Do you need a visa?
It depends on your passport and on how long you study.
| Your situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| EU, EEA or Swiss citizen | No visa and no residence permit. You need a place at an institution, health insurance and enough money to live on.Service-Public — Étudiant européen en France (F2651) |
| Any other passport, studies of more than 3 months | A long-stay student visa that works as a residence permit (VLS-TS “étudiant”), valid for 4 months to 1 year. You validate it online within 3 months of arrival and pay €100.Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231) |
| Algerian passport | A long-stay visa, then a student residence certificate (€150). The France–Algeria agreement also changes the work rules.Service-Public — Étudiant algérien en France (F2215) |
| Coming to sit an entrance exam or competition | A short-stay “étudiant-concours” visa, 90 days at most. If you pass, you apply for your student residence permit at the préfecture, without a VLS-TS. Algerians cannot use this visa.Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231); France-Visas — Étudiant |
Online validation is what makes your stay legal and lets you cross the Schengen border again. Do it within 3 months of arrival.
Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231)
Since 1 May 2026, validation costs €100 instead of €50. If you apply late for your residence card, you pay a €300 regularisation visa fee.
Source: Service-Public — Hausse des taxes sur les titres de séjour au 1er mai 2026
Getting a place
It all starts with one question: do you live in a country covered by the Études en France procedure? If you do, your application and your visa go through Campus France.
- Countries covered by Études en France
- more than 70
- Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- including Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, China, India, Brazil and the United States
- First year of a bachelor’s, with a foreign school diploma
- Preliminary admission request (DAP)
- Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- through Études en France; the 3 universities you choose review your application at the same time
- First year of a bachelor’s, with a French or European baccalauréat
- Parcoursup
- Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- Bachelor’s from year 2, or a master’s
- Études en France
- Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- if you live in a country covered by the procedure
- Master’s, if you are European or live outside those countries
- Mon Master
- Campus France — Candidater depuis l’UE ou un pays hors Études en France
- platform opens in February 2027
- Doctorate
- Through the doctoral school
- Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- outside Études en France, with a “talent passport” visa
DAP calendar for 2027 entry
- 1 October 2026Applications open.Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- Before 30 April 2027Universities answer.Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- Before 31 May 2027Your answer. If you do not reply, the place counts as refused.Campus France — La procédure Études en France
Parcoursup for 2027 entry: the platform opens in December 2026, registration runs January to March 2027, and choices are completed in April 2027.
Each Campus France office sets its own application fee, in local currency. It is not refunded, even if you are refused. Two amounts read on the official pages:
Source: Campus France Algérie — Frais de dossier; Campus France Maroc — Frais de dossier
Not verified
The DAP closing date (the official page shows a wrong date), the level of French required (it depends on the programme; no central official page sets one threshold) and the first-year bachelor’s procedure if you live outside the Études en France countries.
From application to visa
- Know which route is yoursIf you live in an Études en France country, everything goes through Campus France, up to the visa. Otherwise you apply to the institution or on Mon Master, then request the visa on France-Visas.Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231)
- Apply and pay the application feeThe amount depends on the Campus France office in your country.Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- Accept a placeFor the DAP, you answer before 31 May 2027.Campus France — La procédure Études en France
- Apply for the visa€50 if you go through Études en France, €99 otherwise, according to France-Visas. You show €877.50 a month.France-Visas — Étudiant
- Register with French social securityOnline, while preparing your arrival, on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr.Assurance Maladie — Vous venez étudier en France
- Pay the CVEC€105, before you enrol at the university.CVEC — Contribution de vie étudiante et de campus
- Validate your VLS-TSOnline, within 3 months of arrival: €100.Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231)
- Renew after the first yearBetween 4 and 2 months before your permit ends, online only. One-year card: €100; multi-year card, up to the end of your study cycle: €150.Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231)
Not verified
How long the consulate takes to decide, and the earliest date you can lodge the visa application: no official page we read sets them.
Money to show
For the visa, then at every renewal, you show at least €877.50 a month.
- Minimum resources
- €877.50 a month
- Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231)
- Previous threshold
- €615 a month
- Ambassade de France au Panama — Nouveau seuil de ressources pour les visas étudiants
- replaced in summer 2026
At renewal, the préfecture accepts as proof: a scholarship certificate, your last 3 payslips, regular transfers from someone who supports you (with their ID, or their sworn statement that they will pay €877.50 a month), or a bank statement showing a sufficient balance.
Source: Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231)
| Long-stay visa, outside Études en France | €99 |
|---|---|
| VLS-TS validation | €100 |
| CVEC 2026-2027 | €105 |
| Bachelor’s tuition | €2,902 |
| Before rent and living costs | €3,206 |
For a master’s, tuition is €3,950: the total becomes €4,254. Through Études en France, the visa costs €50, plus your country’s application fee.
Source: France-Visas — Étudiant; Service-Public — Hausse des taxes sur les titres de séjour au 1er mai 2026; CVEC — Contribution de vie étudiante et de campus; Service-Public — Droits d’inscription à l’université en 2026-2027
There is no money condition if you passed the entrance exam of an institution that has signed an agreement with the State.
Source: Service-Public — Étudiant étranger : visa et titre de séjour (F2231)
Not verified
How many months of resources to show for the first visa (the official page gives a monthly amount, not a period) and the list of accepted proofs for that first visa, given by the France-Visas assistant.
Health
| Your passport | Your cover |
|---|---|
| Outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland | Register with French social security on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr, with your passport, residence permit, certificate of enrolment, bank details and birth certificate.Assurance Maladie — Vous venez étudier en France |
| EU, EEA or Switzerland | Your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is enough: no registration on the site.Assurance Maladie — Vous venez étudier en France |
A top-up insurance (mutuelle) pays part of what social security leaves to you. No official page makes it compulsory.
Every student pays the CVEC before enrolling: €105 in 2026-2027. Scholarship holders are exempt but must still get their certificate.
Not verified
France-Visas says registration is compulsory for students under 28, Campus France says “all students”, the national health insurance sets no age.
Working while you study
| Your situation | Work allowed |
|---|---|
| VLS-TS or student residence card | Up to 964 hours a year, 60% of the legal working time, with no permit. Your employer declares you to the préfecture at least 2 working days before you start.Service-Public — Travail d’un étudiant étranger (F2713) |
| Algerian student | Up to 50% of the annual working time, and only after your employer obtains a work permit.Service-Public — Travail d’un étudiant étranger (F2713) |
| Apprenticeship contract | Possible after 1 year in France, with no such condition for a master’s. A validated contract lets you work beyond 964 hours.Service-Public — Travail d’un étudiant étranger (F2713) |
Going over 964 hours can cost you your residence permit: withdrawal and refusal to renew.
A student residence card does not let you register as self-employed (auto-entrepreneur).
Source: Service-Public — Travail d’un étudiant étranger (F2713)
Bringing your family
Family reunification lets your spouse and minor children join you. It requires a residence card of at least 1 year, the student card included, and 18 months of residence in France: so it is not open in your first year. You also need income at least equal to the average minimum wage (€1,867.02 a month for a household of 2 or 3) and large enough housing.
Your parents cannot come this way.
Not verified
How the préfecture applies these conditions to a student: no official page for students says.
After your degree
The “job search or business creation” card gives you 1 year to find a job or start a business linked to your studies.
- Length
- 1 year
- Service-Public — Carte recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise (F17319)
- not renewable
- Degrees that count
- professional bachelor’s, master’s or equivalent
- Service-Public — Carte recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise (F17319)
- including the Mastère spécialisé and MSc accredited by the Conférence des grandes écoles
- When to apply
- in the 2 months before your student card ends
- Service-Public — Carte recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise (F17319)
- or from abroad, up to 4 years after the degree
During that year, the 964-hour limit no longer applies. A job linked to your studies, paid more than €2,800.53 gross a month, then opens a salaried-worker residence card.
Source: Service-Public — Carte recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise (F17319)
This card does not apply to Algerian students.
Source: Service-Public — Carte recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise (F17319)
Tuition fees
At public universities, the State sets the fees. Amounts for 2026-2027.
- Bachelor’s (licence)
- €2,902
- Service-Public — Droits d’inscription à l’université en 2026-2027
- non-EU; €178 for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
- Master’s
- €3,950
- Service-Public — Droits d’inscription à l’université en 2026-2027
- non-EU; €255 for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
You pay the national rate without a European passport if you are a national of Andorra, Monaco or Quebec, a refugee, a long-term resident, tax-resident in France for more than 2 years, in a preparatory class (CPGE) or an apprentice. French government scholarship holders pay nothing.
Source: Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur — Droits différenciés, questions-réponses
Each university can also exempt a student because of their personal situation, within a quota. Institution-specific diplomas, including engineering degrees, set their own fees.
Source: Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur — Droits différenciés, questions-réponses
At private institutions, business schools in particular, fees run from about €6,000 to €18,000 a year.
Source: Campus France — Coût des études supérieures en France
Not verified
Campus France lists engineering programmes among the higher non-EU rates, the ministry says the opposite: read the fee on the school’s own site.