Study in France from India

Studying in France from India: 8 things to know

France suits Indian students who want low public tuition and a route to work after a master’s: a public master’s costs €3,950 a year, and master’s-level graduates get a 12-month APS, renewable once.

1. Études en France (EEF) is mandatory from India. Steps: online file → Campus France validation → fee → academic interview → France-Visas + VFS. Fee INR 20,000 (from 1 Aug 2026), non-refundable, paid only through the platform's own link, never an agency's link.
2. Proof of funds: €877.50 a month from 1 Aug 2026 (was €615). It is 47% of the gross monthly minimum wage on the filing day, so it rises with the SMIC. The accepted forms of proof are listed in the France-Visas visa wizard.
3. Public tuition for non-EU students (2026-27): €2,902 a year for a licence (bachelor's), €3,950 for a master's; doctorate at the national rate. Plus the CVEC, €105 a year. A university page still showing the EU rate is unconfirmed. Business schools and Grandes Écoles: about €6,000–18,000+ a year; check each school.
4. New since 21 May 2026: no more blanket fee exemptions. An exemption now goes only to French government scholarship holders, students under reciprocal agreements, or individuals who apply and qualify on their personal (mainly financial) situation.
5. Check state recognition: only a national diploma (licence, master, doctorate), a CTI engineering title, a "diplôme visé" / grade de master, or an RNCP title gives recognised equivalence. A school's own diploma does not.
6. VLS-TS student visa: validate it online (ANEF) within 3 months of arrival (€100). Otherwise a trip abroad needs a new visa.
7. Housing aid (APL) narrowed on 1 Jul 2026. A non-EU student gets it only with a CROUS social-criteria scholarship, a job, or an apprenticeship.
8. After a master's-level diploma: Indian graduates get a 12-month APS, renewable once (at most 24 months), working in a job linked to their studies at €2,800.53 gross a month or more. No post-study permit after a general bachelor's (licence); a licence professionnelle gives the general 1-year job-seeker permit.

How do French universities and master’s degrees work?

A French master’s takes 2 years (M1 + M2, 120 ECTS). Only national diplomas, CTI engineering titles, visé diplomas and RNCP titles are state-recognised; a school’s own diploma is not.

• Types: public universities (national degrees of equal value; 63% of foreign students) · Grandes Écoles (engineering, business, ENS, institutes of political studies (IEP); public and private, very selective, higher fees) · about 3,000 specialised schools, whose degrees may or may not be state-recognised. About 21% of students are in private institutions.
• Degrees: licence 3 years (180 ECTS) → master 2 years (M1 + M2, 120 ECTS) → doctorate. A master's is a mention with parcours (tracks). Some programmes admit directly to M2.
• Recognition: national diplomas, CTI engineering titles (grade de master), visé diplomas and RNCP titles are state-guaranteed. Mastère Spécialisé and MSc are Conférence des Grandes Écoles labels. AACSB/EQUIS/AMBA are private accreditations, not state recognition. The business-school evaluation body (CEFDG) was abolished from 1 Sep 2026; Hcéres now runs its evaluations.
• Admission: each institution decides. Platforms: EEF (all public-university applications from India, including master's, instead of MonMaster) · DAP for first-year licence · Parcoursup for selective first-year tracks · CampusArt for art and design. Private schools run their own applications; EEF is still needed for the visa.
• Language: more than 1,600 programmes are taught in English. French-taught programmes need DELF/DALF/TCF/TEF; first-year licence needs B2. French matters for daily life, and B1 is needed later for a resident card.
• Intake: September/October (a few in January).

Can I apply with an Indian degree, and is a 3-year bachelor’s accepted?

Yes: under the India–France mutual recognition agreement, an Indian bachelor’s is comparable to the licence, the entry level for a French master’s, but each institution still decides admission.

• India–France mutual recognition agreement (in force 2019) covers AIU members and Indian-recognised institutions. Class XII (CBSE or other recognised board) = baccalauréat; bachelor's = licence; master's = master's; PhD = doctorate. Regulated professions (law, medicine) are excluded.
• Master's with a 3-year bachelor's: the Indian bachelor's is comparable to the licence, the entry level for a French master's; each institution still decides admission. No national grade-conversion formula exists.
• Bachelor's from Class XII: DAP through EEF, 1 Oct–15 Dec, 3 universities; answers by 30 Apr, reply by 31 May. French B2 required.
• Tests: set by the programme; the visa file needs the language test matching the programme's language (English or French). ENIC-NARIC comparability attestation is optional (some institutions ask for it): online, €20 + €100, about 4–6 months; English documents need no translation.

How do I apply to a French university?

From India you apply through Études en France (EEF): an online file, Campus France validation, the INR 20,000 fee and an academic interview. Private schools run their own applications, but EEF is still needed for the visa.

• EEF file: personal details, academic records (mark sheets and certificates), language skills, CV, statement of purpose, passport, photo, a motivation per programme → corrections → validation → pay INR 20,000 → academic interview (if applicable) in person with originals (explain the study project and why France and this institution).
• Fee exemptions (EEF and visa fees): Eiffel, Charpak, MOPGA, Erasmus Mundus and listed co-financed scholarships; the VFS service fee is still payable.
• Birth certificate: authenticated by the issuing State/UT, apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs, and translated into French. An affidavit or notarised substitute is not valid.
• Enrolment: pay the CVEC first, then complete the administrative and course registration; the student card is issued after fees are paid.

How much does it cost, and how much money must I show?

Public tuition for non-EU students is €3,950 a year for a master’s (2026-27) plus the €105 CVEC; business schools charge about €6,000–18,000+. For the visa you show €877.50 a month (about €10,530 for 12 months).

• Tuition 2026-27 (public, under the higher-education ministry): non-EU licence €2,902, master €3,950. Engineering diplomas and schools under other ministries set their own fees. Apprentices pay no differentiated fees.
• Exemptions (decree of 19 May 2026): automatic for French government (incl. Charpak) and CROUS scholarship holders and reciprocal agreements. Otherwise only on request, on personal/financial grounds, within a cap (30% of students in 2026-27). A pre-21 May exemption lasts to the end of the cycle at the same institution only. An admission letter is not an exemption.
• CVEC €105 a year, paid online before enrolment; foreign-government and private scholarships don't exempt.
• Funds: €877.50/month (about €10,530 for 12 months). The accepted forms of proof, and whether an education loan counts, are not confirmed on a current official page (France-Visas wizard).
• Living costs: food about €300 a month, university meal €1, Paris student transit pass €374.40 a year (€250–300 elsewhere). Rent: CROUS about €450 in Paris / €350 elsewhere; private studio €800+ in Paris / €400+ elsewhere. No TV licence fee (abolished 2022); home insurance is compulsory.
• Scholarships: Charpak Master (€860/month, age ≤30, Indian or OCI, apply after applying for admission); Eiffel (nominated by the institution, €1,181/month); university excellence awards (e.g. Paris-Saclay €10,000 a year).

How do I get a French student visa from India?

After the Campus France interview email you apply on France-Visas and give biometrics at VFS, at least 3 months before the intake. The visa costs €50 plus a €22 VFS fee; a decision usually takes 15 days.

• VLS-TS "étudiant" (4 months–1 year; it is the residence permit). Short-stay visas cannot be converted; an "étudiant-concours" visa is for sitting an entrance exam.
• Apply on France-Visas after the Campus France interview email, then biometrics at VFS. Apply as soon as you have an unconditional acceptance, at least 3 months before the intake (up to 6 months before departure). A decision usually takes 15 days (up to 45).
• Fees: visa €50 (EEF countries such as India) + VFS service fee €22, both paid in rupees; never refunded. Scholarship holders exempt from the visa fee still pay VFS.
• Checklist: passport (<10 years old, valid 3 months beyond the visa, 2 blank pages), admission letter, degrees and transcripts, language test, proof of funds, proof of accommodation, travel insurance with repatriation, apostilled and translated birth certificate, photos.
• Refusal: consulates must give reasons. Informal appeal to the consul, then the visa appeals commission (CRRV, Nantes) within 30 days, then the Nantes administrative court; or re-apply (new fee).
• Spouse and children: there is no "family of a student" visa. A student can apply for family reunification after 18 months in France, with income of at least the SMIC (€1,867.02 gross a month for 2–3 people) and suitable housing. Before that, the only general route is a long-stay visitor visa, whose holder must not work; whether consulates grant it to students' spouses is unconfirmed: confirm with the consulate before applying. Families of Talent card holders come with the holder and may work. Family rights during the APS are unconfirmed.

When should I start preparing?

Start about 12 months before a September intake: open the EEF file between September and December, then Campus France validation, the interview and the visa application follow.

Can I work while studying, and what happens on arrival?

You can work 964 hours a year (about 20 hours a week) without a work permit. Within 3 months of arrival you must validate your VLS-TS visa online on ANEF (€100).

• Work: 964 hours a year (about 20 hours a week); no permit needed, but the employer declares the hire to the préfecture. Exceeding it can cost the permit. Degree internships don't count; on-campus jobs max 670 h (Sep–Jun) + 300 h (Jul–Aug). No self-employment on a student card. Minimum wage €12.31 gross per hour.
• Health: register with social security on etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr after enrolling (free and mandatory; passport, apostilled birth certificate, visa, enrolment certificate, residence permit, IBAN; costs reimbursed about 60%). France-Visas says this applies to students under 28; ameli states no age limit. A mutuelle is recommended. Emergency numbers: 112, 15 (SAMU), 18 (fire).
• Housing: CROUS rooms are scarce. Landlords want a French guarantor: Visale is free for ages 18–30 with a VLS-TS. Deposit is about 1 month's rent; home insurance is compulsory. Never pay before signing. APL only in the three July 2026 cases.
• Renewal: multi-year card for the rest of the cycle if studies are "real and serious" (attendance, results); one repeated year per cycle is accepted; €877.50/month again.
• Indian students (India–France agreement): after the first-year VLS-TS, a multi-year permit to the end of the study cycle; renewal can be filed in the 3 months before expiry.

Can I stay and work in France after graduating?

Yes, after a master’s-level diploma: Indian graduates get a 12-month APS, renewable once (at most 24 months), for a job linked to their studies paying at least €2,800.53 gross a month. A general bachelor’s gives no post-study permit.

• India: APS of 1 year, renewable once (12 + 12, at most 24 months; not 24 months outright), for a diploma at least equivalent to the master from a nationally accredited French institution. During it: a job related to the studies, paid at least 1.5 × the monthly SMIC (€2,800.53 gross). With such a job or job offer at the end, the graduate can stay on to work with no labour-market test.
• Bachelor's: the India agreement gives no post-study stay to bachelor's or general licence graduates. A licence professionnelle (vocational bachelor's), Mastère Spécialisé, CGE MSc or master's opens the general job-seeker permit: 1 year, not renewable, also available from abroad within 4 years of the diploma.
• Young professionals (India–France): ages 18–35, 6–12 months of salaried work, extendable to 24; at most 500 a year.
• Work permits: "salarié" from €2,800.53 gross/month in a job linked to your studies; Talent – salarié qualifié from €39,582 a year (French master's-level diploma); EU Blue Card from €59,373 a year. Talent families come with the holder.
• Long-term: 10-year EU long-term resident card after 5 years on qualifying permits (student years appear not to count) with B1 French. Citizenship after 5 years, or 2 years with a French diploma earned after 2 years of study; India does not allow dual citizenship (OCI is the alternative).
• Back in India: recognised under the mutual agreement; AIU equivalence online. Indian alumni (one semester or more in France) can get a 5-year multiple-entry short-stay visa (no work).

Common mistakes Indian students make

The costliest mistakes: paying the EEF fee through an agent’s link, assuming the old blanket fee exemption, and showing €615 a month as funds when the amount is now €877.50.

1. Paying the EEF fee through an agent's link.
2. Assuming the old blanket fee exemption: budget €3,950/year for a master's unless the exemption is confirmed in writing.
3. Showing €615/month as funds (the amount is now €877.50 and follows the SMIC).
4. Picking a programme that is not state-recognised (a private school's own diploma).
5. Not validating the VLS-TS within 3 months.
6. Counting on CAF/APL housing aid.
7. Late housing search; no guarantor; housing scams.
8. Working more than 964 hours, or freelancing.
9. Birth certificate not apostilled or translated.
10. Relying on old Campus France India FAQ answers (19.5 h/week, APL for all, Rs 18,000 fee).
11. Promising a post-study permit after a general bachelor's, or 24 months outright after a master's.
12. Planning for a spouse to work in France during the student's first 18 months.