Visa and Settling in France

Students

Pays concerné(s)

United Kingdom

This page is dedicated to those who have already been accepted by a French institution of education and who are planning their mobility. If you want to know how to apply to a degree course, check "A Guide to Studying in France".

CampusFranceUK@ambascience.co.uk

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The type of visa you'll need will vary depending on the purpose of your mobility, its duration, your nationality, and sometimes whether the mobility is compensated or not. Let us help you make sense of it all by using the table below.

Purpose	Duration	Nationality	Visa status
Study	< 90 days	EU	No visa required
		Non-EU, visa-free regime*
		Non-EU, no visa-free regime*	Short-stay visa (Type C)
	> 90 days	EU	No visa required
		Non-EU	Long-stay visa (Student)
Internship	< 90 days	EU	No visa required
		Non-EU, visa-free regime*	Short-stay visa (Type C)
		Non-EU, no visa-free regime*
	> 90 days	EU	No visa required
		Non-EU	Long-stay visa (Trainee)
Doctorate / PhD**	N/A	EU	No visa required
		Non-EU	Long-stay visa (Talent)
Research	< 90 days	EU	No visa required
		Non-EU, visa-free regime*
		Non-EU, no visa-free regime*	Short-stay visa (Type C)
	> 90 days	EU	No visa required
		Non-EU	Long-stay visa (Talent)

*EU visa agreements with non-EU countries
**Doctorate / PhD with a doctoral contract or financial resources in excess of €1594 net/month. If your doctoral mobility is different, your purpose is "Study".

This page is dedicated to the application process for the Long-stay visa (Student).

For information on the other types of visas, visit France-Visas.

Use the France-Visas wizard for information tailored to your situation.

The Long-stay Visa (Student)

Once you've been accepted onto a degree course, exchange programme or intensive French language course, your host institution in France will send you a letter of acceptance/admission. Once you've received it, you can start the visa application procedure.

If your stay is longer than 3 months (90 days), you will need a visa. The visa can only be valid for 1 year maximum*.

British citizens are allowed to stay in France without a visa for up to 90 days (3 months) within an 180-day period (6 months). If you are not a British citizen, use our visa wizard to see if you need one. If you are a EU citizen, you don't need a visa.

A long-stay student visa (VLS-TS) is compulsory if you fit one of those categories:

I am doing a study placement (exchange, double degree, study abroad) for a semester or a year;
I have been accepted onto a degree programme in France;
I am doing a PhD without a work contract;
I have been accepted onto a French intensive course (FLE programmes);

! I won't be in the UK right before my study placement in France ! If you are doing a study placement for a semester in another country + a study placement for a semester in France: you must apply for your French visa at the French consulate of your first country of studies. Also, if you are not British and you are spending your summer in your home country, you can also apply from there, but you need to ask us for a transfer of files.

*Are you planning on staying for longer than a year? After the end of your first visa, you can apply for a temporary student residence card (valid for 1 year) or a multi-annual student residence card (valid for 2 to 4 years), whichever is more suited to your study plan. You are subject to resource requirements. In some cases, the residence permit can be issued automatically. For more information, check out How to renew your residence permit (Titre de séjour)?

To apply for a visa, you will need the following documents. No French translation is required as long as they are in English or French.

Passport (Valid for the duration of the mobility + 3 months)
ID Photograph
CV + Diploma or Proof of Enrollment (Any document allowing us to review your academic background)
Admission Lettre from your French institution (and once reviewed by Campus France, the EEF Certificate*)
Proof of Accommodation (at least the first 3 weeks of stay)**
Proof of Financial Means of Support (615€ x the number of months of your visa)***
(If not British) Proof that you are legally resident in the UK

*This certificate can be found under its longer name "Certificate of pre-registration generated by the EEF-Pastel application (Campus France), stating the EEF ID number"

**Hotel reservation for the first 3 weeks of the visa, rental agreement, sworn statement/undertaking from the host (establishment/institution or private individual) or explanatory letter from the student detailing how the accommodation is planned.

***Your most recent bank statements showing your name, details, sufficient funds to support yourself in France (school fees/accommodation/food); Proof of scholarship or maintenance loan; Private sponsor : letter from your sponsor stating financial sponsorship and relationship to the visa applicant + proof of ID + French residence permit (if applicable) + recent bank statement showing sufficient funds + last three month payslips + latest French Income tax.