CROUS housing for international students: who is eligible, when to apply, what it costs

Information checked on 6 October 2026.

A room in a university residence remains the cheapest housing a student can find in France, and it is the first option most future students from the Maghreb and Africa explore. CROUS housing for international students, however, follows rules that general guides skim over: you do not apply at the same time as French students, your university may hold reserved places, and the guarantor question is handled differently. This guide explains who is entitled to what, the calendar to watch for the 2027 intake, real rents, and what to do if the residence does not answer. For the full picture, from application to visa, start with our complete Campus France guide.

CROUS in brief: what it rents, and to whom

The CROUS (Centres régionaux des œuvres universitaires et scolaires) are the French public bodies in charge of student life. They run university residences where you rent a room or a T1 (studio), often close to campus. According to etudiant.gouv.fr, occupancy is limited to five years, and the CROUS may grant a sixth year in certain situations.

These homes go first to students whose social situation justifies it. Allocation takes into account the income of the student and their parents, family composition and geographical distance. That explains the two-step calendar described below.

CROUS housing for international students: the phase that applies to you

Allocation happens in two phases, and your status as an international student determines which one you can access.

You are coming from abroad: the supplementary phase

etudiant.gouv.fr states it plainly: international students do not take part in the main phase, and they can submit a request as soon as the supplementary phase opens, on trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr. Homes are offered as places become free: there is no waiting list, so you need to check the site regularly.

In practice, your search starts in July, just as you are also preparing your visa. Create your account beforehand and keep your scanned documents within reach.

You already live in France: the DSE can open the main phase

The dossier social étudiant (DSE, the student social file) is used to apply for a need-based grant and for housing. A non-European student is only entitled to that grant under precise conditions, as Service Public points out: a residence permit, residence in France for at least two years and a tax household in France for at least two years. If you have already lived in France that long, look into it: the DSE places you in the main phase, alongside French students. The dates of the 2027-2028 campaign have not been published yet; in 2026, the DSE was open from 2 March to 31 May.

The calendar to watch for the 2027 intake

No 2027 date has been published yet. This table uses the 2026 rhythm as a reference.

Places reserved by your institution

Many universities hold a quota of homes in CROUS residences, allocated by their own office. It is often the safest route, but it has its own rules. The Université de Toulouse publishes them, and they illustrate what you will find elsewhere:

• places go first to Erasmus+ mobility or exchange students, master 2 students and first-year doctoral candidates;
• licence (bachelor's) and master 1 students cannot access this quota;
• for a September arrival, the request must arrive before 10 April, with an answer in late June or early July;
• for 2026-2027, the university's quota was already full for master 2 students coming outside an exchange programme.

Each institution sets its own criteria. Write to the international relations office as soon as your admission is confirmed and ask whether it manages places, for whom, and by what date. If a grant funds you, also ask the organisation that manages it: some help their grant holders with their search.

How much a CROUS room costs

Rents vary from one city and residence to another. The rates published by the Université de Toulouse for CROUS residences give an order of magnitude:

Also plan for the sums due at allocation:

Since 1 July 2026, most non-European students without a need-based grant are no longer entitled to the APL, the housing benefit paid by the CAF (the French family allowance fund). So budget for the full rent: our article on APL for international students covers the exceptions, and our student budget in Paris, Lyon and Lille sets these rents against other expenses.

The paperwork after allocation

A home offered is not yet a home secured. According to etudiant.gouv.fr, after paying the advance you must provide:

On move-in day, show your student card or your enrolment certificate for the year. That document only comes after administrative enrolment: arrange things in advance with your institution if you arrive before the start of the year.

The Visale guarantee instead of a guarantor

Without a guarantor in France, the Visale guarantee from Action Logement acts as guarantor free of charge. For a non-European student, Campus France sets two conditions: being between 18 and 30, and holding a VLS-TS (long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit) marked « étudiant » or a talent-researcher passport.

Three points matter for you:

• CROUS always accepts it: the CROUS signed an agreement with Visale, and Campus France specifies that a guarantee presented by an international student for a CROUS room will necessarily be accepted;
• the time it takes: Campus France estimates 2 to 15 days to obtain the Visale certificate, to be requested as soon as you have your VLS-TS;
• the order: Service Public points out that the request comes before signing the lease.

Visale does not pay your rent for you: it reassures the landlord in case of unpaid rent, then recovers the money.

If the residence does not answer: the alternatives

CROUS places remain scarce compared with demand. Prepare a plan B in parallel:

• Lokaviz, the CROUS platform for housing with private landlords; you need a MesServices account and your INE number (national student number) or proof of enrolment to contact a landlord;
• private student residences, more expensive, with services included; read the list of fees before booking;
• flat-sharing, which splits the rent; the deposit there is capped at one month excluding charges for unfurnished rentals, two months for furnished ones;
• temporary accommodation for the first weeks, while you visit on site.

To search the private market from abroad without falling for a scam, follow our guide to finding student housing from abroad.

The traps around CROUS residences

• The « guaranteed place » for a fee. A CROUS room cannot be bought from an intermediary: allocation goes through trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr or your institution.
• Fake helplines. The official CVEC website (the student life contribution) warns against premium-rate numbers posing as CROUS. The single number to reach a CROUS is 09 72 59 65 65.
• Transfers outside the platform. The advance and the deposit are paid according to the official platform's instructions, never to an account sent by message.
• Waiting passively. In the supplementary phase, freed-up homes go fast: check the site several times a week.

Add these steps to your checklist before leaving to study in France, between the visa application and buying your ticket.

Ask those already living in the residence

A residence listing does not tell you everything: the noise, the shared kitchen, the real travel time to campus. Those who live there know. On Compatri, the community of your country in your future city brings together compatriots already settled there, often in the same residences; the group « Étudiants africains » (African students) gathers students from several cities around housing, grants and mutual aid between campuses. You can join your community free of charge even before you have your visa: our article on how to join your community before you leave explains how.

Compatri is neither a CROUS service nor a government service: the allocations and dates that bind you remain those of trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr and your institution.

Official sources

• Étudiant.gouv: how housing is allocated in residences
• Étudiant.gouv: finding a home in a university residence
• CROUS: Trouver un logement platform
• Université de Toulouse: housing for international students
• Service Public: the Visale guarantee
• Campus France: the Visale guarantee