Mexico City

Two schools are accredited by the AEFE: the Lycée franco-mexicain, a partner school from nursery to final year on its Polanco and Coyoacán campuses, and the École française d'Alembert et Diderot, from age 2 to 14 in San Miguel Chapultepec. Enrolment for September opens the previous autumn and French is not required to enter the lower classes. Our Schools and School fees pages detail both: /en/cities/mexico-city/school-fees/.

Yes, subject to means testing: AEFE grants are reserved for French children registered with the consular register and enrolled in an accredited school (the Lycée franco-mexicain and the EFAD both are). For 2026-2027, the first campaign ran from 1 January to 12 February and the second, reserved for newcomers, from 1 July to 10 September; the file is submitted to the consulate, preferably on paper.

Nothing is compulsory, but it is essential: Mexican hospitals refuse patients without a financial guarantee and ask for all costs upfront, and the French State covers nothing abroad. Take out 'gastos médicos mayores' or international cover for the whole family before leaving, including hospitalisation and repatriation; if one of you is an employee, the IMSS also covers spouse and children as a safety net. It is all explained on our Health page: /en/cities/mexico-city/health/.

The consulate general publishes a list of French-speaking doctors in Mexico, updated on 3 November 2026: in Mexico City it includes four paediatricians, a children's dentist, GPs and several therapists, who consult privately at the Español, ABC and Ángeles hospitals. We reproduce it, with the children's emergency hospitals, on our Health page: /en/cities/mexico-city/health/.

911 for a life-threatening emergency, it is Mexico's single number. For everything else, head to the emergency department of the nearest private hospital, open 24/7 with triage by severity (ABC Observatorio or Santa Fe, Español near Polanco, Ángeles Pedregal or Lomas, Médica Sur in the south), with the insurance card and a bank card; your paediatrician can often guide you by WhatsApp. Addresses are on /en/cities/mexico-city/health/.

French families follow the lycée campuses: Polanco, Lomas and Bosques de las Lomas around the Polanco campus, Coyoacán and San Ángel around the Coyoacán campus, Condesa and Roma for neighbourhood life, San Miguel Chapultepec around the EFAD, Santa Fe and Interlomas for those who work there. In a city this size, the school run decides everything. Our Settling in page reviews the neighbourhoods: /en/cities/mexico-city/settling-in/.

In order: INM appointment to exchange each person's visa for the temporary resident card (within 30 days of arrival), collect the CURP, register with the French consular register (online, free, valid 5 years), open a bank account as soon as the residence card is in hand, apply for the RFC at the SAT for whoever is working, then get a SIM card and finalise school enrolment. Details on /en/cities/mexico-city/settling-in/.

Very well, and fast: the Lycée franco-mexicain is bilingual and bicultural, Spanish is taught from nursery, and the EFAD supports newcomers in French as in Spanish. Outside school, activities, parks and the nanny do the rest within a few months. The real issue sometimes becomes keeping French rich: the IFAL médiathèque, Alliance française classes, books and films in the original version. Our addresses are on /en/cities/mexico-city/family-outings/.

A nanny at home is the most common solution and remains far more affordable than in France; a declared household employee must be enrolled with the IMSS by her employer. Working parents enrolled with the IMSS are entitled to the institute's nurseries, and private nurseries (guarderías, kínder) take children from a few months old. The French schools take children early: from age 2 at the EFAD, from nursery at the lycée.

It depends on three items: the French school, private health insurance and housing if you aim for Polanco or the Lomas. Everything else is markedly cheaper than in France: home help, restaurants, ride-hailing, fresh produce, public transport, museums free or at resident rates. Imported goods and cars, on the other hand, come at full price. Our Settling in page details the budget line by line: /en/cities/mexico-city/settling-in/.

Yes day to day if you live near the school: on foot, by Ecobici, by ride-hailing (never hail a taxi in the street, prefer 'sitio' taxi ranks and apps with safety options) and with the lycée or EFAD school bus. The Metro and Metrobús are very cheap but crowded and hard with a pushchair. Many families end up buying a car for weekends; your French licence is valid for 6 months, after which you need a Mexican one.

Mexico Accueil, part of the FIAFE network since 1980, holds its drop-in at the Polanco consulate and organises welcome coffees, visits and sports groups. The school gates of the lycée's two campuses and the EFAD, parents' WhatsApp groups, the Club France and IFAL workshops do the rest; the Mexico edition of lepetitjournal.com and the consulate's #SomosFrancoMex newsletter announce the community's events.