Founder · Compatri, the social network for diasporas
Espero AKPOLI is an entrepreneur and the founder of Compatri, the community social network for diasporas. The idea is simple: when you live away from home, you're not looking for a thousand contacts you'll never meet, but a neighbourhood, the compatriots in your city. Built around the community (a country of origin × a city of residence), Compatri lets people find each other, help each other and actually meet up. Through the blog, he shares clear, jargon-free guidance on settling abroad, community life, organising events and belonging, without ever pitting roots against the host city.
The minimum resources required of international students rise from €615 to €877.50 a month for applications filed since 1 August 2026. Calculation, timing, renewals and what it means for families: what you need to know.
Since 1 July 2026, non-European students who do not hold a means-tested grant can no longer receive the APL, unless they work or are on a work-study contract. Who is affected, which exceptions apply, what happens to existing recipients and how to balance your housing budget without the aid.
Arrived in France on a student visa? You have three months to validate your VLS-TS on the ANEF website. What to have at hand, the fee, the confirmation you receive, what happens if you are late and how to prepare the renewal.
In the city where you're going to study, compatriots have already been through the application, the interview, the housing search and the first month. How to find them and write to them before you leave, what they can really offer, and the safety rules you must never forget.
Most guides stop at the visa. This one follows the student to their first week in France: Études en France file, interview, answers, resources, visa, housing, VLS-TS and community, in seven stages.
The Campus France campaign for the 2027 intake opens on 1 October 2026. DAP and non-DAP deadlines, answers, final choice, visa: what is confirmed, what varies by country, and what to do each month.
CVEC, enrolment, visa validation, social security, top-up health cover, bank account, insurance, CAF: the week-by-week checklist for an international student's first month in France, with the pitfalls to avoid.
No template to copy: advisers spot copied texts. A five-step method to link your background, the programme and your career plan, annotated examples (weak version, strong version), the CV and the mistakes to avoid.
Campus France application fees are only the first line of the budget. Amounts by country taken from official websites, visa, tuition fees, CVEC, VLS-TS validation, the first month on site: every item, with its source.
Licence 1 or master's, French baccalauréat or foreign diploma, living in France or abroad: the right procedure depends on a few simple questions. Decision tree, dossier blanc and dossier vert, verified exemptions.
Three choices for the first year of licence, up to seven for a master's: on Études en France, every choice counts. Number of choices, 2026-2027 differentiated fees and capped exemptions, recognised and unrecognised private schools, balancing ambition and safety.
The Campus France interview is neither an admission exam nor a formality. Length and format by country, questions by theme, what the adviser looks for behind each one, documents to bring and mistakes to avoid.
TCF for the DAP, TCF tout public, DELF B2, DALF: which test to take for your procedure, who is exempt according to the official notice, the expected level, how long results stay valid and when to register.
When answers arrive on Études en France, how to read them, what the final choice commits you to, the steps after the “yes”, and a realistic plan B if all your applications are refused.
For the student visa the amount is fixed, but how you prove it is up to you: scholarship, sponsor, bank deposit, irrevocable transfer or blocked account. A neutral comparison, documents by country, pitfalls and renewal.
After Études en France comes the visa. France-Visas form, appointment at the application centre, documents, fees, processing times and validating the VLS-TS on arrival: the process step by step, and what varies by country.
Resources, study plan, purpose of stay, inconsistent documents: the grounds for refusing a student visa can be read and prevented. And once the refusal has landed, there is an appeal, with a 30-day deadline before the commission in Nantes.
Looking for a place thousands of kilometres away is exactly the situation scammers prefer. What the visa really requires, which official channels to use first, the most common scams, what a landlord is allowed to ask for and where to stay for the first weeks.
One month before, one week before, the day before, the cabin bag, arrival day and the first 72 hours: everything an international student needs to prepare to go and study in France, with the customs rules on cash, food and medicines.
A non-European student can work 964 hours a year without authorisation, provided they hold the right permit. How this ceiling is calculated, what is different for Algerian students, what the employer must do, what you risk by exceeding it and where to look for a job.
Universities and campuses, the welcome desk for international students, the CROUS, TCL passes, the real budget, winter and the places of the African diaspora: what to know about Lyon before you unpack.
Welcome, mentoring, tips, cultural evenings: the association of students from your country is often the best shortcut on arrival. Where to look, how to check it is active, and how to create one if it doesn't exist.
No Campus France and no visa for students from Mayotte and the overseas territories: Parcoursup, the student social file, LADOM's study mobility passport, aid from the Département, Mahoran associations in mainland France and the first winter, everything to prepare your first year.
Property portals, direct lets, student rooms, flat-shares, social letting agencies: where to rent a flat in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven or Liège when you arrive, what file to prepare, and the scams to spot before you pay a single euro.
Which documents to gather, what a landlord may lawfully ask for (and when), what they may not demand, and how to present your income so your application survives the first cut.
Two or three months' rent? It depends on your Region and on when your lease was signed. Where the money must sit, how it is released, and why the inventory decides everything.
Simple or joint-and-several surety, the scope and duration of the undertaking, the documents required, the new Civil Code rules since 2026, and the alternatives when nobody can stand guarantor for you.
Nine-year leases, short leases, tacit renewal, notice periods, indemnities, mandatory clauses: what to know before signing, and why the answer depends on the Region the property sits in.
A regime of its own, different in all three Regions: a term aligned with the academic year, a framed early exit, subletting, kot versus studio, and what a parental guarantor actually signs.
One joint lease or individual leases, joint-and-several liability, a flatshare pact, domicile, charges: what sharing really commits you to, and how it differs by Region.
Twenty minutes of viewing decide two years of your life. Damp, windows, EPC, heating, meters, noise: what to look at, what to ask, and the warning signs of a rental scam.
No benefit claimants, no foreigners, couples without children: those refusals are unlawful in Belgium. Protected grounds, the forms newcomers meet most often, proof, and who to turn to in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders.
Without a detailed entry inventory, a deduction from the deposit is almost impossible to justify. What it must contain, why it must be joint, when to call in an expert, and where the line runs between fair wear and tear and tenant damage.
Who must register, within what deadline, how (MyRent, plus IRISrent in Brussels), what to attach, and above all what happens if you skip it. Spoiler: the big loser is the landlord.
Two systems, two logics, two risks. What can be passed on to the tenant, what stays with the landlord, the annual reconciliation, the supporting documents you can demand, and why individual meters settle half the disputes.
Major upkeep on the landlord, day-to-day upkeep on the tenant, and between them a line that can be drawn precisely. Boiler, seals, cistern, window panes: clear-cut examples, and what normal wear and tear really means.
Three months' notice, sometimes an indemnity, and a starting date almost everyone gets wrong. The rules differ in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders: here is how to leave without paying an extra month.
The exact formula, the health index, the anniversary date, the fact that nothing is automatic and retroactivity is capped, and what the EPC still changes in 2026, Region by Region.
Energy certificate, housing quality standards, smoke detectors, a written and registered lease, an inventory of fixtures: everything you must have in order before publishing an ad in Belgium, and how to write a listing that attracts good candidates.
What you may legitimately assess (solvency, income stability, references), what you may not ask for, why refusing someone on benefits is unlawful, and how to document a refusal so you can defend it.
Positioning against the local market, measuring the effect of the energy rating on rental value, distinguishing rent, charge provisions and flat fees, and working out what a month of vacancy really costs.
A landlord cannot end a nine-year lease whenever he likes. Personal occupation, major works, notice without grounds: three doors, three deadlines, three costs, and a heavy sanction if the stated ground never materialises.
What the certificate is, who issues it, how long it lasts, the mandatory statements in the ad and the fines. They differ between Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders, where it is called EPC and where an energy standard for homes applies from 2030.
Regional registration, the Brussels 90-day rule, fire safety, planning, co-ownership, tax and EU Regulation 2024/1028: tourist accommodation is regulated, and the rules change by Region and municipality. What to check before the first night.
Every member gets a number that looks like an international phone number without being one. Here is what its fourteen digits contain, why the code is +999, and what the number actually lets you do.
Arriving in a country where you know no one is a real ordeal. Here's how to spot, approach and join your compatriots' community, without getting lost in groups of a thousand strangers.
Being the first member of your country's and city's community means laying the first stone. Here's how to invite, welcome newcomers and launch the first event, and why a real community is measured by its mutual aid, not its counter.
We all dream of a big party, but it's the small improvised coffee that truly brings people together. Here's how to go from idea to a real event: simple format, clear description, protected address and a follow-up that builds the habit.
Roots and integration are often set against each other as if you had to choose. It's a false dilemma: belonging to a community of compatriots doesn't wall you in, it gives you the security to reach out to your host city.
Finding work abroad often runs through those who arrived before you. Here's how your already-settled compatriots become a career shortcut, job leads, referrals, trade circles, without ever locking yourself inside your own community.
A hand moving house, an administrative form decoded, a first job lead: everyday mutual aid is the real glue of a local community. Here's how to ask without shame and offer without imposing.
Registering your residence, a bank, health cover, proof of address, a phone, recognised diplomas: the first weeks feel like a maze. Here is a clear order to move forward calmly, and how compatriots who have been through it save you weeks.
The first year of study abroad mixes excitement with loneliness, a tight budget and homesickness. Here's how to hold on, find your student community and lean on those who arrived before you.
Living far from your family doesn't doom the bond. Calls timed around the zones, news from home without drowning in it, small gestures, the guilt of distance and passing it on to your children: here's how to stay close, honestly.
Diaspora associations welcome newcomers, organise cultural life and weave solidarity. Here's why they matter, what volunteering gives you, and how to get involved depending on the time you have.