Living in French Polynesia When You Come from Mainland France: Cost of Living, Housing, Schooling and Formalities

French Polynesia is part of the national territory and enjoys broad autonomy: the High Commission reminds readers that it holds full competences in health and social affairs, and therefore has its own social protection system. A French citizen has no particular entry or exit formalities and no visa to apply for; they do, however, need a valid passport, including when transiting through the United States, Japan, New Zealand, Fiji or the Cook Islands. Even a technical transit through the United States requires an electronic ESTA authorisation, to be requested at least 72 hours before departure. A minor travelling without a legal representative needs an exit-from-territory authorisation (Cerfa 15646-01). The guide to social protection and health in French Polynesia details the institutional framework.

In daily life, the change lies in health cover (CPS rather than the carte Vitale, except for State employees), in taxation (territorial solidarity contribution) and in the Country’s labour law, presented in the page on working in French Polynesia.

The ISPF’s census counts nearly 280,000 inhabitants: growth has been slowing for twenty years, departures outnumber arrivals, and 20% of young people aged 18 to 25 leave the territory. The Windward Islands bring together about 210,000 inhabitants, three quarters of the population.

• Tahiti: Faa’a is the most populated commune (29,830 inhabitants), followed by Punaauia (28,780). The urban area, from Punaauia to Mahina, is growing very little (+0.4% in five years) while the rural area and the peninsula are growing more; Papeete, Pirae and Mahina each lose 1.0% of population.
• Moorea has 18,200 inhabitants, with the fastest increase (+2.2%).
• Leeward Islands: 36,000 inhabitants, including Raiatea (12,400) and Bora-Bora (10,760).
• The Marquesas (9,480 inhabitants) and the Australs (6,590, down 5.4%) are more isolated: complex care there goes through medical evacuation to Papeete.

For a first move, most families coming from mainland France choose Tahiti or Moorea, where the choice of housing, schools and healthcare is widest.

The spatial price comparison survey carried out by the ISPF and Insee (the French national statistics institute) establishes that consumer prices are on average about 30% higher than in mainland France. Depending on the basket used, a household consuming its mainland basket pays 44% more, and a household consuming like a Polynesian pays 19% more. Food weighs most: +45% for food products and non-alcoholic drinks (+80% for a mainland basket, +17% for a Polynesian basket). Hotels and restaurants are 75% higher, alcoholic drinks 83%, while transport is slightly cheaper (-1%), thanks to regulated fuel about 25% cheaper. This gap is comparable to that of New Caledonia and exceeds that of the overseas departments (16% in Guadeloupe).

Inflation is generally moderate, driven by food, housing and restaurants (ISPF). The currency is the Pacific franc, whose parity with the euro is fixed and written into the French monetary and financial code according to the IEOM (the overseas issuing institute). State civil servants receive a salary uplift (coefficient of 1.84 in the Windward and Leeward Islands, 2.08 elsewhere).

The ISPF estimates that housing expenses require a budget about 35% higher than in mainland France, because of private rents and the cost of electricity. Rents are among the main drivers of inflation, along with food. The pages consulted do not publish an average rent by commune: the safest approach is to compare listings and ask for the lease terms before committing. For State employees, the High Commission refers them to the human resources departments of the host body for settling-in questions.

For travel, State aid exists: the flat-rate territorial continuity aid covers CFP 111,575 (€935) per traveller for an economy-class return trip to mainland France, for residents of at least six months whose income does not exceed CFP 2,147,971 (€18,000), in principle one aid every three years. The application is filed before the ticket is bought.

Education falls under the vice-rectorate of French Polynesia. According to the Ministry of National Education, the school calendar is published each year: the pupils’ start is in August, classes break six times between September and May, and they end in early July in primary schools, lower and upper secondary schools. A family arriving from mainland France in September therefore finds a year already under way.

For children’s health, a student or pupil coming from mainland France requests form 980-04 from their fund before arriving, files it with the CPS and can then enrol in the institution of their choice, according to the CPS. Children who are dependants of a State employee and leave to study in mainland France request their independent status from the fund of the place of study. See student health insurance. The territory’s pupil numbers do not appear in the pages consulted and are not put forward here.

• Before departure: notify the health insurance fund, the family allowance fund, France Travail (the French employment agency) and the pension funds; request the form suited to your situation (980-01 for a posted worker, 980-04 for a stay or for dependants, 980-06 for a retiree) and the certificate of totalisation of insurance periods (980-03).
• On arrival: register with the CPS (Papeete head office or branch) with an identity document, form 980 and a certificate of entitlements; the CPS assigns a file number. An employee hired locally is declared by their employer.
• Online: open an Ameli account (State employees) and a CPS account, and renew the certificate of entitlements each year to avoid suspension.
• Taxes: salaries and pensions are subject to the territorial solidarity contribution, withheld by the employer or the local paying body.

The details of entitlements by situation are in the page on the healthcare system in French Polynesia. The CFE (Caisse des Français de l’Étranger, the voluntary health insurance scheme for French people abroad) lists French Polynesia among the countries of residence offered with no particular condition indicated: a resident’s eligibility is confirmed with the fund.

The Health Directorate recommends calling 15 in an emergency. It advises protecting yourself from mosquitoes against dengue (skin repellents, mosquito nets), drinking drinking water or bottled water, being wary of lagoon fish because of ciguatera, not walking barefoot in dirty water when it rains (leptospirosis), disinfecting wounds immediately, especially those caused by coral, and protecting yourself from the sun and heat. The yellow fever vaccine is required of people coming from high-risk countries; flu, Covid-19 and hepatitis B vaccines are recommended.

The Centre hospitalier de la Polynésie française, in Pirae, has 490 beds, 45 of them intensive care. For safety and alert instructions, the reference sources are the High Commission and the Country’s authorities; the France Diplomatie page (the French foreign ministry’s travel advice) does not apply to a collectivity of the Republic. An assistance contract is recommended for trips outside the territory: see repatriation and assistance.

• Advantages: a French territory with no entry formalities, a public reference hospital, a generalised social protection that covers almost the whole population (98% according to the IGAS/IGA/IGF report), fuel cheaper than in mainland France.
• Points to watch: high prices especially for food and housing, a couple without activity with no cover on arrival, mainland entitlements to maintain for State employees, the remoteness of the archipelagos for complex care, and protection of local employment for certain activities.

To compare supplementary cover before departure, Expavy offers a situation check.