Long Stay Visa for Students (VLS-TS Étudiant)

Étudiants

VLS-TS "Étudiant" (Visa Long Séjour valant Titre de Séjour / Long Stay Visa Valid as Residence Permit for Students)

The VLS-TS student visa allows you to pursue studies in France for a period of three months to one year. It must be validated upon your arrival in France. If you would like to continue your studies after it expires, you may apply for a multi-annual residence permit (carte de séjour pluriannuelle).

GOOD NEWS!

There is an official website for visas in France: https://france-visas.gouv.fr/

Feel free to browse it to obtain any information you may need to prepare for your studies in France.

Take note!

The academic year starts in September or October, depending on the institution.

Enrolling in a programme that starts after the standard Rentrée in France (in January, February, etc.) is strongly discouraged!

Such programmes can cause problems for obtaining a long-stay student visa!

TO WHAT DOES THE VLS-TS STUDENT VISA ENTITLE?

The long-stay visa valid as a residence permit for students (visa long séjour valant titre de séjour "étudiant", abbreviated to VLS-TS "étudiant") allows you to stay in France from three months to one year to pursue higher education studies.

It entitles the holder to:

travel freely in all the countries of the Schengen Area;
work 964 hours per year, i.e. 20 hours per week, to supplement their financial resources;
use the VISALE, the free security deposit service for students,
receive a rental subsidy from the CAF, the family allowance fund (caisse d'allocations familiales),
extend their stay beyond the period of validity of the issued residence permit.

Good to know

These rights are different to those guaranteed by a temporary long-stay visa, or VLS-T (visa long séjour temporaire). Carefully check which type of visa has been issued to you.

HOW TO OBTAIN A VLS-TS STUDENT (VLS-TS "ÉTUDIANT") VISA?

If you live in one of the 43 countries subject to the "Études en France" ("Studies in France") procedure and you need a visa to come study in France, you must first apply to enrol in a higher education institution through the platform "Études en France".Your visa application will be automatically sent to the French consular authorities of your home country through the platform.

If you do not live in one of these countries and you need a visa to come study in France, please contact the French consular authorities in your home country.

How to find out whether you need a visa to come study in France?

Perform a simulation thanks to the visa assistant on the website France Visas. Depending on your home country and your plans, within a few minutes you will know whether you need to apply for a visa.

Which countries are subject to the "Études en France" (Studies in France) procedure?

View our FAQs and the list of countries in question.

WHAT IS THE MULTIPLE-ENTRY VLS-TS STUDENT VISA (VLS-TS "ÉTUDIANT" À EN

Holders of a multiple-entry VLS-TS student visa (VLS-TS "étudiant" à entrées multiples) are entitled to travel outside of France and in the entire world whenever they wish. Please be aware, however, that you must have validated your visa to travel outside of France beyond the three months following your arrival in France.

During the first three months after your arrival in France, you are authorised to travel freely outside of France and in the entire world with your visa, even if you have not validated it.
After these three months, however, if you have not validated your visa and you travel outside of France, you will be required to apply for a new visa to return to France.

HOW TO VALIDATE YOUR STUDENT VLS-TS VISA?

As soon as you arrive in France, you must validate your visa. The process is entirely digital: you can do everything remotely, at home, on your computer. You must validate your visa within 3 months of arriving in France at the very latest.

To do so, visit the following website: https://administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr

What do you need to validate your VLS-TS visa?

You will need:

a valid email address,
information on your visa,
your date of arrival in France,
your home address in France,
a bank card to pay online the fee for issuing the residence permit.

What if you do not have a bank card?

Don't worry! You can buy an electronic stamp (timbre électronique) at a kiosk, at a dedicated terminal, and pay in cash.

To find out more, visit our page "How to validate your VLS-TS visa upon your arrival in France?" »

HOW TO STAY IN FRANCE TO CONTINUE YOUR STUDIES BEFORE YOUR STUDENT VLS

If you would like to stay in France to continue your studies but your VLS-TS visa will expire soon, you may apply to renew it by applying at the prefecture: you will need to apply for a multi-annual residence permit (carte de séjour pluriannuelle). Everything is done in France two months before your VLS-TS visa expires.

The multi-annual residence permit that is issued to you under certain conditions will have a period of validity that corresponds to the number of years remaining in the study programme in which you are enrolled.

For example, if you have finished the first year of your undergraduate degree (license) in France, you could receive a multi-annual residence permit valid for two years, i.e. until the end of the third year of the undergraduate degree. If you are studying at a Grande École, your renewed residence permit will be valid until you obtain your diploma.

To find out more, please read our page on "How to renew your residence permit (titre de séjour)?" »