Studying in France for Russians and Ukrainians 2026

Studying is a legal way to stay in France for the long term: after the diploma you can get a card to look for work, then a work card. The logic is simple: student visa → diploma → work → eventually citizenship. We go through the whole path in order, with the sums and dates as of October 2026. Separate sections cover internships, Erasmus+ and service civique, studying in English, the CAP for cooks and pastry chefs, nursing training and the dates of the academic year.

Campus France “Études en France”

The Études en France procedure is mandatory for people who live in a country on its list. Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are on it. Kazakhstan, Belarus, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are not: for them the route is different.

A doctorate bypasses Études en France in both cases: write straight to the doctoral school. Sources: service-public, F2863 (5 December 2025) and F2231 (1 August 2026), Campus France (28 September 2026).

The DAP calendar for the 2027/2028 academic year (for first-year bachelor’s with a foreign school-leaving certificate, Campus France, 28 September 2026):

• registration - from 1 October to 15 December 2026;
• universities reply - by 30 April 2027;
• your answer - by 31 May 2027: if you do not reply, the application counts as a refusal.

An EU citizen who lives in a country on the list applies for the first year only through Parcoursup (F2863).

What it costs

Standard fees at public universities for the 2026-2027 academic year: bachelor’s €178, master’s €255, doctorate €398 a year, plus the student-life contribution CVEC of €105 (service-public, A17481, 21 August 2026). The amounts are revised every year in line with consumer prices. You get the CVEC certificate before you enrol.

Students from outside the EU pay differentiated fees, in force since 2019; doctoral students are not affected. These people pay like EU citizens instead: refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and their children, residence-card holders, people whose tax household has been in France for more than 2 years, residents of Quebec, and doctoral students. French government scholarship holders are exempt from fees entirely (Campus France, 25 June 2026; F2865).

The waivers a university grants on its own are limited from 2026-2027: no more than 30% of the students who pay differentiated fees (etudiant.gouv.fr, 26 June 2026). Anyone waived in 2025-2026 keeps the waiver until the end of the cycle at the same university. For applicants this means one thing: a waiver of €2,902-€3,950 cannot be your fallback plan.

Student visa and proof of funds

For study longer than 3 months, citizens of countries outside the EEA and Switzerland need a long-stay student visa. The VLS-TS “étudiant” is valid from 4 months to 1 year, after which you ask for an “étudiant” card for 1 year or a multi-year one (service-public, F2231, 1 August 2026).

You validate the visa online within 3 months of arriving and pay a tax of €100 (the rate from 1 May 2026). If it is not validated after those 3 months, you need a new visa to come back to France (Campus France, 12 August 2026). The steps are in our article on validating a VLS-TS visa.

You have to show at least €877.50 a month (47% of the gross SMIC): the amount applies from 1 August 2026, both for the visa and for renewing a student card. Until 31 July 2026 it was €615. You can work up to 964 hours a year without a separate permit. For the overall picture on visas, see the section on the visa for France.

Housing and aid

CROUS halls are state student residences. A room or studio in a traditional residence costs from €200 to €500 a month. Places are allocated in 2 phases: in the main one scholarship holders have priority, in the supplementary one (from 7 July in 2026) all students, foreign ones included, can book what is left (service-public, F31912, 3 March 2026).

APL for students from outside the EU. From 1 July 2026, a student from outside the EU on a “for study” permit does not always get APL. Two official sources describe the exceptions differently:

• according to service-public (F12006, checked 1 July 2026), only in one of three cases: a means-tested scholarship (CROUS or the regional health and social scholarship), a job, or an apprentissage or professionnalisation contract;
• according to Campus France (24 July 2026), the right is kept in particular by recipients of a means-tested scholarship (the government BGF scholarship does not count) and by students whose permit, registered address and tax household in France go back at least 2 years.

Service-public gives the same rule for ALS (F1280, 1 July 2026). Other foreigners get APL with a valid permit. How to apply and how the aid is calculated: see our guide to CAF and APL.

The path after the diploma

This is the main value of studying as a relocation route:

1. A graduate with a master’s or a licence professionnelle obtained within the last 12 months can get a card or a VLS-TS “recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise” for 1 year. It cannot be renewed; while it is valid you can work as an employee (F17319, 1 June 2026).
2. Next comes a work card: “talent - salarié qualifié” with a salary of at least €39,582 gross a year, a French diploma of master’s level or higher and a contract longer than 3 months, or a salarié card (F16922, 1 June 2026). More in the guide to residence permits.
3. For naturalisation, the residence requirement drops from 5 to 2 years if your French diploma came after 2 years of study there (F2213, 16 July 2026). A one-year programme will not qualify for this reduction.

Internships (stage), Erasmus+ and service civique

Yes, a foreigner can do an internship in France. You need a convention de stage with your school or university and lawful residence in the country; if you are coming from abroad for more than 3 months, you also need a “stagiaire” visa. Below are the time limits and the money for 2026, followed by Erasmus+ and service civique. Au pair is a separate status, covered in the guide to types of residence permit in France.

The internship: convention, length and gratification

The convention is signed by you, the host organisation, your university, a supervising teacher and a tutor at the workplace. Nationality does not matter: an international student can do an internship “quelle que soit sa nationalité” (whatever their nationality), provided they are in France lawfully (service-public, F16734, checked 1 January 2026).

The gratification is due from the first day, and the amount is written into the convention. Service-public gives an example: 441 hours between January and March 2026 come to €1,984.50. A rate above €4.50 is subject to contributions, and public bodies are not allowed to pay more than the minimum (F32131, checked 1 January 2026; the ceiling comes from the Urssaf table for 2026).

Like employees, interns also get the staff canteen or titres-restaurant and part of their commuting costs back. For an internship over 2 months the convention provides for leave and days off, but the organisation does not have to pay for them.

Coming from abroad: the stagiaire visa and card

If you live abroad and your internship lasts longer than 3 months, you need a long-stay VLS-TS “stagiaire” visa; for a shorter one, a short-stay visa is enough (service-public, F17312, checked 1 June 2026). The internship has to be part of a course in your country of residence and last no more than 6 months. You must have at least €615 a month to live on.

The company submits the convention to the authorities for approval at least 2 months before the start. Silence for 30 days means a refusal (for European and intergovernmental cooperation programmes the periods are 1 month and 15 days). If the internship is extended, an avenant is added to the convention and you apply at the prefecture for a carte de séjour “stagiaire”; once the avenant is approved, you pay €150 in tax stamps (timbres fiscaux). F17312 also mentions periods of 12 and 18 months, but those concern training for employees of foreign companies (formation continue), not student internships.

Already studying in France on a student permit? Then the stagiaire card is not for you: it is meant for people studying in another country (F17312), and your internship runs under your student permit. You do not need a temporary work authorisation (APT) for it if your programme explicitly includes the internship and a convention links the university, you and the host organisation: that is how the Loire prefecture, for one, explains it (page updated 20 July 2026). Check with your own prefecture. An internship after your studies have ended that you need in order to get the diploma (chartered accountants, notaries) does require an APT, according to the same page.

Erasmus+: from a French university to another country

Your nationality is no obstacle. The FAQ of the Erasmus+ France agency puts it plainly: “La nationalité de l’étudiant n’est pas un critère d’éligibilité” (the student’s nationality is not an eligibility criterion). You count as a student of your French institution, and you apply for the visa to the destination country on your own passport. The destination has to be another country, not France: usually a programme country, and countries outside the programme if your university allows it.

• Study periods run from 2 months (or one term) to 12, internships from 2 to 12 months; in total no more than 12 months per cycle (licence, master, doctorat).
• There is no direct application to the agency: your university selects the candidates and awards the grant.
• The agency’s average monthly amounts: for study, €292-606 or €225-550 depending on the group of countries; for an internship, €442-756 or €375-700, which already includes the €150 internship top-up. The agency does not say which academic year these figures are for (page modified 16 December 2025), and the exact amount is set by your university, so ask there.

The European Commission’s Programme Guide states: “Student and staff mobilities to Belarus and Russia and staff mobilities from Belarus and Russia are not eligible.”

Service civique for foreigners

Service civique is a mission paid with a monthly allowance, lasting from 6 months to a year without a break. You can sign up from the age of 16 until your 26th birthday, or until your 31st if you have a disability (service-public, F13278, checked 17 July 2026). Since 1 January 2024 the allowance has been €504.98 net a month, plus at least €114.85 from the host organisation towards food or transport, €619.83 in all.

For citizens of countries outside the EEA, service-public sets a condition: more than a year of residence in France and one of the required residence permits. Students do not need that year: the Agence du Service Civique accepts an “étudiant” card or a validated VLS-TS “étudiant” “sans condition de durée préalable”, that is, with no minimum period of prior residence.

Higher education in France

French higher education follows the LMD model: Licence (3 years) → Master (2 years) → Doctorat (at least 3 years). It is the three-cycle structure of the Bologna Process: bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate.

Three kinds of institution - different rules

Public universities are state-funded, so fees are low for EU citizens and for those who pay like them (residence-card holders, people whose tax household has been in France for more than 2 years, refugees): in 2026-2027, €178 for a bachelor’s year, €255 for a master’s and €398 for a doctorate. Since 2019, students from outside the EU have paid “differentiated fees” at public universities: in 2026-2027, €2,902 for a bachelor’s year and €3,950 for a master’s year. The exact amounts for your year of entry are on the website of the university in question or at Campus France.

Grandes écoles are engineering, business and administrative schools with competitive entry and high standing on the job market (Sciences Po, HEC, Centrale and others). Tuition is generally higher and the admission process is separate.

Private institutions set their own fees; the range is wide. Check the accreditation before you enrol.

“Free” is an overstatement

Higher education in France has never been entirely free: there are always fees, even for EU citizens (€178 for a bachelor’s year). The honest wording is “inexpensive” for those who pay the national rate and “noticeably more expensive” for a student from outside the EU without a waiver.

Language and admission

For programmes taught in French, universities usually require French at B2 or better when you submit the file; some accept candidates with a lower level. You prove the level with TCF, DELF or DALF results; for DAP you take the TCF (Campus France Russia). Where you apply depends on the country you live in: see the table above. On the visa itself, see the section on the visa for France. A foreign diploma for enrolment is recognised by the university itself, and an ENIC-NARIC statement is not compulsory for that; how to get one and how to have a diploma apostilled is in the guide Apostille, sworn translation and diploma for France 2026.

Scholarships

Scholarships for international students are collected in the Campus Bourses catalogue on Campus France. The Eiffel scholarship is announced every year: the 2027 intake opened on 2 October 2026, universities submit files to Campus France by 6 January 2027, and students do not apply directly but go through a French university. The age limit is 29 for a master’s and 35 for a doctorate (Campus France, 2 October 2026). French government scholarship holders are exempt from tuition fees. For the general logic of the steps, see moving step by step.

Studying in France in English: how many programmes, and do you need French

Yes, you can: by our own count of Campus France’s “Programs Taught in English” catalogue, as of 21 October 2026 it lists 1,314 programmes, and 1,131 of them (86%) are taught entirely in English, nearly all at master’s level. The catalogue takes in programmes where some or all of the courses are in English. Campus France itself gives other figures: “plus de 1 600” on its page about studying in English (updated 27 January 2025) and about 1,700 in the September 2026 “Choisir la France” guide. The catalogue is updated all year round, so check the figure on the day you look.

Almost everything in it is postgraduate: Master, Master of Science, MBA, Mastère spécialisé, plus summer schools and short courses. Bachelor’s programmes (Licence L1-L3) account for 88 of the 1,314. If you have just left school and have no French, the choice is narrow.

Do you need French for a programme taught in English

To get in, usually not, unless the university itself requires it. Campus France in Poland says it plainly in its FAQ: “il n’est pas nécessaire de parler français pour étudier en France”. The office in Algeria adds that for a programme from the catalogue no French test is needed “si l’établissement ne l’exige pas”. The university has the final word, so read the admission requirements on the programme’s page.

You will still need French for everyday life and for a student job. And if you later switch from the student card to another multi-year card (a salarié card, for instance), A2 has been required since 1 January 2026: the levels for each card are in our guide to French for a residence permit.

What level of English, and which certificates are accepted

Campus France has no single list of tests: each programme sets its own threshold and decides which certificates it takes. Campus France Russia, on its page about English-taught programmes (the page carries no date), writes: “To prove your level of English you must give the universities you have chosen an IELTS, TOEFL or Cambridge Certificate result. At present these tests cannot be taken in Russia” (translated from Russian). The page does not say when that “at present” was written, so ask the university which certificate it will accept and from which country.

How much an English-taught programme costs

It can cost more than the standard €255 fee: the “Choisir la France” guide (September 2026) puts such master’s programmes at “entre 1 000 et plus de 6 000 €”, without saying for what period.

The academic year and how long studies take

In French schools the 2026-2027 year runs from 1 September 2026 to 3 July 2027. Universities have no single date: the first semester runs from September to January, the second from February to June, and the second session falls in June. A licence takes 3 years, a master 2 years and a doctorat at least 3 years (table below).

Schools, 2026-2027

The school year began on Tuesday 1 September 2026 (Thursday 3 September in Corsica). The summer holidays start on Saturday 3 July 2027; pupils who have no Saturday classes break up on Friday after lessons. There are no lessons in any zone on 7 May 2027, and the next year starts on Thursday 2 September 2027 (service-public, F31952, checked 2 September 2026).

Enrolling a child in school or nursery is covered in our guide to school and nursery in France.

Universities, 2026-2027

There is no common date: every university, and often every faculty, has its own calendar. Campus France describes the general rhythm like this: the first semester from September to January, the second from February to June, a second session in June, sometimes followed by resits. Here is how 2026-2027 looks at a few universities in the South:

• Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3: the rentrée is set for Monday 7 September 2026, with a pre-rentrée from 31 August to 4 September for new bachelor’s students and anyone enrolling for the first time (university calendar, updated 10 September 2026);
• the law faculty of the Université de Montpellier: first-semester lectures from 7 September to 12 December 2026; for L1, L2 and M1 the second semester runs from 11 January to 24 April 2027 (for L3, to 10 April), with L1, L2 and M1 exams from 26 April to 11 May; the second attempt (“2de chance”) for bachelor’s (Licence) students runs from 7 to 22 June 2027;
• the law faculty of the Université Côte d’Azur in Nice: first-year pre-rentrée on 31 August, classes from 7 September 2026 (faculty page, updated 14 October 2026).

When the university year ends depends on your year of study and on the session. At the Montpellier law faculty, second-semester classes for L1, L2 and M1 end on 24 April 2027 (for L3, on 10 April) and exams run until 11 May, while for bachelor’s students taking the second attempt the year stretches to 22 June 2027.

How long a programme lasts

Lengths come from the Campus France “Choisir la France” guide (September 2026); the 180 ECTS credits for nursing come from the arrêté of 20 February 2026:

The BUT carries the grade de Licence; after 120 credits you are awarded an intermediate DUT.

Training as a chef or pastry chef: the CAP

The state diploma for cooks and pastry chefs in France is the CAP, a level 3 diploma; at school the course usually takes 2 years. The CAP cuisine (RNCP38430) and the CAP pâtissier (RNCP38765) are entered in France compétences’ national register of professional qualifications (RNCP) from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2029. If a school promises you a “chef’s diploma”, look up its fiche RNCP: for the state CAP the certificateur is the Ministry of National Education and the status reads “Active”.

There are six routes to the diploma:

• school;
• apprentissage - work combined with study under a contract;
• formation continue (adult training);
• contrat de professionnalisation;
• applying on your own (candidature individuelle);
• VAE - validation of your work experience.

At school the placement in a restaurant or pâtisserie lasts 14 weeks, or 490 hours. A cook in formation continue can have it cut to 6 weeks, and with at least six months’ experience in the trade be exempted altogether.

Apprentissage is open to anyone aged 29 or under, that is, until your 30th birthday. You can sign up to age 35 inclusive if the new contract leads to a higher diploma than one you already hold, or if your previous contract ended for reasons beyond your control (including temporary unfitness on health grounds); no more than a year may pass between the two contracts. There is no age limit for a travailleur handicapé, for people setting up or taking over a business that requires the diploma, for top-level athletes, and for those who failed the exam and sign a new contract with a different employer (F2918, 8 September 2026).

Candidat libre means sitting the exam without going to school for it. You must be 18 by 31 December of the exam year and not be enrolled at any educational establishment. Registration is free, with the rectorat where you live, as a rule in October-November before the exam (F23487, card checked 4 February 2025). You still need work placements within the three years before the session: a cook needs 4 weeks for part one of the exam (EP1) and 10 weeks for part two (EP2), a pastry chef 7 consecutive weeks for each part, so 14 weeks either way. A free candidate in pâtisserie can be exempted from these placements by at least 14 weeks of work in a pâtisserie.

What we did not find

An official text on which visa people come on from abroad to study for a CAP. The card on the student visa talks about études supérieures and says nothing directly about the CAP, so we are not telling you either “you can” or “you can’t”. The texts on candidat libre status and on the placements set no condition about nationality or residence permit. How work and permits function for people already in France is in our guide to working in France as a Russian-speaker.

Training as a nurse in France: IFSI, length and admission

In France you can train as a nurse only at an IFSI, a nursing training institute (there are 337 of them in 2026): the course leads to the diplôme d’État d’infirmier (DEI), and without it you cannot work as a nurse (F39604, 1 September 2026). A new arrêté of 20 February 2026 applies from the September 2026 intake: six semesters (3 years), 180 ECTS credits, 4,620 hours, including 66 weeks of placements. The diploma carries the grade de licence, that is bachelor’s level.

There are two ways in:

• through Parcoursup, if you hold the baccalauréat (bac) or an equivalent at that level, or are sitting it this year;
• through formation professionnelle continue: at least 25% of places are kept for this route, and it has its own selection, a 20-minute interview and a one-hour written paper (a text or answers to questions, plus simple arithmetic), each marked out of 20. You need at least 20 out of 40 overall, and a mark below 8 out of 20 on either one rules you out.

The minimum age is 17 on 31 December of the year you start, and your French must be B2 or better (F39604). An aide-soignant (nursing assistant) with three years of full-time work in the last five can, after selection and three months of preparation, go straight into the second year.

A nursing diploma from outside the EU

On its own it is not recognised in France. Card F39604 and the Ministry of Health (in an answer to a member of parliament dated 16 June 2026) differ on when a work authorisation through the regional DREETS is possible; both positions, with their dates, are in the “Nurses” section of our guide to recognition of non-EU diplomas in France.

New since September 2026 is the parcours de formation adapté (articles 22-23 of the same arrêté): an adapted course that ends before the DE jury. You can apply if you hold a nursing diploma from a country outside the EU and EEA that entitles you to practise where it was issued. You need a French B2 certificate and translations by a sworn translator (certified by the French consulate if you live abroad); the head of the institute decides on a proposal from the admissions committee. To reach the jury you have to:

• complete the theory block (domaine A);
• master four professional procedures;
• do two full-day placements totalling 10 to 33 weeks (the head of the IFSI sets the exact length within that range);
• pass a written and oral synthesis paper;
• obtain the AFGSU level 2 (emergency care certificate).

You can go before the jury twice. The arrêté does not say how long the course lasts or which IFSIs already take students on it, and F39604 of 1 September 2026 does not describe this route yet: ask at an IFSI in your region.

In our chat you can ask about universities in the South, the dossier and the Campus France interview.

The “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram - study, moving and life in the South

See also:

• Working in France as a Russian-speaker
• French citizenship: naturalisation, marriage, timelines
• How to move to France: every legal route
• Types of residence permit in France: which title for which purpose