University admission in France with people who studied there

Beyond the capped waivers, some categories are exempt automatically: doctoral candidates, third-cycle health students, refugees and holders of subsidiary protection, long-term resident cardholders, those with French tax residency for over two years, CPGE students, residents of Québec, French government scholarship holders, and students already exempt in 2025/26 who continue at the same institution on the same programme.

The honest conclusion: even after the increase, EUR 2,902–3,950 a year at a globally ranked public university remains far below the UK, US or Australia. But "France is nearly free" is no longer accurate, and you cannot budget on it.

The main government scholarship is France Excellence Eiffel, managed by Campus France. A structural point that matters: students cannot apply themselves — the host French institution applies on their behalf. The 2026 call closed on 8 January 2026 and the next cycle's dates are unconfirmed, so we do not publish them.

The visa is the VLS-TS "étudiant", which doubles as a residence permit but must be validated within three months of arrival. Work is permitted up to 20 hours a week. For 46 countries, going through the "Études en France" (Campus France) platform is mandatory.

We work the France direction at a moment when the rules have just changed — which is precisely why currency of information matters most here. We track this decree and will re-check the figures before each consultation rather than repeating last year's articles.

Write to us if you are considering France and we will work out your real budget under the new rates and check whether you fall into an exempt category.