Studying in FranceCampus France eligibility criteria 2027: who can apply?
Country of residence, diploma, French, repeated years, procedures, budget: the Campus France 2027 criteria actually published, office by office. What closes the platform, what only weighs on the opinion, and who really decides.
Founder · Compatri, the social network for diasporas
Information checked on 20 October 2026.
To apply to study in France through Campus France for the 2027 intake, you must live in a country covered by the Études en France procedure, hold the diploma that opens the level you are aiming for (baccalauréat, the French secondary-school leaving diploma, for a Licence 1, the first year of a bachelor's; a licence, the French bachelor's degree, for a master's), prove a sufficient level of French and be able to fund your stay. No general age limit appears in the official texts we consulted. The rest depends on your country: each Campus France office publishes its own criteria, and they do not all carry the same weight. Some close the platform to you, others only weigh on the office's opinion. Here is what is actually published, country by country, and how to read it. To place this step in the whole process, see our complete Campus France guide.
Admissibility, recommendation, admission: three different filters
Before reading a list of criteria, ask who applies it. Three filters follow one another, and none replaces the others.
A fourth filter comes afterwards: the visa, which is the consulate's call. Campus France Senegal states it plainly: an admissible file guarantees neither admission nor the issue of a visa.
Campus France eligibility criteria common to all countries
Living in a country with the Études en France procedure
The Études en France procedure concerns students who live in one of the 75 countries and territories listed by Campus France, including Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. What counts is the country of residence, not only nationality. Nationals of the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, Andorra and Monaco are not covered by it. If you are unsure which route to follow, our article DAP, non-DAP or Parcoursup gives the full decision tree.
Holding the diploma that opens the level you want
| Level sought | Diploma required | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Licence 1, architecture (DAP) | Secondary-school leaving diploma, obtained or in progress | Ministry DAP notice |
| Master 1 | Licence (3 years of study) or equivalent of 180 ECTS credits | Université Paris-Saclay |
| Master 2 | 4 years of study or equivalent of 240 ECTS credits | Université Paris-Saclay |
| Doctorate | Diploma conferring the master's degree; Campus France registration after admission to a doctoral school | Campus France Guinea |
For the DAP (demande d'admission préalable, prior admission request), the official notice of the French Ministry of Higher Education limits the choice to three universities (article D. 612-16 of the French Education Code), one file per programme. It also warns that any falsified document or false statement leads to a ban on enrolling in all French public institutions.
Proving your level of French
The DAP requires the TCF tout public (the general Test de connaissance du français) with a compulsory written expression paper, unless you are exempt. For other levels, the requirement varies by office and institution: we detail it country by country below. Our article on the Campus France French test compares the options.
Being able to fund your stay
This is not a Campus France criterion, but it is the visa's, and it stops admitted candidates every year. Since 1 August 2026, the student visa requires at least €877.50 of resources per month (service-public.fr, decree no. 2026-526 of 22 June 2026). The only exception cited by service-public.fr concerns candidates who passed the entrance competition of an institution bound to the State by an agreement. See how to prove your resources for the student visa.
What about age?
None of the official pages consulted for this article sets a maximum age for applying through Campus France, and the service-public.fr page on the student visa sets none either. Campus France Togo even writes "Pas de limite d'âge" (no age limit) for capacity-building programmes. The age limits often quoted concern specific scholarships, not the procedure. One point to watch: the FAQ of Campus France Côte d'Ivoire asks "Is there an age limit for applying?", but we could not read its answer. If it concerns you, check it with the office.
The recommendation criteria published in Benin
Campus France Benin publishes the most precise list, updated on 11 September 2026. The office presents it as the recommendations used to examine files, in the Études en France procedure as in the pre-consular procedure:
- Downgrading: no more than one level. A L2 (second-year bachelor's) student can aim for L1, L2 or L3.
- Repeated years: one at most per cycle of study. A conditional pass, a gap year or a change of course do not count. For an L3 application, repeated years in secondary school are not taken into account.
- Master's: you need the diplôme national de licence (national bachelor's degree). An L3 student can apply for M1, but if admitted must present the licence to obtain the prior enrolment agreement.
- Procedures: no more than three successive Études en France procedures.
- Report cards: any report card after 2019 must be verifiable on Educmaster.
Campus France Benin has also put a self-assessment tool online, CFB Recommandation. According to the tool itself, its thresholds come from the analysis of about 1,017 files admitted through the standard procedure for the 2026 intake. It treats three situations as blocking: more than one repeated year per cycle, three successive procedures without admission, a master's application without the national licence. It also compares your averages with those of admitted students in your field.
| Field (CFB tool) | Licence: secondary | Licence: higher ed. | Master: secondary | Master: higher ed. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 13.5 | 14 | 14 | 14.5 |
| Computing, maths, engineering | 12.5 | 13 | 13 | 13.5 |
| Biology, chemistry, law-economics-management | 12 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 13 |
| Other fields | 11.5 | 12 | 12 | 12.5 |
These averages (out of 20) were observed among admitted Beninese students. For another country, they give an order of magnitude, not your office's rule. The details of the Beninese procedure are in our article Campus France Benin.
Campus France criteria by country: what is published and verified
| Country | Type of criterion | What the office publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Senegal | Admissibility | Bac 2026 or 2027 obtained with one resit at most. Older bac: only after a cycle completed in Senegal (BTS, DUT, DISEP, licence, master), diplomas accredited by ANAQ-Sup. Arabic bac L-AR: certified B2 French. Master's possible whatever the year of the licence |
| Algeria | Admissibility | Excluded: candidates without a baccalauréat, continuing-education diplomas (UFC), French below B1. B2 required by most institutions, C1 recommended in humanities |
| Morocco | Admissibility | File not admissible without TCF tout public, DELF B2 or DALF (or payment receipt, or exam notice), unless exempt. No exemption for L1. TCF of 400 points recommended, below 350 judged insufficient |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Admissibility | Incomplete or late file: inadmissible. After two correction requests without follow-up, file not validated and no interview |
| Togo | Recommendation | 12/20 minimum average; no repeated year in secondary school for L1; no downgrading of more than one year; licence obtained in 4 years at most in private, 5 years at most in public institutions, to aim for L3 or M1 |
| Benin | Recommendation | The five criteria above, and the CFB Recommandation tool |
| Cameroon | - | No average, repeated-year or age criterion published on the "Who is concerned" page. French test compulsory after English-language or other-language schooling |
| Guinea | - | No age, average or repeated-year criterion published. Three programmes at most in the DAP, seven outside the DAP. B2 minimum required by most institutions |
A few notes for reading this table:
- Senegal: the eligibility criteria page adds two other admissible cases, supervised mobility of at least one semester and mobility under an agreement endorsed by the embassy. The campaign dates are in our Campus France Senegal 2027 calendar.
- Côte d'Ivoire: the same page gives indicative benchmarks, at least 14/20 in science subjects for health and architecture, at least 12/20 in the specialty subjects for a BUT (technological bachelor's). It still quotes dates of past campaigns, though: check with the office that these benchmarks still apply for 2027.
- Cameroon: the "Types of procedures" page reserves the DAP for holders of a recent secondary-school diploma or candidates preparing one, but it still quotes the years 2023 to 2025. Check with Campus France Cameroon for 2027.
- Mali, Burkina Faso, Tunisia: we found no page of eligibility or recommendation criteria. Check directly with the office in your country.
Campus France 2027 eligibility criteria in the calendar
A criterion met too late does not count. For the 2027 intake, the published dates we verified are as follows:
| Country | Published deadline |
|---|---|
| Morocco | 15 November 2026, connected programmes |
| Algeria | 30 November 2026 non-DAP, 15 December 2026 DAP |
| Benin | 20 November 2026 first submission, 15 December 2026 last submission |
| Senegal | 15 December 2026, connected programmes |
In Morocco, simply registering for the French certification is enough to submit, provided you attach the receipt or the exam notice. The dates of all campaigns are gathered in our Campus France calendar.
What to do if you do not meet a criterion?
- You lack an admissibility criterion: do not pay the file fees until it is met. Take the French certification in time, finish the current cycle, or wait for the next campaign.
- You lack a recommendation criterion: you can apply, but prepare a clear explanation for the interview. A single repeated year can be explained; a series of repeated years is much harder to defend.
- You have already failed: reread our article on a Campus France refusal and what comes next before trying again, and review your list of choices with our method to choose your programmes on Études en France.
- Funding is missing: an admission without proven resources ends at the consulate. Build your plan (guarantor, scholarship, savings) before paying for the procedure.
Test your profile before paying
The Compatri Campus France simulator is free and uses the scale of the CFB Recommandation tool: averages of admitted students by field, three blocking criteria, to which it adds French, funding and file preparation. The calculation runs in your browser. It places your profile; it predicts neither admission nor refusal.
If you want a human look at your plan, Compatri's personalised Campus France support is a paid service: the price is given at the first exchange, before any commitment. Compatri is not Campus France and plays no part in the office's opinion, the institutions' decision or the consulate's. To talk with those who have been through it, join the Senegalese diaspora in France or the Cameroonian diaspora in France on Compatri.
Official sources
- Campus France: the Études en France procedure
- French Ministry of Higher Education: DAP dossier blanc notice 2026-2027 (PDF)
- Université Paris-Saclay: overview of higher education in France
- Service-public.fr: long-stay study visa
- Bas-Rhin prefecture: new minimum resources for an international student
- Campus France Benin: recommendation criteria
- Campus France Benin: standard application calendar
- CFB Recommandation tool (Campus France Benin)
- Campus France Senegal: eligibility criteria
- Campus France Senegal: frequently asked questions
- Campus France Senegal: 2027-2028 calendar
- Campus France Togo: recommended criteria
- Campus France Algeria: who is it for?
- Campus France Algeria: Études en France 2027 campaign
- Campus France Morocco: the application procedure
- Campus France Morocco: compulsory French certifications
- Campus France Côte d'Ivoire: Licence 1 at university
- Campus France Côte d'Ivoire: Licence 2 and 3, master, engineering cycle
- Campus France Cameroon: who is concerned
- Campus France Cameroon: types of procedures
- Campus France Guinea: the 6 steps of the procedure
- Campus France Guinea: level of French
- Campus France Guinea: special cases
Frequently asked questions
What are the Campus France eligibility criteria for 2027?
You must live in one of the countries with the Études en France procedure, hold the diploma that opens the level you want (secondary-school leaving diploma for a Licence 1, licence or 180 ECTS credits for a master 1), prove your level of French and be able to fund your stay, that is at least €877.50 per month for the visa since 1 August 2026. Each Campus France office adds its own criteria, which vary from country to country.
Is there an age limit for applying through Campus France?
None of the official pages we consulted sets a maximum age for the procedure, and the service-public.fr page on the student visa sets none. Campus France Togo even writes "Pas de limite d'âge" (no age limit) for capacity-building programmes. Age limits concern certain scholarships. The FAQ of Campus France Côte d'Ivoire addresses the question: check its answer with the office.
What is the difference between an admissibility criterion and a recommendation criterion?
An admissibility criterion decides whether the Campus France office examines your file: if it is missing, the file is not validated and goes no further. A recommendation criterion weighs on the opinion the office gives after the interview, without stopping you from applying. In both cases, the institutions decide on admission and the consulate on the visa.
What are the Campus France eligibility criteria in Senegal for 2027?
Campus France Senegal accepts 2026 or 2027 baccalauréat holders who passed with one resit at most. With an older bac, you must have completed, or complete in 2027, a cycle in Senegal (BTS, DUT, DISEP, licence, master), with diplomas accredited by ANAQ-Sup. Holders of the Arabic bac L-AR must show certified B2 French. Supervised mobility and mobility endorsed by the embassy are also admissible.
How many repeated years does Campus France accept?
There is no national rule. Campus France Benin recommends one repeated year at most per cycle of study, not counting a conditional pass, a gap year or a change of course. Campus France Togo does not want repeated years in secondary school for a Licence 1. Elsewhere, no rule is published: ask the office in your country.
Can you apply for a master's without a licence?
Access to master 1 requires a licence or the equivalent of 180 ECTS credits. Campus France Benin applies it strictly: you need the national licence diploma. An L3 student can apply for M1, but must present the diploma if admitted. The CFB Recommandation tool and the Compatri simulator treat the lack of a licence as a blocking criterion.