Application Overview
All students who wish to study in France 90 days or more must follow the Campus France procedure before applying for a visa.
Overview of the Application Process
There are two main elements to obtaining a student visa: Campus France USA and France-Visas. You will use multiple platforms during the process, and must complete the four steps below:
For the Campus France USA application, complete steps 1 and 2:
1. Complete an online application on the Etudes en France online application platform following the Etudes en France Application Guide.
2. Pay the Etudes en France application fee
For the Student Visa, complete steps 3 and 4:
3. Complete a student visa application via France-Visas
4. Schedule and attend an in-person visa appointment at a VFS visa center
Read more about the visa application, and documents required, in our Student Visa Application Guide.
All students planning to study in France must complete these steps, whether you are an exchange student, have already been accepted to a French institution, or wish to apply to one.
Depending on your program type, the process will differ slightly. There are two application pathways: Pre-Consular ("Students Already Accepted") and Candidate ("Students Not Yet Accepted")
1. If you already hold an admission letter (Pre-Consular Application)
You already hold an admission letter from a French school or exchange program: You are a study abroad, exchange, dual degree student. You have been accepted into a French language class, a professional training or vocational program, or a full-time undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral program.
Campus France USA offers two services:
STEP 1: CREATE & SUBMIT "ETUDES EN FRANCE" ACCOUNT
To complete your account, follow the instructions in the Guide below that apply to your student type:
STEP 2: PAY CAMPUS FRANCE APPLICATION FEE
Pay the Etudes en France Application Fee on our website here.
2. If you wish to apply to a French institution (Candidate)
You wish to apply through Campus France USA to a full-time undergraduate or graduate program in a French institution.
Students who wish to apply to a full-time undergraduate or graduate program, in a French institution, must follow the online admission procedure.
Important Notes on this Process
- The Campus France USA team is only able to begin processing your application after you have submitted the application fee
- You need a unique ID number generated by Etudes on France in order to submit your payment, which is why you need to complete the Etudes en France application first.
- Once your Etudes en France application is processed, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from Campus France USA. A printed version of this email will be requested at your visa appointment.
- After you receive the confirmation email, you can move forward to complete a student visa application via France-Visas and schedule a visa appointment with VFS.
Student Visa Application – France-Visas
To better assist advisors, students, and families, please see the Campus France USA Student Visa Application Guide. This guide serves as an annotated checklist of documents necessary for the visa appointment and responds to FAQs.
We encourage students to keep the PDF accessible on their phone or computer for reference as they compile a visa application.
Please note that the requirements are subject to change. Students should always follow the checklist generated by France-Visas or VFS, which may include additional documents not listed here. This document serves an explanatory purpose to help students understand the items they will see on the France-Visas and VFS checklists.
