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How to Get a Student Visa for France
By Laura Tucker
Updated February 14, 2022 Updated February 14, 2022Do you need a French student visa?
Whether or not you require a student visa for France will depend on whether or not you are an EU national.
If you are an EU national, or national from the EEA, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you do not require a French student visa. Instead, all you will need in order to legally study in France is a valid passport or other valid travel ID.
If you are a national from anywhere else in the world, you will need to obtain a student visa for France in order to be able to undertake study.
What type of French student visa will you need?
If your studies will last less than three months, and you are sure you will not be spending any longer in the country, then you should apply for the court séjour pour étude, otherwise known as the short-stay or Schengen student visa. The Schengen student visa is issued free of charge and cannot be renewed.
If you need to travel to France in order to sit one or more university entrance exams, you can apply for the visa de court séjour étudiant concours, which simply means a visa for sitting entrance exams. If you sit your exam and pass, you are then eligible to apply for a renewable, one-year residence permit. For more information, contact the admissions department of the French institution you wish to study at.
The visa de long séjour temporaire pour études is a temporary student visa that allows you to study in France for a period of up to six months. With this student visa for France you do not need to apply separately for a residence permit.
Known as the visa de long séjour pour études or the extended-stay VLT-TS, the long-stay visa is what you need if you wish to study in France for longer than six months. This visa acts as a residence permit and lasts for the duration of your study period (normally three years for a bachelor’s degree, two years for a master’s program and four years for a PhD). Algerian nationals do not require the VLS-TS, but are subject to different provisions. Contact your institution or the French consulate/embassy in your own country for more information.
How to apply for a student visa for France
If your country of origin is not listed in the link above, then you will be responsible for both your university application and your student visa application. Only once you have received acceptance onto a program at a French institution will you be eligible to apply for your student visa for France.
In order to apply for your visa, you will need to contact the French consulate in your home country and provide them with the following, when requested:
On arrival in France
Once your form and copied passport pages have been received, you will be sent a receipt of confirmation with further instructions on your next steps if required. This may be an instruction to obtain a medical examination if you have not previously received one in your country of origin.
Often your institution of study will help you with this part of the process. In some cases, an agreement exists between the OFII and the school in question, meaning documents can be submitted to the school instead of the French authorities.
In all instances, you will be expected to pay a tax of €58 (US$78) to handle administration costs.
Working in France with a French student visa
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This article was originally published in August 2014 . It was last updated in February 2022
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Laura is a former staff writer for TopUniversities.com, providing advice and guidance for students on a range of topics helping them to choose where to study, get admitted and find funding and scholarships. A graduate of Queen Mary University of London, Laura also blogs about student life.
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