Updated October 2026. Non-EU students staying over six months need a VLS-TS étudiant, applied for through Campus France and the consulate. For files lodged from 1 August 2026 you must show €877.50 a month (€10,530 a year), up from €615. France has no blocked account: statements, a sponsor, a scholarship or an AVI all work. Non-EU tuition is €2,902 or €3,950 a year in 2026-27, validation on ANEF costs €100, and EU, EEA and Swiss students need no visa.
Key takeaways
- The student resource floor is €877.50 a month from 1 August 2026 (décret n° 2026-526), not €615.
- France has no blocked account; an AVI is optional, and Expatrio, Fintiba and Coracle are Germany-only.
- Non-EU fees are €2,902 (licence) and €3,950 (master) in 2026-27, plus the €105 CVEC.
- Validate on ANEF within three months for €100, never €150.
- Non-EU students without a CROUS bursary lost APL on 1 July 2026; budget rent without it.
Which student visa do you need for France?
A VLS-TS étudiant (visa long séjour valant titre de séjour, mention étudiant) is the visa for non-EU nationals studying in France for more than six months. It doubles as a residence permit for its first year, so you need no separate card on arrival, and it is renewable for the length of your programme. For courses under six months, a short-stay or temporary student visa applies, and that visa cannot be turned into a residence permit later.
Doctoral candidates and researchers can use the passeport talent chercheur instead, which rests on a hosting agreement from an accredited lab rather than on a salary floor. Exchange students under a university partnership pay no tuition and no CVEC at the French end. Algerian students follow a separate préfecture process under the 1968 Franco-Algerian agreement, so check the rules for your nationality on France-Visas before relying on the steps below.
EU, EEA and Swiss students need no visa or residence permit and pay the same fees as French students. See our EU citizens guide for registration and health cover.
What is Campus France and Études en France?
Campus France is the state agency that runs the Études en France procedure, compulsory for students living in the 70-plus countries it covers. You build one online file, attend an interview and only then apply for the visa. For a September 2027 start, the DAP route for a first-year licence opens on 1 October 2026 and closes on 15 December 2026. Universities answer by 30 April 2027 and you confirm your choice by 31 May. Applications for L2, L3 and master usually close around 30 November 2026, and from these countries a master goes through Études en France, not through Mon Master.
The interview produces an opinion (avis) that is sent to the consulate, not to you. Senate written questions in 2015 and 2022 confirm the avis is advisory and withheld from applicants, so an unfavourable one only shows up as a visa refusal, after you have paid fees and booked housing. Consular processing takes 2 to 6 weeks: about three weeks for a well-prepared US file, up to 45 days in the July-August peak in Algeria.
Start early
How much money do you need to show for a French student visa in 2026?
| Period covered | Old floor (€615/month) | New floor (€877.50/month) | Extra to show |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | €615 | €877.50 | +€262.50 (+42.7%) |
| 10-month academic year | €6,150 | €8,775 | +€2,625 |
| 12 months | €7,380 | €10,530 | +€3,150 |
The student resource floor is €877.50 a month, or €10,530 for a 12-month year, for visa applications lodged from 1 August 2026. Décret n° 2026-526 of 22 June 2026 set it at 47% of the gross SMIC (€1,867.02 since 1 June 2026) in article R.422-2 of the CESEDA, so it now rises with every SMIC increase. Files lodged up to 31 July 2026 were assessed at the old €615, a figure frozen since 2002 that many guides and some Campus France country pages still print. The foreign ministry notice confirms the change.
Holders of a French government scholarship (BGF, €900 a month) are exempt from the uplift, because the bursary already exceeds the floor. Co-financed scholarships may not be exempt, and a smaller grant must be topped up: a €700 monthly scholarship now needs €177.50a month more from savings or a sponsor. Campus France USA's 2026-27 guide adds that the funds must be net of tuition and travel, so do not count money already earmarked for fees.
Which proof of funds do consulates accept most readily?
| Rank | Proof | Reliability | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scholarship letter at or above €877.50/month (BGF, Eiffel) | Very high | Government payer, rarely contested |
| 2 | AVI from a named provider, or a French-bank deposit attestation | Very high | Irrevocable and verifiable by the consulate |
| 3 | Irrevocable transfer order from a home bank (Maghreb) | High | The standard route where currency controls apply |
| 4 | Complete sponsor package (ID, income, statements, notarised form) | High if complete | Refused fast if one piece is missing |
| 5 | Your own statements with a stable 3-month history | High | Fails on a thin history |
| 6 | Mix of own funds, part sponsor, part scholarship | Medium-high | Accepted when each part is documented |
| 7 | Education loan with disbursement shown | Medium | Wide officer discretion |
| 8 | Loan sanction letter alone, a recent lump sum, or free housing | Low | Documented refusal triggers |
A scholarship letter at or above the floor is the safest proof, because a government is the payer. Three patterns recur in 2025-2026 refusals. A loan sanction letter on its own fails: officers want the disbursed money in your statements. A lump sum deposited days before the appointment reads as borrowed money. And free housing from a relative does not count as a resource: the CAA Nantes (17 January 2025, n° 24NT02481) refused to add it and demanded proof of actual transfers, as this case-law commentary explains.
Sponsors face their own checks. US consulates require the notarised Campus France Financial Guarantee Formwith the parents' statements, and consulates assess the sponsor's whole household budget, not only the share pledged to you. The same €877.50 floor now also applies when you renew in year two, where payslips and statements satisfy it.
What people in France report
- − Loan letter not enough: An Indian master's applicant was refused for insufficient resources despite a sanctioned education loan. His bank statements never showed the disbursed money, and other posters confirmed that officers check funds actually held. (r/Study_In_France, September 2026)
- − Refused with a full file: Several threads from mid-2026 describe student visas refused despite files the applicants considered complete. Financial proof is the recurring suspect: posters conclude that officers want money available now, not money promised later. (r/Study_In_France, September 2026)
- − One-off balance no longer enough: Moroccan press coverage after the uplift reports consulates checking month-by-month traceability. A one-off €11,000 balance without history no longer passes, and a €700 monthly scholarship now needs a €177.50 top-up. (lesiteinfo.com, August 2026)
- ○ Sponsor's whole budget counts: An applicant asked whether showing €1,000 of a parent's €2,000 monthly income would be enough for a French student visa. The thread illustrates that consulates assess the sponsor's whole household budget, not only the share pledged. (r/SchengenVisa, August 2025)
Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey.
Do you need a blocked account or an AVI for France?
| Provider | Fee | AVI issued | Registration | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studely (Pack ZEN) | €470 setup (€495 with travel insurance), card €50/yr: €520 in year one | About 1 hour after funds land | Agent of Treezor, ACPR n° 401277, ORIAS 16005471 | Trustpilot 3.1/5; late payouts reported |
| AVICENTER | 2026 fee not published (€465 on a 2024 contract, unverified) | Under 24 hours | Legal entity and registration not published | Payout page still showed €615 in 2026 |
| Valma-Study | Not published | Under 24 hours | ORIAS 22006423, QR-verifiable attestation | No published refund policy; French-only support |
| Home-bank transfer order (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria) | Set by each bank, unpublished | 5 to 10 days | Named in consular checklists | Too slow for a last-minute slot |
| Expatrio, Fintiba, Coracle | Not available | n/a | German blocked accounts | Germany only: useless for a France file |
France has no blocked-account requirement: the CESEDA asks only for sufficient means, and France answered no to a mandatory blocked account in a 2025 European Migration Network query. The closest product is the AVI(attestation de virement irrévocable): you deposit the year's money with a French provider, which pays you €877.50 a monthand issues a certificate the consulate can check. Studely and AVICENTER are both named in French consular guidance for Mexico. Any site selling a "French Sperrkonto" is reselling an AVI or a German product.
An AVI earns its fee only when your own statements will not convince a consulate: currency-controlled savings, a thin history or a recent lump sum. With a stable three-month history or a complete sponsor package, the same visa costs €0 in proof. Studely and Valma-Study offer partner loans with 20% down. Studely's refund terms warn that a refund after a refusal cancels the AVI and the consulates are told. The reports below are the only first-hand accounts in our research, all about Studely; we found none for AVICENTER or Valma-Study.
What people in France report
- − Studely card never issued: A Studely AVI customer reports that identity verification broke, no bank card ever arrived, and a second Revolut account was needed just to receive the monthly payouts. They found the total cost very high. (Trustpilot, February 2026)
- − Extra fees after paying: A West African Studely customer paid 400,000 FCFA for the AVI, then faced a further 100,000 FCFA in fees they say were never disclosed, to move the money for the school. No follow-up came from Studely. (Trustpilot, January 2026)
- − Late monthly payouts: A Studely user says monthly transfers promised for the 25th to 30th arrived as late as the 8th of the following month, which delayed rent payments. Support repeatedly asked for patience. (Trustpilot, November 2023)
Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey.
How do you apply step by step?
The French student visa takes six steps, from admission to the first renewal, and every step after the consulate now runs on ANEF.
- Step 1: Apply through Campus France (Études en France) or directly, and obtain your admission letter.
- Step 2: Gather proof of €877.50 a month: statements, a sponsor package, a scholarship letter or an AVI.
- Step 3: Create your file on France-Visas and complete the VLS-TS étudiant application.
- Step 4: Attend the consulate with your passport, admission, proof of funds, housing proof for three months and insurance.
- Step 5: Within three months of arrival, validate on ANEF (€100) and register on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr for free health cover.
- Step 6: Renew on ANEF as soon as the window opens, four months before expiry.
How much do French universities charge non-EU students in 2026-27?
| Level | EU, EEA, Swiss | Non-EU (differentiated) |
|---|---|---|
| Licence, BUT | €178 | €2,902 |
| Master | €255 | €3,950 |
| Doctorate | €398 | €398 (never differentiated) |
| Engineering diploma (public school) | €630 | Set by each school (École des Ponts €4,150) |
| CVEC (all students) | €105 | €105 |
Non-EU students at public universities pay differentiated fees of €2,902 a year for a licence and €3,950 for a master in 2026-27, about 16 times the €178 national rate. Some ministry and university pages still show €2,895 and €3,941, the 2025-26 amounts: service-public is the authoritative 2026-27 source. Every student also pays the CVEC of €105, unless exempt as a CROUS bursary holder, refugee, asylum seeker or exchange student.
Sciences Po sits outside the national grid: non-EEA students pay €14,900 a year for a bachelor and €20,640 for a master. Private business and engineering schools set their own prices. At Aix-Marseille Université, first-time non-EU students must pay the full differentiated fee in one payment from 2026-27. The table below adds up the cash a non-EU student lines up before the visa.
| Item | EU licence | Non-EU licence | Non-EU master |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | €178 | €2,902 | €3,950 |
| CVEC | €105 | €105 | €105 |
| VLS-TS validation | None | €100 | €100 |
| Funds to show (12 months) | None | €10,530 | €10,530 |
| Total to line up | €283 | €13,637 | €14,685 |
Who is exempt from differentiated fees, and which scholarships help?
| Scholarship | Amount | How and when |
|---|---|---|
| France Excellence Eiffel | Master €1,200/month; PhD €2,100/month per Campus France (€2,000 in the official regulation); tuition not covered | Only the French institution applies, by 6 January 2027; internal deadlines in October-November 2026 |
| BGF (embassy scholarship) | Set by country; gives boursier status, full fee exemption, APL eligibility | Apply at the French embassy before departure, usually December to March |
| CROUS bursary on social criteria | €1,454 to €6,335 a year, plus fee and CVEC exemption | DSE form by 31 May; non-EU students need 2 years of residence and 2 years in a French tax household |
| Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters | €1,400/month for up to 24 months, no tuition | Apply to each consortium, October 2026 to February 2027 |
Several groups are exempt by law and pay the EU rate: refugees and asylum seekers, Quebec residents, family members of EU citizens, holders of a French resident card, students attached to a French tax household for at least two years, doctoral candidates, CPGE students, apprentices, BGF holders and exchange students. Universities may waive fees for others, but decree n° 2026-385 of 19 May 2026 caps these waivers at 30% of non-EU enrolment in 2026-27, 25% in 2027-28 and 20% from 2028, per service-public.gouv.fr. Exemptions granted before 21 May 2026 last until the end of your current programme.
Do not budget on a waiver. In 2022-23 only 13.5% of non-EU students in scope had a full exemption, and universities granted just 3.2% themselves. The BGF is the one route that stacks a fee exemption, boursier status and CROUS housing, which is why it is worth applying at the embassy before you leave.
What people in France report
- − Fee waivers are rare: L'Étudiant reported that only 13.5% of non-EU students in scope had a full exemption from differentiated fees in 2022-23, and universities granted just 3.2% themselves. Engineering schools fell from 47% to 35%. (L'Étudiant, March 2024)
- + BGF unlocks everything: A French guide for foreign students describes the embassy-run BGF scholarship as the one route that stacks a full fee exemption, boursier status that keeps housing aid, and pre-arranged CROUS housing for a first arrival. (demarchesetrangers.fr, 2026)
- − Late bursary file: Students who file the DSE bursary form after 31 May report payments starting only in November or December, after CROUS rooms are gone. Maghreb consular tax documents often fail to match the French format and get refused. (demarchesetrangers.fr, February 2026)
Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey.
How many hours can you work on a French student visa?
A VLS-TS étudiant allows paid work up to 964 hours a year, about 60% of full-time hours, with no separate work permit. That averages roughly 20 hours a week across the year, and the work must stay secondary to your studies. The cap explains the new floor: 47% of the gross SMIC equals about 60% of the net SMIC, the most a student can legally earn at minimum wage. Check the current rules on service-public.fr before signing a contract.
Graduation opens the next door. A master's graduate from a French institution can request an APS (autorisation provisoire de séjour) to job-hunt for 12 months, non-renewable, which costs €100 since 1 May 2026 and was free before. A job related to your studies paying at least €2,800.53 gross a month lets you switch to salarié without a labour-market test, and €39,582 a year unlocks the passeport talent. See our work visa guide for the thresholds.
Can non-EU students still get APL housing aid in 2026?
Non-EU students without a CROUS bursary lost eligibility for APL housing aid on 1 July 2026, under decree n° 2026-552 of 27 June 2026, as the CAF notice explains. Holders of a CROUS bursary on social criteria or a BGF scholarship keep it. Most non-EU students cannot get the CROUS bursary, which needs two years of residence and two years in a French tax household, so the realistic loss is €100 to €250 a month.
CROUS residences are the cheapest legal option, with about 177,450 places against more than 155,000 reservations in 2026, so allocation is tight. Basic 9 m² rooms rent for around €254 a month. Outside Paris a CROUS or private room costs about €450 to €600, against €850 to €1,300 for a Paris studio. Budget without APL, answer any CROUS offer within minutes, and use the free Visale guarantee for private rentals. Our bank account guide covers the account you need for rent and the CAF.
What people in France report
- − APL cut from July 2026: A Paris rental agency's analysis estimates that about 320,000 non-EU students are affected by the July 2026 APL change. Only 2-3% qualify for the CROUS bursary that preserves the aid, so most lose €100-250 a month. (Lodgis blog, July 2026)
- − 9 m² for €254: Students quoted by L'Étudiant describe 9 m² CROUS rooms at €254 a month, heating that only starts in mid-December and pests left untreated. A FAGE survey found 32% of students avoid CROUS because of building condition. (L'Étudiant, February 2024)
- ○ Answer the CROUS SMS fast: A Sorbonne student confirmed her Paris CROUS room within 20 minutes of the offer SMS. Two of her classmates lost their places because they were not watching their email in June. (residenceetudiante.fr, 2026)
- − Hours cap, no CDI: A Chilean student couple with savings but only short contracts, capped by their visas at about 20 hours a week, faced losing their flat. Commenters pointed them to owner-direct listings and the Mission Locale. (r/paris, January 2026)
- − The old €615 floor in practice: Le Monde, relayed on LinkedIn, profiled a Colombian student in Paris earning €914 net within the legal hours cap who still took undeclared work while sending €300-400 home each month. (Le Monde via LinkedIn, April 2026)
Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey.
How do you validate and renew a French student visa?
Validation of the VLS-TS étudiant is done online on ANEF within three months of arrival. The student tax is €100 since 1 May 2026 (loi de finances 2026, art. 128), up from €50. Some sites quote €150, but that adds a €50 droit de timbre that is not due at validation. An unvalidated visa loses its residence-permit value and your stay becomes irregular. Pay with Chrome or Firefox, because Safari has broken the payment step.
Renewal is filed on ANEF between four and two months before expiry. It costs €250 at the full rate or €100 at the reduced rate (was €225 and €75), and filing late adds a €180 tax. With about 930,000 files pending nationally and a 117-day mean instruction time in 2025, file the day the window opens. The ANEF attestation de dépôtis not a residence document: only a récépissé or an attestation de prolongation proves legal stay, and the Conseil d'État confirmed the latter's full rights on 5 May 2026 (n° 502860). See our titre de séjour renewal guide.
What people in France report
- − Months-long student renewals: A Senegalese master's student in Lille says every renewal took months even when filed four months early; one July application was answered in January. Filing late costs €180, not €75. (France 3 Hauts-de-France, January 2025)
- − Deposit receipt gives no rights: A Bordeaux student describes unanswered calls and emails while the permit expired in the middle of a work-study contract. The ANEF deposit attestation gave no residence rights; an attestation de prolongation came only after expiry. (Services Publics+, September 2025)
- − Stuck at deposit stage: A student in Isère spent two and a half months stuck at the ANEF deposit stage with a compulsory exchange semester due in September. The school said it could not intervene. (Services Publics+, September 2025)
Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey.
Sources: Campus France, France-Visas, ANEF, the CAF, service-public.gouv.fr (A17481, A18927), décret n° 2026-526 and loi de finances 2026, as of October 2026. Amounts are indexed or revised by decree, so verify them before applying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do EU students need a visa to study in France?
No. EU, EEA and Swiss students need no visa or residence permit to study in France. They enrol on the same terms as French students and pay the same fees: €178 a year for a licence and €255 for a master in 2026-27, plus the €105 CVEC.
How much money do you need to show for a French student visa in 2026?
€877.50 a month, or €10,530 for a 12-month year, for visa applications filed from 1 August 2026. Décret n° 2026-526 of 22 June 2026 set the floor at 47% of the gross SMIC, so it rises with each SMIC increase. Files lodged up to 31 July 2026 were assessed at the old €615. French government (BGF) scholarship holders are exempt from the uplift.
Is there a blocked account for studying in France?
No. France has no blocked-account requirement: own bank statements, a sponsor, a scholarship letter or an AVI (attestation de virement irrévocable) all count as proof of funds. AVI providers include Studely, AVICENTER and Valma-Study. Expatrio, Fintiba and Coracle sell German blocked accounts and do not serve France-bound students.
How much are university fees for non-EU students in 2026-27?
At public universities, non-EU students pay differentiated fees of €2,902 a year for a licence and €3,950 for a master in 2026-27, according to service-public.gouv.fr. Doctorates cost €398 for every nationality. Every student also pays the €105 CVEC unless exempt. Many non-EU students are exempt, but full waivers covered only about 13.5% of those in scope in 2022-23.
Does VLS-TS validation cost €100 or €150 for students?
€100. Since 1 May 2026 (loi de finances 2026, art. 128) the student validation tax is €100, up from €50. Sites quoting €150 add a €50 droit de timbre that is not due at validation. The general rate for other visa categories is €300.
Can you work on a French student visa?
Yes. A VLS-TS étudiant lets you work up to 964 hours a year, about 60% of full-time hours, without a separate work permit. That is roughly 20 hours a week averaged over the year, and the work must stay secondary to your studies.
Can non-EU students still claim APL housing aid in 2026?
Only some. Since 1 July 2026, non-EU students without a CROUS bursary are no longer eligible for APL (decree n° 2026-552 of 27 June 2026). Holders of a CROUS bursary on social criteria or a French government (BGF) scholarship keep it. Budget your rent without APL unless you hold one of these.
How long does the Campus France procedure take?
Start about eleven months ahead. For a September 2027 start, the Études en France DAP route for a first-year licence runs from 1 October to 15 December 2026, universities answer by 30 April 2027 and you confirm by 31 May. Consular visa processing then takes 2 to 6 weeks, longer in the July-August peak.
Related Guides
Titre de Séjour Renewal
ANEF renewal windows, 2026 fees, the backlog and the récépissé.
Work Visa for France
Salarié, Passeport Talent, the EU Blue Card and the APS after graduation.
Open a Bank Account
Documents, bank types, and steps to get a French IBAN.
EU Citizens in France
Rights, registration, and residence for EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals.
Continue your move to France
Related guides from other parts of How to France that newcomers usually need next.