Study in France from the UAE — fees, admissions and student visa

France has public research universities, specialised Grandes Écoles and private business, design and hospitality schools. Public institutions are state-funded, so even the differentiated tuition charged to many non-EU students stays far below UK, US or Australian levels. Private institutions and Grandes Écoles set their own fees and are a different budget entirely.

English-taught programmes exist, concentrated at Master's and MBA level. At undergraduate level most teaching is in French, and B2 French is usually the entry standard. We will tell you honestly whether an English-only shortlist is realistic for the subject you want.

This is the part of the page that changed. Under Decree No. 2026-385 of 19 May 2026, in force from 21 May 2026, broad institutional fee-waiver policies were sharply restricted. Until then exemption was the norm rather than the exception — of 111,400 non-EU students inside the differentiated-fee scope in 2024/25, 100,400 were partially or fully exempt and only 11,100 paid the full rate.

Individual exemptions survive. A university president can still grant a total or partial exemption based on a student's circumstances, particularly financial resources, within a transitional ceiling reported as 30 per cent in 2026/27, 25 per cent in 2027/28 and 20 per cent from 2028. Certain automatic exemptions continue too, including qualifying French government scholarships and reciprocal cooperation arrangements. Our advice is simple: budget for the full rate and treat an exemption as a possibility, not a plan.

Campus France is the organisation. Études en France (EEF) is the online procedure you actually complete: you build a file, list your programme choices, sit the pre-consular interview and receive the clearance the consulate needs. It comes before the visa, not after it.

Campus France UAE is explicit that the Campus France procedure must be completed before you submit at VFS. Failing to do so leads to automatic visa refusal. It is the single most common way a UAE application is lost, and it is entirely avoidable.

• When EEF applies — Non-EU residents in the UAE applying to a French higher-education programme longer than three months.
• What you upload — Passport, school or degree transcripts, diplomas, language evidence, CV and a motivation letter per programme.
• Fees — The EEF pre-consular fee is charged separately from the visa fee — confirm the current UAE amount on Campus France UAE.
• Interview — A short motivation interview; a weak or generic answer here is a common refusal reason. We rehearse it with you.

• UAE and international school qualifications — A completed Grade 12 or equivalent; CBSE, IB, British and American curricula are all assessed, sometimes with subject prerequisites for science and engineering.
• Master's entry — A recognised three- or four-year bachelor's in a related field. Selection is programme-specific and often competitive.
• Language — B2 French, evidenced by DELF, DALF or TCF, for French-taught programmes. IELTS 6.0–7.0 or equivalent for English-taught ones.
• Programme-specific selection — Grandes Écoles, art and design schools and health programmes run their own entrance tests, portfolios or interviews.

You apply for a VLS-TS long-stay visa that acts as a residence permit for the first year. After arrival you validate it online through the ANEF portal and pay the validation tax — this replaced the old in-person OFII step, so ignore guidance still using that name.

Where you submit matters. The Consulate General of France in Dubai has had no visa section since 2019. Campus France UAE directs student applicants to the VFS Global branch in Abu Dhabi, and the consular section in Abu Dhabi issues the decision. Walk-ins are indicated for long-stay student applicants, which is unusual and useful — but verify the current arrangement before you travel.

Paris runs materially higher than Lyon, Lille, Toulouse or Montpellier — often by a third on rent alone. CROUS residences are the cheapest option but heavily oversubscribed; private studios and colocations fill the gap. Most students, including international ones, can claim CAF housing assistance once a tenancy is registered.

Students may work up to 964 hours a year, sixty per cent of the standard annual working period. Treat that as help with living costs rather than a way to fund tuition. After graduation, eligible Master's and doctoral graduates can move onto the job-search and business-creation residence route, then to a work residence status once employed — check the current name and conditions on France-Visas before relying on it.

A valid French residence status generally allows short visits elsewhere in the Schengen area, which now numbers 29 states, subject to Schengen rules. It is not unrestricted travel. See studying elsewhere in Europe for the wider picture.

1. 1
   Free consultation

   Your grades, budget and whether France is the right fit at all — said plainly at the first meeting.
2. 2
   Shortlist

   Public universities, Grandes Écoles and private schools matched to what you can realistically enter and afford at the full rate.
3. 3
   Application file

   Transcripts, diplomas, CV, motivation letters and language evidence, prepared in the order French institutions expect.
4. 4
   Études en France

   The EEF procedure completed with you, including interview preparation, before any VFS booking.
5. 5
   VLS-TS file

   Financial evidence at the current threshold, insurance and accommodation proof, submitted at VFS Global Abu Dhabi.
6. 6
   Arrival

   ANEF validation, CVEC payment, CAF housing claim and bank account set-up.