EEF Guide: Pre-visa procedure
Accepted to study at an institution in France for a period longer than 90 days?
The pre-visa procedure is compulsory before applying for your long-stay student visa!
This applies for Licence, Master's and PhD level studies, and for exchange programmes and French language courses for longer than 90 days.
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.
Pre-Visa procedure on Etudes en France (EEF)
This procedure only applies to students who reside in South Africa!
All students accepted into an institution of higher education in France, and who will study for a period of more than 90 days in France, need to create an account on the platform called Etudes en France (study in France) before they can complete their visa application on France-Visas.
Students must FIRST complete the EEF procedure. When this is done, you can proceed to creating your visa application on the France-Visas platform.
Application Process (8-10 weeks before the start of your programme)
1. Go to the Etudes en France website : https://pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/…/authentifica…/login.html
2. Select “je m’inscris” / “sign-up” and then select “Espace Campus France Afrique du Sud” or "Campus France South Africa" from the drop-down menu. Then, complete your details and, in order to receive application updates, remember to select “I accept that the given information will be used as part of the application process to study in France.”
3. When you have confirmed your account, log in and select the second tab "students already accepted." Complete the necessary information in Step 1 "Finalise the procedure". Double-check that your information is correct and the correct documents have been uploaded, then submit it for Campus France South Africa to review.
4. Check your inbox and the platform regularly for updates from Campus France South Africa regarding your file.
5. After your file is validated by Campus France South Africa, you will be authorised to make payment for the Campus France fee (payment instructions are given through the platform and emails that you will receive during the process). Make sure to use the correct payment reference, otherwise you will need to pay again!
Payment exemption applies to special cases. See below for more information.
For information about Covid-19 regulations for travelling to France, and within France, please visit the French government websites contained here: Info for traveling to France | Campus France
6. When Campus France South Africa has received your payment, you will be requested to attend your pre-consular interview by means of an online video call. Please do NOT come to the office of Campus France South Africa for your interview!
7. After your interview with Campus France South Africa, you will be able to download your EEF certificate (Attestation de Préinscription from Campus France) and complete and submit your visa application on France-Visas.
For more about the France-Visas application process, click here.
Note
Students will have to pay a service fee of R1800 for the Etudes en France procedure.
Instructions for the payment of the fee will be sent to you at the appropriate moment through the Etudes en France platform.
Exemption
Students whose university acceptance is a result of one of their applications made on the EEF platform during the relevant application period (01 October and 15 December).
Students who matriculated from a Lycée Français (French International School) in the last 5 years are exempted from the fee.
Students benefitting from a scholarship from the Embassy of France or from the South African government are exempted from the Campus France fee.
*If you have applied for a scholarship, you are required to pay the EEF fee. If your scholarship has been confirmed, you will be refunded the relevant fee.
