"BIENVENUE EN FRANCE": NUMEROUS GRANTS AND EXEMPTIONS FOR STUDENTS. FULL EVALUATION
The government's plan to attract international students has set out a range of situations where students won't have to pay specific enrollment fees.
The government's plan to attract international students launched in November 2018 is based on three pillars:
- Improvement of the reception conditions for international students. The French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation has announced a budget of 10 million euros which will be allocated to support initiatives in institutions committed to the Bienvenue en France certification process, led by Campus France.
- Strengthening of the international presence of French higher education.An initial investment of 5 million euros has been allocated by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs for 2019, to raise international awareness of the advantages of studying in French universities.
- The introduction of specific enrollment fees for non-EU students, supported by an impactful policy of exemptions and grants entrusted to embassies and to institutions.The implementation of specific enrollment fees will finance projects and initiatives designed to improve reception conditions for international students.
Many students will not be affected by the payment of specific enrollment fees at the start of the 2019 academic year. Take a loot at the list of French higher education institutions who apply those exemptions below!
Many students will continue to pay enrollment fees similar to those for the year 2018/2019
- ...already registered in a public higher education establishment in 2018/2019, at all levels (Bachelor's's, Master's, Doctorate);
- ...who are due to arrive in 2019/2020 and will be starting a Doctorate;
- ...registered in 2018/2019 on a preparatory course before starting a Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate (like a French as a foreign language course) and who will begin their studies in 2019/2020;
- ...who live in France with resident status or with a carte de séjour (residence permit) stating "vie privée et familiale" (private and family life);
- ...who have refugee status or who benefit from subsidiary protection.
Many students will pay no enrollment fees, whether specific or not
- Students who come to study in France as part of a partnership agreement between universities that provides for total exemption from enrollment 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 establishment, providing for total exemption from enrollment fees.
The best student candidates for studies in France will also benefit from exemption in 2019
The government's plan to attract international students gives embassies and institutions the opportunity to exempt a very high additional number of non-EU students from payment of specific enrollment fees:
- 14,000 exemptions will be granted by embassies;
- Institutions may exempt up to 10% of the total number of students who will enroll at the start of the 2019 academic year.
The exemptions granted by embassies and institutions may be partial or total.
The pre-enrollment processes will be linked to the procedures for awarding these additional exemptions, so that students can finalize their enrollment choices knowing which exemptions they can benefiit from.
