Cost of a year of study: France, Belgium, Germany, Quebec, Türkiye

Information checked on 2 November 2026.

The cost of a year of study abroad comes down to two lines: the tuition fees the university charges you, and the funds the host country requires before granting you a visa. For a non-European African student in 2026-2027, that means at least about €13,500 in France, €13,900 in Belgium if your nationality is exempted, €12,000 in Germany, nearly 47,000 Canadian dollars in Quebec, while Türkiye publishes no comparable funds threshold. This guide compares the five countries using only the official figures published, country by country, then in a single table. If you are still unsure whether to leave now or later, start with our article after the bac in Africa: stay or leave.

Cost of a year of study: what you really need to count

Three items make up the budget of a first year:

The figures below are those for the 2026-2027 year. For a September 2027 start, they will be revised: treat them as a serious order of magnitude, and check the amount in force when you pay.

France: differentiated fees and capped exemptions

At French public universities, a non-European student pays differentiated tuition fees. Service-public.gouv.fr publishes the 2026-2027 amounts:

On top of that comes the CVEC (student life and campus contribution), €105 in 2026-2027.

Exemptions exist, but they are now capped. Decree no. 2026-385 of 19 May 2026 limits the number of foreign students a university can exempt: 30% in 2026-2027, 25% in 2027-2028, then 20% in the long run. An exemption must be requested, it is never automatic, and you will not know about it when you choose your programmes. So build your budget on the differentiated rate.

For the visa, France has required since 1 August 2026 funds of at least €877.50 per month, or €10,530 for twelve months. Our article on the minimum funds for the student visa explains where this amount comes from, and the one on Campus France fees details application fees country by country. To know what a month on site really costs, read our student budget in Paris, Lyon and Lille.

Belgium: the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Flanders

Belgium has two education systems, with two price grids.

Wallonia-Brussels Federation (French-speaking universities)

At ULB as at UCLouvain, full fees are €1,194 in 2026-2027. Non-European students also pay an additional contribution of €4,175, unless their nationality appears on one of the three lists of ARES circular no. 2026-001 of 12 February 2026:

The circular only covers universities: university colleges (hautes écoles) set their own amounts. A Wallonia-Brussels International scholarship holder is also exempted from the contribution, according to UCLouvain.

Flanders (Dutch-speaking universities)

In Flanders, each university publishes its own grid. At Ghent University (UGent), a master's for a non-European student costs in 2026-2027 a fixed amount of €305.40 plus a price per credit, or €7,079.40 for 60 credits. Two exceptions matter for an African student:

• nationals of developing countries in the two lowest categories of the OECD DAC list, and VLIR-UOS scholarship holders, pay the European rate, €1,181.40 for 60 credits;
• nationals of a list of countries, including Algeria, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia, do not pay the surcharge: €2,165.40 for 60 credits.

These amounts apply to UGent's Faculty of Political and Social Sciences; some programmes set their own prices. Check your programme's page.

For the visa, the Immigration Office requires for 2026-2027 means of subsistence of €1,062 net per month, or €12,744 for twelve months. The whole procedure, from equivalence to the D visa, is in our guide to studying in Belgium from Africa.

Germany: almost free, with exceptions

DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service, sums it up: there are generally no tuition fees for bachelor's courses or most master's courses at state institutions. You only pay a semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag) of €70 to €430 per semester, which funds student services.

Two exceptions:

• Baden-Württemberg (Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Freiburg…): students from outside the European Union have paid €1,500 per semester since the 2017/18 winter semester, according to the regional Ministry of Science. Doctoral students are not subject to it, and the university decides on exemptions;
• Bavaria: DAAD notes that institutions there may charge non-European students several thousand euros per semester. Each institution sets its amount.

For the visa, DAAD indicates financing to prove of €992 per month since 1 January 2025, or €11,904 per year, most often in a blocked account (Sperrkonto). Opening this account costs €70 to €150 in bank fees, according to DAAD. The amount follows the rates of BAföG, the aid for German students, and it is revised: check it on the website of the German embassy in your country just before transferring the money. The other side of free tuition is the language and sometimes the Studienkolleg: our guide to studying in Germany details the whole path.

Canada (Quebec): the most expensive of the five

In Quebec, an international student's fees have two parts, set by the Ministry of Higher Education in its 2026-2027 budget rules:

For a bachelor's year of 30 units, that makes at least 22,311 Canadian dollars (our calculation: 30 × $639.78 + $3,117.60), before each university's own fees.

Exemptions exist. French students and French-speaking Belgians in the first cycle pay a reduced rate thanks to the agreements with France and the French Community of Belgium. For other nationalities, an exemption from the additional fees goes through agreements with about forty countries: see our page on the Quebec additional fees exemption (in French). Note that the exemption quota reserved for French-language programmes outside the Montreal area has received no new places since 2026-2027, according to the same document.

For funds, two administrations matter:

• the Quebec Ministry of Immigration (MIFI) has required since 1 January 2026 at least $24,617 for a single person;
• IRCC, the federal immigration department, also asks you to prove you can pay first-year tuition and round-trip transportation. Outside Quebec, IRCC sets the living minimum at $23,448 for an application submitted since 1 September 2026; in Quebec, the MIFI amount applies.

The minimum for a first year in Quebec is therefore close to 47,000 Canadian dollars, without the ticket. Scholarships and exemptions are covered in our article on scholarships to study in Canada and Quebec.

Türkiye: fees set by each university

In Türkiye, public university fees are set each year by a presidential decision (for 2026-2027, published in the Official Gazette of 15 August 2026). For foreign students admitted through the international quota, each university publishes its own scale. There is no single national rate.

An official example: Ege University, in Izmir, charges foreign students admitted through the international quota in 2026-2027:

For the visa, we found no official monthly amount of funds comparable to those of France or Belgium: ask the Turkish embassy in your country. The safest route remains the Türkiye Bursları scholarship, which covers the fees: see its Türkiye Bursları page (in French) and our comparison of scholarships in Türkiye, Morocco and Egypt.

Comparison table: the cost of a year in 2026-2027

The last column adds up the first two (our calculation). It counts neither the ticket, nor the visa, nor the housing deposit, and it uses the differentiated rate in France and the bachelor's in Quebec.

How to read these figures

• The cheapest on paper is not always the most accessible. Germany is almost free, but it often requires German and sometimes a year of Studienkolleg: that is one more year to fund.
• Your nationality changes the price in Belgium. A Senegalese and a Gabonese student do not pay the same fees there. Check your row before comparing.
• A master's often costs more than a bachelor's, except in Germany. In France, it rises to €3,950 per year.
• A scholarship changes the whole calculation. Most full scholarships target the master's; some exist from the bachelor's. Our guide to fully funded scholarships for African students sorts them out.

Finding funding and good advice on Compatri

On Compatri, the scholarship directory (in French) lists scholarships checked on official websites, filterable by country of origin, level and destination. Turn on alerts so you never miss a deadline. For France, the Campus France simulator (in French) places your file against admitted students, for free. And to know what rent really costs in Liège, Montreal or Stuttgart, ask those who pay it: the volunteer diaspora mentors answer pupils and students preparing to leave.

Compatri does not replace official sources: only the university, the embassy and the immigration services set the amounts that bind you.

Official sources

• Service-public.gouv.fr: tuition fees for foreign students at the 2026 start (updated 20 August 2026)
• Service-public.gouv.fr: tuition fees and CVEC amounts in 2026-2027
• Service-public.gouv.fr: funds required from a foreign student
• ARES: circular no. 2026-001 on the additional contribution (PDF)
• ULB: tuition fees
• UCLouvain: amount of tuition fees
• Ghent University: fees for non-EEA students 2026-2027 (PDF)
• Immigration Office: sufficient means of subsistence
• DAAD: cost of studying and living in Germany
• Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science: fees for international students
• Quebec Ministry of Higher Education: university budget rules 2026-2027 (PDF)
• Government of Quebec: amendments to the Quebec Immigration Regulation (19 November 2025)
• IRCC: proof of financial support for a study permit
• Ege University: 2026-2027 bachelor's fees (PDF, in Turkish)