Am I subject to the differentiated tuition fees introduced in public institutions ?
Étudiants

You are subject to the new, differentiated tuition rates (that is, rates different from those paid by French nationals) if:

You are a national of a country other than those within the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA), Andorra or Switzerland, or you are a national of a country that does not have an agreement with France providing for payment of tuition at the same rates as French students, and:

  1. You arrive in France for the 2019/2020 academic year  and enroll in a degree programme at Bachelor or Master Level ; 
     
  2. You enroll in a public Higher education institution overseen by the Ministry of Higher Education (for example, one of France’s universities) ;

 

You are not subject to the new, differentiated tuition rates if:

  • You are a national of a member country of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA), or Switzerland ; 
     
  • You are a national of a country that has entered into an agreement with France providing for payment of tuition at the same rates as French students: Andorra, Canada (with your legal residence in Quebec) 
     
  • You are a national of a country other than those listed in points 1 and 2 and ... :
  1. ... You were enrolled in a public Higher education institution in 2018/2019 and you continue your studies.
     
  2. ... You were enrolled in 2018/2019 in a French as Foreign language course (FLE) preparing you to begin a licence, master, or doctoral programme and you will begin that degree programme in 2019/20.
     
  3. ... You enroll in 2019/2020 in a programme at Doctorate level.
     
  4. ... You came to France under an inter-university partnership that exempts participants from paying tuition at the host institution—for example, an Erasmus + exchange programme.
     
  5. ... You are the recipient of a French government scholarship or of a tuition exemption grant awarded by the French embassy in your country of origin or the country in which you live.
     
  6. ... You are coming to France with a scholarship or tuition exemption awarded by the French institution in which you will enroll.
  7. ... You have refugee status or benefit from subsidiary protection
     
  8. ... You are a legal resident of France or hold a residency permit marked “vie privée et familiale”

 

LET'S DOUBLE CHECK : WHICH TUITION FEES ACCORDING TO YOUR SITUATION?

Tuition fees similar to those of 2018/2019 and equivalent to those of French students for…

  • Students with the nationality of countries in the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland;  
     
  • Students with the nationality of a country that has signed an agreement with France providing for the payment of enrolment fees under the same conditions as French students. This is the case with Andorra and Canada (for students resident in Quebec); 
     
  • Non-EU students...
  1. ...already registered in a public higher education establishment in 2018/2019, at all levels (Bachelor's's, Master's, Doctorate); 
     
  2. ...who are due to arrive in 2019/2020 and will be starting a Doctorate;   
     
  3. ...registered in 2018/2019 on a French as a foreign language course (FLE – Français Langue Etrangère) before starting a Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate and who will begin their studies in 2019/2020;  
     
  4. ...who live in France with resident status or with a carte de séjour (residence permit) stating "vie privée et familiale" (private and family life);  
     
  5. ...who have refugee status or who benefit from subsidiary protection. 

No tuition fees, whether differentiated or not for…

  • Students who come to study in France as part of a partnership agreement between universities that provides for total exemption from enrolment fees (like the Erasmus+ exchange programme in particular); 
     
  • Students who have been awarded a French government grant (BGF) ;  
     
  • Students who have been awarded a grant from their host institution, providing for total exemption from enrolment fees.  

Partial or total exemption for…

Non-EU students who have been granted full or partial exemption from tuition fees by their host institution in France or by the French embassy in their home country.

The government's plan to attract international students gives embassies and institutions the opportunity to exempt a very high number of non-EU students from payment of differentiated tuition fees : 14,000 exemptions will be granted by embassies and institutions may exempt up to 10% of the total number of students who will enrol at the start of the 2019 academic year. 

Differentiated tuition fees for…

Non-EU students not in any of the situations listed above :

  1. arriving in France for the 2019/2020 academic year  and enrolling in a degree programme at Bachelor or Master Level 
     
  2. enrolling in a public Higher education institution overseen by the Ministry of Higher Education (for example, one of France’s universities) ;

 

Have we answered all your questions? If not, we invite you to consult the Choose France FAQ.

On 19 November 2018, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe introduced “Bienvenue en France,” his administration’s plan to make France more attractive to internationally mobile students. Foreign students should know that they will be subject to higher tuition rates under the plan. The information presented here, which is based on the government’s announcements, is intended to allow students to make their study decisions under the best possible conditions. Formal regulations governing the plan are due to be published in France’s Journal Officiel.