Georg Urtel (2018): “Once you have an apartment, you can open a bank account. You need an ID, a photo and a proof of address at your name (a housing contract, a gaz/electricity bill). In the CIUP there is a small BNP Paribas bank (2019: Yuliia had to wait more that 2 mweeks to get a RIB at this bank). When you have a bank account, ask them for a RIB. It might take a day to get it. The RIB is a very boring looking piece of paper, which has your bank/account details written on it. However, you’ll need it several times. I asked my Austrian bank for it, but they never heard of it, so I think it is something you rather try to get here when you open an account.”

Sharbat (2022) : The people at BNP at Cité U know PhD students and postdocs, so it should be easier there. Also, just for information, it is illegal to discriminate based on IBAN, and since European law, No 260/2012 (article 9), employers and entities have to accept non-national IBAN as long as they are part of the SEPA Zone (which consists of most of Europe except the Balkan states). You can request to have your initial salary credited to a bank with a foreign IBAN, until you get a French one.

Some organisations still refuse foreign RIB, even with IBAN from the SEPA zone, because lethargy, but SU did it for Sharbat (for a British bank for 2 months in 2020). It is better to open a French bank soon, and then send the new RIB to replace the information on your dossier so that the salary now is credited to your new French bank.