Immigration Formalities

• Visa requirements

• Residence permit (Carte de Séjour)

Who require a visa to study in France?

European Union and Swiss nationals do not require a visa or a residence permit to enter and live in France. American citizens who will studying in France for less than 90 days do not need a visa.

 All other students entering France for more than 90 days should have a long-stay student visa in their possession. This you will obtain from the appropriate French Consulate in your own country.

In more than twenty countries an online application procedure has been set up through CampusFrance;  this procedure must be followed to obtain a student visa. U.S. Citizens can only obtain student visas through this online procedure: http://www.campusfrance.org/en/a-etudier/etudes05-2.htm

Please click here for further instructions on the CampusFrance procedures

The student visa issued to you will allow you to enter France as a student and to reside in France for 12 months.

 Warning: although it usually takes 2  to 3 weeks to get a student  visa,  we strongly advise you to send in your application at least 4 to 5 weeks prior to your scheduled departure to ensure that you receive your visa before the date you wish to leave for to France.

NB: Do not enter France without a visa or with a tourist visa, as you would have to return to your home country to have your status changed; this cannot be done in France.

Application for Visa.

You must provide the following documentation - the original AND a copy of each document. The visa section will not make copies; incomplete files will not be accepted. No visa is granted automatically and the French Consulate may ask you for additional documents.

The file must be arranged with the application form on top.

Required documents

• Passport: valid until at least three months after the last day of your stay in France; a photocopy of the pages of your passport with your photo, identity details and the validity of the passport . Please make sure there are two blank pages in your passport for the visa stamp.

• A long stay application form

• An OFII application form

• A recent passport-size photograph with a white background, attached to each application form (please do not glue)

• Identification number given by Campus France

• Letter of admission from AGS in Paris

• Proof of sufficient funds: If your parents are paying your expenses in France they must provide a financial guarantee, such as a notarized statement certifying that you will receive a minimum monthly allowance of €460 for the duration of your stay;  OR if you are staying with a friend or family, you must submit a letter from your host certifying that you will be lodged free of charge, along with a copy of his/her identity papers, in which case a monthly allowance of € 215 will be accepted; OR if you have personal income then you must submit your last three bank statements, along with a letter from AGS stating that room, board, and tuition are fully prepaid.

• A self-addressed prepaid envelope (priority mail) to return your passport stamped with the visa - if granted. Your passport will be kept during the processing time. If you require your passport during this time, you will be required to make a second visit to the visa section with your passport so your visa may be issued.

• Processing fees: by credit card (Visa, Mastercard) cash or money-order only. Personal checks or American Express are not accepted.

You must take your documentation to a French Consulate; make an appointment online; no appointment will be given by phone.

Once you have arrived in France

Step I:

It is imperative that you register at a French Office of Immigration and Integration (OFII) within the first three months of your stay in France. If you don't do this then the French authorities will consider that you are in an irregular situation and will ask you to leave the country.  We strongly recommend that you do this in the first two weeks that you are here as the registration procedure takes some time.

If you arrive in France between September 8 and December 11,  AND if you are resident in Paris you must go to the Cité Universitaire Internationale of Paris www.ciup.fr 17 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris, with the documentation detailed below.

If you arrive after December 11 AND are resident in Paris (75), then you must send the documentation detailed below by registered mail to: Direction Territoriale de OFII, 48 rue de la Roquette, 75011 Paris.

If you live outside Paris: Seine-et-Marne (77), Yvelines (78), Essone (91), Hauts-de-Seine (92), Val-de-Marne (94) you must send the documentation detailed below by registered mail to: Direction Territoriale de OFII, 221 avenue Pierre Brossolette, 92120 Montrouge. 

 Documentation to be submitted to OFII: 

Your residence form stamped by a French consulate and duly completed with

• Your visa number
• Your date of entry into France or the Schengen area
• Your address in France
• A copy of the ID pages of your passport and of the immigration stamp received as you came into France.

Step 2:

You will receive a letter acknowledging receipt of your documents and giving you an appointment to go for an interview and a medical examination; there will also be a page on to which you must stick a stamp (timbre OMI or ANAEM) of €55. This is how  the processing fee that is applied is paid.

Step 3:

To buy a €55 timbre (OMI or ANAEM) you must go to one of the following Tax Offices

29 rue Moulin Vert, 75014 Paris, Metro Alésia; 18/20 rue Geofroy Saint Hilaire, 75005 Paris, Metro Censier Daubenton

5/7 avenue Bouvines, 75011 Paris, Metreo Nation

Step 4:

Go for your interview and medical.  Take with you:

• Your passport with the visa in it.

• Proof of accommodation in France: this would be a rent receipt, or a letter from your host attesting that you are staying with him/her. 

• An ID picture

• The page with the €55 stamp on it.

When the file is complete and the medical passed, a registration stamp will be added to your passport, which valides your long-stay student visa.

You must keep the appointment you have been given for the interview and medical examination .  If you can' t go - and this would have to be a life or death situation - you must request a second appointment  in writing, to be sent to: OFII Direction Territoriale de Paris, 48, rue de la Roquette, 75011 Paris. NB: OFII will not grant more than one change of appointment.

After the medical you will be given a medical certificate.  You must keep this safe as you will be asked for it when you ask for the residence perm

it required if you are studying in France for a second year.

Your long-stay student visa

A long-stay student visa, is a multiple entry visa and is valid for 3 to 12 months, depending on the length of study enrolled in.

There is no need to apply for a resident permit (carte de séjour), during your first year in France. This visa allows you to travel in the Schengen zone.

Residence permit (Carte de Séjour)

Non-EU students need a Residence Permit for their second year of study.
Before your second year of study, at least 2 months before the expiration of your visa, you must make an appointment with the Préfecture, to request a Residence Permit ("Carte de Séjour"). This residence permit  allows you to legally reside and work in France.

• students living in Paris can do this at the Centre des étudiants étrangers, 92 boulevard Ney, 75018 Paris.  Metro line 4 Porte de Clignancourt.

•  students living outside Paris must go to their local sous-préfecture.

You will need to take the following documents:

• your Passport with a valid student visa

• a letter provided by AGS certifying your enrollment

• an attestation d'hébergement (proof of residence): statement from your landlord with copy of landlord's identity papers and a copy of an electricity bill

• all documents confirming your financial resources

• three recent ID photos (3.5 x 4.5 cm)

• an official translation of your birth certificate (this can be obtained from your consulate)

After submission of all requested documents it will take at least one month before you are sent a notification to pick up your Carte de Séjour, at the Préfecture de Police de Paris, 9 boulevard du Palais (métro Cité) for Parisian students. You will then have to pay €31.
Before obtaining a carte de séjour non-EU or non-US students may be asked to pass a physical exam, which will cost €55.
Prices above are subject to change.

Note : Residents permit are only granted to students enrolled in full-time programs (MA or PhD). Non-EU students wishing to enroll in shorter programs must get an authorization to reside in France by other means. Students in the summer program just need a tourist visa.