Checklist before boarding
Everything you need to know and do before coming here. Click on each subject to be redirected or scroll down.*
Links to find Bachelor and master level programs and explanations on process.
Procedures to follow to get French Health Insurance; how to get a doctor appointment
Operators to get cheap internet and sim card in France
Learn about different types of visa and get the official link to apply
How public transporation works in France and how to subscribe
Estimate your expenses and learn about financial aids available in France!
A list of websites to look for accomodations close to your school in Ile-de-France
How and where to open a bank account in France + other services that might substitute
*Most of theses informations come from Campus France's website.
1) School enrolment
Summary
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Finding a program in a french school (Bachelor and Master)
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How to apply : European Students
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How to apply: Non European Students
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Documents to prepare in advance
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Costs
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FIND YOUR PROGRAM
For a Bachelor Program, check the catalog of Bachelor's program and search by keywords, field of study and geographic region.
For a Master's Program, check the catalog of Master's program and seach by the same criterias.
You can also join an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD), a prestigious international study program, jointly delivered by an international consortium of higher education institutions. EMJMDs award EU-funded scholarships to the best student candidates applying under annual selection rounds.
For more informations about how the french educational system works, check Campus France's website here.
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HOW TO APPLY: EUROPEAN STUDENTS
You are considered an EU student if you are from :
- One of the 28 EU countries
- A country included in EEA (EU + Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein)
- Switzerland
- Monaco or Andorra
To join a Bachelor program from the first year, you need to register through the parcoursup platform starting from January 2024 (until March 2024).
However, if you want to join a Bachelor program (2nd, 3rd Year) or a Master's degree, there is no specific procedure. You need to go directly to the website of the institute of higher education you are interested in and request an enrolment from them. You can find their contact information in the catalog mentioned earlier.
There is no Visa needed.
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HOW TO APPLY: NON-EUROPEAN STUDENTS
There are 2 cases for non-European students :
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Students affected by the "Etude in France" from the following countries : Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam.
For the students in this list, you need to candidate through the Etude in France plateform here for Bachelor and Master's degree and follow their instructions until you obtain a visa. For a doctorate program, directly contact the doctoral school you are interested in and when you have a positive response, file a request for a "talent passeport" visa with the French consulate or embassy in your home country.
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Students from all other countries, not affected by the Etude in France program
You must go the Campus' France website and go to the space dedicated to your home country. There you'll do the request for admission as well as the visa request if you want to join a first year Bachelor program. For other levels, you need to contact directly the institute of higher education you are interested in and follow their instructions once accepted.
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DOCUMENTS TO PREPARE
These are recommended documents to have on you when you're coming to study in France :
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Your ID card
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Your passeport
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Translated version of your birth certificate
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Driving license
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Past school transcripts
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ID picture
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Proof of financial ressource for some visa applications
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COSTS
All students must pay the CVEC (Student And Campus Life Contribution) every year which is 100€.
For European students in public schools, the fees are the following ones:
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170€ per year for Bachelor level
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243€ per year for Master level
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601€ per year for a public engineering school
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380€ per year for doctoral level
Some non-European students can also have those reduced fees depending on their situation. More details here.
For non-EU students:
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2770€ per year at bachelor level
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3770€ per year at master level
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380€ per year for doctoral level
However, since there are a lot of variations depending on your situation, please check the campus France website to get an exhaustive estimation of your fees.
2) VISA
Summary
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The different types of VISA
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Official link for french VISA application
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Validate your visa permit once here
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THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF VISA
Short term VISA (less than 3 months):
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The travel Schengen visa (stay for tourism after having studied in France, no need to work)
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The Student-in-competition visa (for students to come and sit for an exam or admission interview)
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The Schengen short-stay visa (single entrance, 90 days, not needed for EU students)
Long-term VISA (more than 3 months):
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VLS-TS Visa (valable from 4 months to 1 year, allows you to travel in the Schengen space, can be expanded, allows you to benefit from french social security and receive housing subsidy from CAF). This Visa needs to be validated once you enter France!
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The VLS-T Visa (valable from 4 months to 1 year, allows you to travel in the Schengen space, cannot be renewed, allows you to benefit form french social security but cannot receive housing subsidy from CAF).
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The Researcher-talent passeport visa (to pursue a doctorate, do research or teach in France). This Visa also needs to be validated once in France.
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OFFICIAL LINK FOR VISA IN FRANCE
The official visa website in France is France visa. You can do all your procedure online there.
However, remember that if you are a student that will use the "Studying in France" plateform, your visa application will be automatically done through this website.
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VALIDATE YOUR VISA PERMIT ONCE IN FRANCE
Be careful, for all visa that are valid for 6 to 12 months, once you enter France you must validate your Visa online through this link.
3)
Accomodation
Summary
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CROUS Residencies
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International Student Residence of Paris
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Private Student residences
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Private appartments and sharehouses
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Garantors
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CROUS RESIDENCIES
Crous residencies are publicly owned and subsidized by the French governement. The average monthly rent is low compared to other options (450€ per month in Paris and 350€ elsewhere not including financial aids such as APL). The residencies are usually close to campus and the only drawback is that it's hard to get because demand exceeds supply. To apply to a CROUS residency : click here.
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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RESIDENCE OF PARIS
The "Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris" is located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris and houses 6000 people. To live there, you must be enrolled in an institution in the Paris' region and be at least at Master's degree level. To apply to Cité U : click here.
Cité Universitaire de Paris - Credit : Atlantis
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PRIVATE STUDENT RESIDENCES
More expensive but high quality with furnished rooms, internet, gym, and others, private student residences are also an option for your stay in Ile-de-France. Close to campus, it is easier to get a room in a private residence than in Crous.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of famous private student residences in Ile-de-France : PARME, UXCO, Nexity Studéa, Fac-habitat, Cardinal campus, Kley, Student Factory, Neoresid.
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PRIVATE APPARTMENTS
Private appartments are also an option. You can rent them alone (generally a Studio) or in a sharehouse.
To find one, you can get in contact with a real estate agency or first look through websites like seloger. Please note that if you book through an agency, you'll have to pay application fees.
You can also check the Studapart website which has lower fees than real estate agencies.
Finally, you can also directly book with a landlord. To see what's available near your school, check the website PAP or Locaviz.
If those options aren't enough, you will also be able to find advertisement and colocation proposition through facebook pages such as International in Paris 2023. However, please be aware of scams. If a proposition seems too good to be true, it might be a scam.
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GARANTORS
You'll be asked to have a garantor whenever you rent a place in the private sector in France. The garantor will be the person who pays your rent in case you fail to do so. It's a garanty for landlords. If you don't have someone close who can be a garantor for you or if they don't earn enough, you can use the garantie visale platform to get a garantor from Action logement. Please note that not everyone is eligible but it's free.
Sometimes, landlords ask for french garantors only. Another solution is to use garantme but it is not free. Follow the link to understand how it works and apply.
4) Health
Summary
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How to register to National Health Insurance
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How to get a doctor appointment
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Emergency numbers
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How to register to National Health Insurance
You'll need to following documents before registering :
- Proof of registration to school
- Identity proof (ID card, passeport..)
- A student Visa
- A birth certificate or a Family record book with a translation if possible (not needed for some countries)
- Your Banking information
To register, go to the official Ameli website. It's free of charge and will allow you to get reimbursed for your health care expenses. Please note that if you have the European Health Insurance Card, you do not need to register.
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HOW TO GET A DOCTOR APPOINTMENT
The esiest way to get an appointment is through the doctolib website (also available as a phone app).
When you go to the doctor for the first time, declare them as your "médecin traitant". The consultation should be 25€ for a general doctor in France and if you have declared them as your médecin traitant, you'll get reimbursed 70% of those 25€. If needed, the generalist will send you to a specialized doctor but you should first go see a generalist to get properly reimbursed.
For more information about this subject, check campus france website and ameli.
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EMERGENCY NUMBERS
112 : European Emergencu Number
15: SAMU (an emergency medical service with doctors)
18: The fire brigade (also take care of some medical urgences)
3624: House call doctor (if you are too ill to go to a doctor's office)
5) Public transportation
Summary
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The Ile-de-France transport system (Train, Metro, Bus)
- Pricing and transporation card
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Self-service bikes
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Bonus: visiting the rest of France
- ILE-DE-FRANCE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
Ile-de-France is quite well deserved with 4 main types of transports : RER trains, Transilien trains, Metro and Bus.
You can check all the various transportation map on RATP's website to get them in better quality.
To find your itinerary, we recommend you to use the Ile-de-France mobility application (english website here). Once you enter your destination, the application will tell you which transport and direction to take. Please note that the plan are divided in zones, this is important for Navigo tickets.
RER (with Line A, B, C, D and E) are trains that deserves Ile-de-France in its globality, which means you can also go to cities in Paris's periphery. Here is the RER's map.
Ile-de-France's RER Map - Credits to Plan Paris 360°C
The transilien trains (H,J,K,L,N,P,R,U) are also trains deserving cities in Ile-de-France's periphery but they only have a terminus in Paris and don't mark stops in the capital like RER's.
Finally, you have metros, centralized near the capital. You can find the map right here :
Ile-de-France's metro plan - Credits to RATP
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PRICING AND TRANSPORTATION CARD
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Without a transportation card :
If you rarely use the public transport, you can buy single tickets depending on which type of transport you take. The tickets are now mainly bought directly on your phone, through the Ile-de-France mobilité application.
Here are the pricing :
- Single ticket for a bus (one way) : 2,50€ (to pay through application or by sms)
- t+ ticket : 2,10€
This ticket allows you during 2 hours to take metro and RER in Paris with connections. However, be careful, you must stay in Paris for the RER part and not take it outside paris.
- Origin/destination ticket : varying price (usually between 5-10€)
These tickets are for people who want for instance, do a trip from a city outside of Paris to Paris. The fee will vary depending on distance. You can buy them directly in gares.
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With a transportation card:
If you are a regular traveler, it is highly recommended to get a transportation card called Navigo. Various formulas are available depending on how regularly you take public transporations. When you use the application to calculate your itinerary, please check the zones you will take to know which zone to subscribe to. Paris is zone 1 and the further you go away from Paris, the bigger the number. There are 5 zones in total.
- Navigo day ticket : unlimited travel around Ile-de-France for one day. 8,45€ if you only chose 2 zones, 11,30€ for 3 zones, 14€ for 4 zones and 20,10€ for all 5 zones.
- Navigo weekly ticket : Unlimited travel around all zones in Ile-de-France for 30€.
- Navigo Week-end under 26 years old : Unlimited, all 5 zones for 10€ for the whole weekend if you are under 26 years old.
- Navigo Monthly ticket : Unlimited travel for 1 month in all 5 zones for 84,10€ the month.
- Navigo annual ticket for students : If you are under 26 years old and a student in Ile-de-France, you can get the annual navigo for 350€ (around 30€ per month) which allows unlimited travel in all zones.
There are a few other options available, you can check again on Ile-de-France's mobilité website.
To subscribe to Navigo or just buy a single ticket, you need to create an account on this same website.
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SELF-SERVICE BIKES
If you are studying in Paris and want to use bikes, you can subscribe to Velib' Paris service. There are 1400 stations with 20 000 electric bikes in Paris. To locate the stations, you can use the interactive map here.
Like Navigo, you have different plans available :
- Single ticket V : 3€ one way trip for 45 minutes
- 24 hours pass classic : 5€ for 24 hours with 30 minutes on classical bike included per trip on the day.
- 24 hours pass electric : 10€ for 24 hours with 1 hour on electrical bike included per trip
- V-Plus : 3,10€ per month for over 4 trips per month. Include 30 minutes on classical bikes. 12 months commitment.
- V-Max : 9,30€ per month, includes 1 hour on classical bike and 45 min on electric bikes for each trip. 12 months commitment.
To subscribe or get more information, check the official website in english here.
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BONUS: DISCOVERING THE REST OF FRANCE
To travel around France from Ile-de-France, you have various options : Planes, Trains, Bus and Cars.
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TRAINS
The TGV (High speed trains) are managed by the SNCF. You can get in a few hours to the other side of France. To book your tickets and check the prices, check the sncf connect english website or download the application.
Good deals :
- The carte jeune :
It cost 49€ per year and allows you to have your train tickets with a reduction of 30%, useful if you plan to travel a lot with the train. More information, here.
- ouigo trains:
Lowcost trains that go to stations away from the center of cities but still accessible. More information, here.
- Troc des trains:
This a website where people resale their train tickets. You can find cheap last minutes ticket. Link here.
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BUS
Bus are also a cheap and easy way to travel around France although it takes much longer than trains.
Some well known companies are Flixbus and Ouibus but you can also use a comparator like Comparabus.
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CAR
With the blablacar service, you can pick rides on the application to travel at a low cost. Thoses rides can be by bus or car, made by people registered on the application (verified profil).
6) Bank account
Summary
- How to open a bank account
- Other services
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HOW TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT
For most of your administrative procedure, it will be very useful if not necessary to have a local bank account. As a foreign student, you have the right to open a bank account in any bank in France, theorically. You just need to walk up to any Bank office near where you're living and ask for an appointment. Here are a few, non exhaustive example of Bank names in France : Credit Agricole, Credit Mutuel, BNP Paribas, Société générale, Banque postale, CIC, Caisse d'Epargne, HSBC...
You also have online banks such as Fortuneo, HelloBank, HSBC, Revolut...
Before chosing a bank, don't hesitate to compare the fees as some banks might be more expensive than others.
You will need 3 documents to open a bank account:
- An ID
- A proof of residence (this can be a document delivered by your residency or a bill with your name and adress, for instance for electricity)
- A student card or certificate of attendance to school
After opening the bank account, you will have
- A debit card
- A cheque book
- A RIB (your account number that will allow you to get bank transfer from other people but also set up direct regular payments from your bank account)
Tip: Some banks may refuse to open you a bank account as you are a temporary resident. If you can't find a bank to open your bank account, ask for a document where they attest that they refused to open you a bank account. Then contact Banque de France which will appoint a bank for you and force them to open a bank account for you. Everyone in France has the right to open a bank account, this is called the "droit au compte".
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OTHER SERVICES
Although it is very recommanded and sometimes mandatory to open a bank account, some people prefer to use services such as wise to make their bank transfer without opening a bank account. You can also get a wise credit card. More information here.
7) Mobile phone Sim
Summary
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Lebara
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Free
To get internet on your phone if your current operator doesn't work abroad, you can get a new sim card and a cell phone plan with no commitment for cheap in these two operators. However, please note that only Lebara has an english website, if you use free, you'll need to translate the website by yoursel or directly go to a free store.
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LEBARA
You have 4 mobile plans available on their website and all include unlimited sms and phone calls in France (only internet data varies). They will send you your sim card for free.
- 5,99€/month : 20 GB
- 7,99 €/month : 40 GB
- 9,99€/month : 100 GB
- 13,99€/month : 130 GB
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FREE
Free mobile is another company that proposes cheaper mobile plan. You can find their website (in french) here. The difference here is that you can also subscribe your home wifi box with free if you don't already have wifi in your accomodation.
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Plans without the wifi box :
- 2€/month : unlimited sms/mms, 2hours of calls in France and 50 Mo in 4G
- 12,99€/month : unlimited calls and sms, 110 GB in 4G+ in France and 18 GB in Europe
- 19,99€/month : unlimited calls and sms, 210 GB in 5G/4G in France and 25 GB in Europe
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Plans for people who are already using free for their wifi box :
- 0€/month : unlimited sms/mms, 2hours of calls in France and 50 Mo in 4G
- 12,99€/month : unlimited calls and sms, 110 GB in 4G+ in France and 18 GB in Europe
- 15,99€/month : unlimited calls and sms, unlimited internet in 5G/4G in France and 25 GB in Europe
* For information, currently the wifi box subscription for home is 19,99€/month with a 1 year commitment.
8) Cost and financial aids
Summary
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Living cost estimation
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Financial aids available
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LIVING COST ESTIMATION
It is important to prepare your budget before coming here and estimate your living cost once here. Ile-de-France is a little more expensive than provincial cities but you can still manage your budget.
Campus France has made the following table to help you estimate your budget :
Student expense estimation - all credits to Campus France
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Food budget tip
If you want to eat healthy and for cheap, don't hesitate to eat in "Restaurant Universitaire", the university restaurant which are all around Ile-de-France, near most campus. The meal only cost 3,30€.
To find the restaurants near you, look on this map.
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Health care budget
As mentionned in the health section, if you register, you will get reimbursed for a part of your health care expenses. Here are the prices of different appointments :
- General doctor : 25€ (16,5€ reimbursed)
- Gynaecologist and Ophtalmologist : 30€ (20€ reimbursed) but be careful in Ile-de-France you can find specialist that are 90/100€ per appointment. Check on doctolib the price before booking.
- Dentist : 30€ (reimbursement depends on what is done)
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Entertainment budget tips
Depending on what you will do, the pricing will vary a lot. However, always remember to ask for student discouts. Indeed, in most activities there are special rates for students when they show their student cards or for people under 26 years old.
Here are a few example from Campus France to get an idea of most common activities :
- Entry for national museum/monuments : Free for europeans under 26 years old and between 5 and 15€ for others
- Cinema ticket : between 5 and 8€ for students under 26
- Swimming pool : Under 3€
- Theatre ticket : 10€ on average
Check the Activities and restauration part of the website to get ideas about what to do during your stay here through other projects!
For museum visits, you can also check the Paris Museum pass (available until 144 hours only) if you are not an european student and plan to visit a lot of museum.
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FINANCIAL AIDS
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APL : an aid for students to pay their rent (by CAF)
If you are an European student or have the VLS-TS Visa, you are eligible for this aid every month that varies between 75 to 300€.
The other criterias are :
- A rent certificate signed by your landlord
- Your name on the lease
- Cannot be related to your landlord
- You have low or no incomes (you, not your parents)
- Must have a local bank account
To apply, follow the instructions here. The CAF (caisse des allocations familiales) is the institution of charge of this financial aid.
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Scholarships
To find the various fundings available in France, please check :
- the campus Bourse tool here
- The french governement official website here
- The erasmus mundus program here
- Some merit scholarschip on campus France here.
9) Others
Summary
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Buddy system
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Learning french
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Part time jobs
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BUDDY SYSTEM
If your university or school doesn't have a buddy program to help you meet french students, you can join the buddy system community to find one. Having a buddy can be really helpful during your experience, from helping you out with some procedures to discovering the local culture or even practicing your french.
Find more information on this plateform here.
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LEARNING FRENCH
You can learn french from your home country to prepare your arrival but also directly in France.
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Learning in your home country
- Find your local french institute on the map here. They usually depend on the french embassy.
- Look for alliance francaises in your country here.
- Check for university french departments in your home country
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Online learning
- TV5 monde platform here.
- AFPA website
- Français facile here
- Duolingo application
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Learning in France
- Find a center in Campus France's catalog here
For more information, check their website (on certifications, levels...) here.
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PART TIME JOBS
French law allows students to work up to 964 hours per year which is equivalent to 60% of the maximum working hours permitted. A minimum wage is also garanted by the law which is currently 11,25€ per hour. However, please note that this salary is gross and around 20€ will be deducted for social security contribution which makes the minimum around 9€/hour. Hence, if you work 10 hours per week, you'll get 90€ each week.
To find a part-time job, prepare your CV, check online plateforms like indeed but don't hesitate to also directly go and ask places for a job (for instance as a waiter). Good luck!