Coming to France to study for more than 90 days? The route is Études en France (Campus France) first where it applies, then France-Visas, then the visa centre. The visa issued is normally a VLS-TS étudiant — which must be validated online within 3 months of arrival (see validation-vls-ts).

Éligibilité / Qui est concerné

You must be over 18 at the time of the stay.
You must have already chosen your course — the official course/diploma catalogue is on campusfrance.org.
You must be accepted by a higher-education establishment. How you enrol depends on your country of residence:
- Études en France (EEF) countries: enrolment/acceptance runs through the Études en France platform (pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/etudesenfrance) — this is mandatory before the visa application; without the EEF procedure the consulate does not process the file.
- Other countries: check enrolment conditions (specialities, level) on Campus France, then apply to the establishment directly.
EEF countries as of 2026-07 (the list moves — confirm on the EEF platform or the France-Visas student page): most of Francophone and anglophone Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon…), North Africa/Middle East (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Gulf states…), much of Asia (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam…), the Americas (USA, Brazil, Mexico, Canada…), and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, the UK.

Étapes

(EEF countries) Complete Études en France on the pastel platform: candidature, acceptance, and the Campus France interview/fees where required. Keep the EEF number — the consulate matches the visa file against it.
Enter the France-Visas application — always start from the france-visas.gouv.fr home page: the news banners there carry dated rule changes for students (thresholds, new upload flows). "Apply for a visa" from the header.
Digitise the supporting documents at entry (recommended, 2026 flow) — students can upload scans of the justificatifs while filling the online application; a complete, legible digital file earns a faster dedicated counter at the visa centre. See specs below.
Book the appointment at the in-country visa centre (TLScontact, VFS Global, Capago… — the operator per country is listed on france-visas.gouv.fr/lieu-de-depot), then transmit the application to the centre on France-Visas before the appointment day.
Attend the appointment (originals + copies, biometrics, fee) and follow the decision via "Follow an application".
After arrival: validate the VLS-TS within 3 months — validation-vls-ts.

Pièces justificatives

Passport, photo, acceptance/enrolment proof (EEF attestation or admission letter), accommodation proof, and proof of resources:
- Applications submitted on or after 2026-08-01: minimum 877,50 €/month (France-Visas « Student campaign », July 2026; the previous base was ≈ 615 €/month). A file that is ready before that date falls under the previous, lower bar.
- Typical evidence: ~3 months of bank statements (student's or a sponsor's, with the sponsor's ID and income proof) or a scholarship letter — the consulate's own checklist prevails.

Numériser ses justificatifs (specs officielles, avr. 2026)

Formats pdf, png, jpeg/jpg only; in colour; A4; the file must not be password-protected (re-export bank PDFs if needed).
≤ 5 Mo per file, ≤ 15 Mo per pièce justificative, ≤ 20 documents per rubrique (remaining space is shown at each upload).
300 dpi recommended, 600 dpi for faint detail (passport stamps); every word legible, the whole document in frame, no shadows/flash/zoom blur — cropped or blurry scans are rejected.
One file per document type, descriptive name ≤ 100 characters (alphanumerics incl. accents, space, apostrophe, hyphen, dot, comma); multi-page pieces suffixed _p1, _p2 (ex : passeport_p1.pdf).

Délais et échéances

Apply at most ~3 months before travel; allow several weeks of processing.
2026-08-01 is the pivot date for the resource floor (877,50 €/month for applications submitted from that date).
After arrival: 3 months to validate the VLS-TS.

Portail / Où faire la démarche

france-visas.gouv.fr — free and official; enter via the home page (the student news banner lands there). Beware paid look-alike "visa services".
pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/etudesenfrance — the Études en France platform.
campusfrance.org — course catalogue and per-country enrolment conditions (context).

Pièges connus

Skipping Études en France in an EEF country — the consulate will not process the visa file without it.
Partial digitisation: the upload option is all-or-nothing (every requested justificatif). A missing or illegible scan is re-digitised by the operator at the appointment and may be billed as an ancillary service — check the operator's fee page when booking.
Password-protected bank PDFs fail the upload requirements silently late.
Budgeting on the old figure: from 2026-08-01 the resource floor is 877,50 €/month, ~43 % higher than the previous base.
Deep-linking into the site and missing the news banner that announces exactly this kind of change.

Sources

france-visas.gouv.fr — « Student campaign » news + scanning requirements (checked 2026-07-29)
Fiche pratique « numérisation des justificatifs » — MEAE / Ministère de l'Intérieur, DGEF/DIMM/SDV (dated 2026-04-10), linked from France-Visas
pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/etudesenfrance — EEF platform (checked 2026-07-29)
campusfrance.org — enrolment conditions per country (secondary, context)

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