Campus France Burkina Faso 2027: where the procedure stands, and what to do now the consulate is closed

Information checked on 6 October 2026.

The key point first. On 26 June 2026, the authorities of Burkina Faso announced that they were breaking off diplomatic relations with France. Since then, according to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the services of the French embassy in Burkina Faso and of the consulate general in Ouagadougou have been closed. As of 6 October 2026, Campus France Burkina (the local office of the French public agency for international students) has published no calendar for the 2027 intake, and no official source says where a student living in Burkina can file a visa application. This guide takes no side: it sets out what the official sources say, then what you can do right now.

Campus France Burkina Faso: the situation on 6 October 2026

That last point sums up the uncertainty: on 16 July 2026, a senator asked the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs « by what arrangements Campus France's activities, the processing of student visas and support for admitted students » would be ensured. As of 6 October 2026, the question is still awaiting an answer.

What is known about the Campus France office in Burkina

Before the break, Campus France Burkina described itself as a service of the French embassy, and the « Études en France » procedure applied to every student living in Burkina, in their final school year or holding the baccalaureate. Here is the latest information published on its website:

• Ouagadougou office: La Ruche, rue de l'Indépendance, opposite the Azalaï hotel; reception by appointment booked through the Études en France platform; +226 54 49 53 08 or 54 51 16 17; campusfrance@if-bf.com and campusfrance-adj@if-bf.com.
• Bobo-Dioulasso branch: temporarily closed; Campus France refers students to the Ouagadougou office.
• Last published campaign (2026 intake): opened on 1 October 2025, deadline 1 December 2025, non-refundable fee of 70,000 FCFA.
• 2026-2027 pre-consular calendar, for admissions obtained outside the platform: appointments from 1 April 2026, interviews until 30 October 2026, interview two months before the start of the year, visa one month before.

That calendar dates from March 2026, before the consulate closed. Nothing on the website says whether it still applies. One reflex: write to the office before any step or payment. To understand the procedure itself, our complete guide to the Campus France procedure remains valid.

The student visa: the sticking point

A Campus France file leads nowhere without a visa, and that is where things are stuck. The consulate general in Ouagadougou alone decided on visas; Capago, the Ouagadougou service provider, only received files on its behalf. Its website is still online, but the provider processes nothing itself: with no open consulate, do not pay for any appointment until you have written confirmation from an official source.

The general rule, repeated by Capago on its appointment pages, is that you apply in your country of residence. No official page consulted announces, for now, any substitute filing location for residents of Burkina. Be wary of intermediaries who claim otherwise for a fee. For building the file, the day a route opens, our guide to the student visa application lists the documents, and our guide to proving your resources explains the threshold of 877.50 euros per month for applications filed since 1 August 2026.

What to do if you are aiming for the 2027 intake

Six options, from the most direct to the broadest. None guarantees departure; all of them avoid losing the year.

Mistakes to avoid while you wait

Uncertainty is fertile ground for easy promises. Four reflexes protect you:

• pay no agency that guarantees a visa or an appointment: Campus France works with no intermediary, and only a consulate decides on a visa;
• buy no supporting documents for resources or accommodation: a fake document is detected, leads to a refusal and can result in prosecution;
• do not declare a fictitious residence in a neighbouring country to file there: residence must be proven, and a false statement weakens all your future applications;
• keep your documents up to date: valid passport, certified transcripts and diplomas, so you can apply quickly as soon as a route opens.

If you are unsure about an offer, one question is enough: does the official Campus France or France-Visas source confirm it in writing?

If a procedure resumes: the steps to know

If Campus France Burkina reopens a campaign, the journey will follow the known main steps: account on Études en France (number BF followed by 7 digits), choice of programmes, submission, payment, presentation of originals, then a compulsory academic interview before the file goes to institutions. The logic of the procedures (DAP for licence 1 and architecture, non-DAP from licence 2 to master's, pre-consular for non-connected institutions) does not change. Prepare the interview with the Campus France interview questions, and your budget with our article on Campus France fees.

For those already in France

The break does not take away the residence permits of Burkinabè students already settled in France: renewals and formalities go through French prefectures. Campus France's mobility sheet counted 2,488 Burkinabè students in France in 2022-2023, and 907 student visas issued in 2022. For newcomers in the years ahead, the advice stays the same: Crous residences (France's public student services) first, with our guide to Crous housing for international students, and a realistic budget, costed in student budget in Paris, Lyon and Lille.

Staying in touch with the Burkinabè diaspora

In the meantime, those who have already left remain the best source of practical information. On Compatri, the Burkinabè diaspora page brings together communities of Burkinabè settled in France, Belgium and elsewhere: you can join the one in the city you are aiming for and put your questions to people who live there. The group « Étudiants africains » (African students) links students from several countries from one city to another, and our selection of African student associations in France completes that network. Burkina Faso's National Day, on 11 December, brings the diaspora together every year.

Compatri is not a service of Campus France or of the French State, and does not replace the official source: only the information from Campus France, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and France-Visas binds you.

Official sources

• Diplomatie.gouv.fr: Burkina Faso, latest news and alerts
• France in Burkina Faso: consular services for French nationals
• French Senate: written question on the consequences of the diplomatic break
• Campus France Burkina: opening hours and contact details
• Campus France Burkina: studying online or at a distance
• Campus France: Burkina Faso mobility sheet