built stock in the study area. The social rental stock has more than 21,000 homes, managed by three historic social landlords, and 80% of the population is eligible for social housing (IEDOM).

The sources read publish no average rent by commune: rent is compared on the spot, neighbourhood by neighbourhood. A few habits help a newcomer: visit before signing, check the water and electricity connection (about 10% of main residences have no electricity according to the IEDOM), and find out about housing aid paid by the competent fund and employer schemes.

The French Guiana school district (académie) enrols nearly 90,000 pupils, of whom about 50,000 in primary and 40,000 in secondary (education authority, via the IEDOM). Insee counts about 190 schools, 40 middle schools and 34 high schools in the territory. The education system serves a fast-growing and, in part, non-French-speaking population: mother-tongue assistants support learning French where it is not the pupil's mother tongue, and almost all establishments benefit from the REP+ scheme (more than 95% of middle schools and schools, according to the IEDOM).

• Results: the baccalauréat pass rate is below the overseas department averages in the general, technological and vocational streams, according to the DEPP, reported by the IEDOM.
• Building works: the 2024-2027 convergence and transformation contract provides €250 million for secondary school buildings (IEDOM).
• Higher education: more than 5,000 students are enrolled in higher education in French Guiana, including more than 3,000 at the University of French Guiana; it has campuses in Cayenne, Kourou, Saint-Georges and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (IEDOM and the university's website). Courses that do not exist locally mean leaving for the mainland or the French Antilles.

For schooling, enrolment is done with the commune and then the school, following the procedures of the Éducation nationale (the French national education system); the French Guiana education authority gives information on the calendar. Families considering studies abroad will find cover solutions on the page student insurance abroad.

1. Yellow fever vaccination: compulsory for any resident or tourist aged 1 or over; it must be done more than ten days before arrival and attested by an international vaccination certificate (ARS French Guiana). The authorised centres are listed on the ARS website.
2. Notify your former fund: declare the change of address from your ameli account or by calling 3646, and notify the family allowance fund, France Travail and pension funds.
3. Affiliation: the CGSS of French Guiana is the territory's fund. An employee is covered as soon as they start work, a self-employed person from the start of their activity; a person with no activity completes form Cerfa S1106 with the fund of their place of residence (ameli).
4. Vitale card and referring doctor: the card is free once a definitive social security number has been obtained (CGSS of French Guiana); the referring doctor is compulsory from age 16 (CLEISS).
5. Documents and vehicle: the prefecture of the French Guiana region offers online procedures for vehicle registration, driving licence, national identity card and passport.
6. Tax residence: the income tax allowance depends on domicile on 31 December of the year of income; if you change domicile, declare your new address to the tax authority.
7. Supplementary cover and assistance: supplementary health insurance covers the ticket modérateur (the share left to the patient); assistance is useful for trips to Suriname and Brazil (see who reimburses what in French Guiana).

French Guiana enjoys a humid equatorial climate, with great thermal stability. The average temperature is close to 28 °C according to Météo-France cited by the IEDOM; average relative humidity is between 80% and 90%, and sunshine averages 2,200 hours a year. The rainy season runs from December to July, with a short dry spell around March ("petit été de mars"), then a longer dry season from August to November. Annual rainfall ranges from nearly 2,000 mm in the north-west to more than 4,000 mm between Roura and Régina, and averages 3,000 mm on the coastal strip from Kourou to Cayenne.

On health, three points matter. Santé publique France publishes monitoring bulletins for dengue and chikungunya, whose activity varies from one period to the next. Malaria persists mainly along the border rivers and in the communes of the interior according to the ARS, which recommends protection against bites and, before a stay in a risk area, a consultation for preventive treatment. Details are in the guide health system in French Guiana.

National emergency numbers (Ministry of the Interior): 15 for the SAMU (emergency medical service), 17 for the police, 18 for the fire brigade, 112 for the European emergency number, 114 for deaf or hard-of-hearing people, 196 for sea rescue. For safety and daily-life information, the prefecture of the French Guiana region publishes its press releases, orders and instructions on its website; it is advisable to consult it before travelling in the interior or near the borders.