Applying for a French Student Visa
Since you will be in France for longer than 90 days, you will apply for a long stay student visa (note this is not an internship visa.) This process can take anywhere from 8-12 weeks. Do not delay starting your application. While your visa is being processed by the French consulate, you will not have access to your passport, so plan your travel accordingly.
If you have an EU passport, or a passport from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you will not need to apply for a visa. Please inform IFE if this is the case.
There are two main elements to obtaining a French student visa:
– Campus France USA
– France-Visas
You will use multiple platforms during the process, and must complete the four steps below. [1]
For the campus france usa application, complete steps 1 and 2:
- 1. Create an Etudes en France (EEF/Campus France) account and complete the online application on that platform. [ETUDES EN FRANCE APPLICATION GUIDE]
Instructions for Study abroad students begin on page 26.
For independent students not transferring credits back to a home university, instructions begin on page 34
- 2. Pay the Etudes en France application fee
For the student visa, complete steps 3 and 4:
- 3. Complete the online visa application form
- 4. Schedule and attend an in-person visa appointment at a VFS visa center [STUDENT VISA GUIDELINES]
The two guides linked to above contain answers to almost all questions. Please read them carefully.
If you are experiencing issues with Campus France, please contact them
If you are experiencing issues with VFS, please contact them
If you run into an issue that none of the above resources can resolve, contact IFE - admissions@ife-edu.eu
