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The population is ageing rapidly in French overseas departments and regions (DROM), particularly in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion. Given the shortage of care infrastructure, seniors are generally taken care of on an informal basis by family and friends. These networks of potential caregivers are situated within an extremely close range, with family units living in a tight geographical perimeter and a powerful culture of mutual family assistance. But they also involve situations of extreme geographical distance with the largescale migration of young adults to mainland France. This family context is combined with a notoriously unfavourable socio-economic situation in which seniors and their potential caregivers alike are often in situations of extreme vulnerability. This article examines the effect of the context of the DROM on the informal aid received in advanced age. Do the specific characteristics of the DROM alter the determinants of that aid? Drawing on data from the Migrations, Family and Ageing survey (2009-2010), we compare the mechanism underpinning the aid received by the elderly in the DROM with our knowledge of the situation in France and Europe. We show that, as in France, the main determinants of aid are state of health, education level and the closeness of family. But by reconfiguring social trajectories and family models, the migration journeys of DROM inhabitants are indirectly impacting the aid received.