Applying for a student visa on France-Visas: file, appointment, processing times

Information checked on 11 September 2026.

A positive answer from an institution is not enough to leave: you still need the visa. For most students from French-speaking Africa, that means a long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) marked "étudiant", applied for on France-Visas (France's official visa portal) once the Études en France procedure (Campus France's online application platform) is complete. Here is the process in order: the link between the two platforms, the form, the appointment, the documents, the fees and the processing times. One rule to keep in mind throughout: practical arrangements change from country to country, and your local Campus France office's website is the authority. For the big picture, see our complete Campus France guide.

Études en France, then France-Visas: one process

According to service-public.fr (the official French government information site), nationals of 72 countries must go through the Études en France platform before applying for their visa; others apply directly on France-Visas. Campus France Congo puts it bluntly: going through Campus France is mandatory for any study visa application.

The two platforms don't duplicate each other, they take over from one another. Études en France handles the application, the interview and the institutions' answers (the key dates are in our Campus France calendar). Once your final choice is made, the application generates a pre-enrolment certificate bearing your Études en France ID number. That number links your academic file to your visa application.

Applying for a student visa step by step

Step 4 is the one that varies most. A few examples from the official sites of Campus France offices: in Côte d'Ivoire, the file is lodged at the VFS Global centre; in Congo, filing is at TLScontact, on an appointment allocated by Campus France Congo to Études en France applicants; in Gabon, the TLScontact appointment is requested by a message sent from your Études en France account; in Mauritius, Campus France sends a link to book an appointment at the visa section in Port-Louis. Follow the procedure described by your own Campus France office. And remember what Campus France Côte d'Ivoire stresses: filling in the form is free, and no intermediary is authorised to take part in the application.

The file: documents to provide

The exact list comes from the France-Visas assistant for your country. The base, as reproduced for example by Campus France Cameroon, includes:

• the dated and signed application form and the France-Visas receipt;
• a recent ID photo;
• a passport issued less than ten years ago, with at least two blank pages, valid for at least three months after the requested visa expires (some countries require more: Campus France Mauritius asks for one year and three months of validity, Campus France Gabon fifteen months after departure);
• the Études en France pre-enrolment certificate with the ID number, and your latest diploma;
• proof of resources, amounting to €877.50 a month for applications filed since 1 August 2026: see our article on minimum resources and the one comparing the ways to prove your resources;
• proof of accommodation: hotel booking, lease, a host's certificate or a letter explaining how you plan to find housing (see finding student housing from abroad);
• depending on local lists, travel insurance and a flight reservation.

Also scan the ID page of your passport and every page bearing a visa or a stamp: the Campus France Cameroon list asks for this explicitly.

Student visa fees: what you pay

The reduced €50 rate applies to students whose file has been reviewed by Campus France: Campus France Mauritius states it in rupees payable when filing, Campus France Congo in CFA francs (33,000 FCFA visa fee, plus 27,500 FCFA TLScontact fee, i.e. 60,500 FCFA on the day of the appointment). Some scholarship holders are exempt: the official visa fee table on France-Visas specifies this. Études en France application fees are separate and paid earlier in the procedure.

On arrival, validating the VLS-TS costs €100 at the reduced rate for students, the amount in force since 1 May 2026 according to service-public.fr and the Bas-Rhin prefecture. It is shown when you pay online.

Processing times: when to file, how long to wait

When to start? Campus France Congo says the visa application can be made from three months before the start of the academic year. Check your country's rule, but keep the principle: file as soon as your pre-enrolment certificate and proof of resources are ready.

The appointment can be the real bottleneck. In Congo, Campus France warns that the wait for an appointment can reach two months and that no appointment can be brought forward. Summer, the peak season, is the busiest everywhere.

Processing time is not guaranteed. France-Visas points out that it varies with nationality and visa type, and gets longer if additional documents are requested. Some France-Visas country pages give a benchmark: for Cameroon as for Algeria, allow one month between filing and your departure date, at the time of our check. Campus France Mauritius asks applicants to file at least two weeks before leaving for mainland France. None of these benchmarks is a promise.

Mistakes that cost time

• Different information on Études en France and France-Visas (institution, dates, programme).
• A passport that expires too soon.
• Proof of resources calculated on the old €615 threshold.
• A paid intermediary promising to speed up the file: nobody can.
• A non-refundable plane ticket bought before the decision.

After the decision: the VLS-TS and arrival

If the visa is granted, you receive a VLS-TS marked "étudiant". It lets you enter France and serves as a residence permit for the validity period printed on the visa sticker. One formality remains once you are there: validating it online, on the ANEF (the online portal for foreign nationals in France), within three months of arrival, and paying the corresponding tax. That validation is what turns your visa into a genuine residence permit: the steps are in our article validating your VLS-TS.

If you are refused

A refusal states its reasons and can be challenged, within short deadlines. Before lodging an identical file again, understand the reason: it is all explained in what to do after a student visa refusal. Compatri gives no legal advice; for an appeal, contact a specialised association or a lawyer.

Feedback from those who filed before you

Official pages describe the procedure. They don't say how long you had to wait for an appointment in your city this summer, which photocopy was most often missing at the counter, or how many days passed between filing and the answer. The people who know are the students from your country who went through the same centre last year.

On Compatri, your country's community in your future city brings together exactly these compatriots, recently arrived students or people settled for years. You can join it before you even have your visa and ask about real processing times and local pitfalls; the steps are explained in joining your community before you leave. Two caveats: a testimony holds for a given year and a given centre, the official list always prevails; and Compatri is not a visa agency. Be wary of anyone, online or elsewhere, who offers to sell you an appointment.

Official sources

• International student: long-stay visa or residence permit (service-public.fr)
• France-Visas: information for Cameroon
• The visa application (Campus France Congo)
• The study visa (Campus France Côte d'Ivoire)
• New tax amounts since 1 May 2026 (Bas-Rhin prefecture)
• Online administration for foreign nationals in France (ANEF)