Before you even leave: joining the compatriots of your future city

Information checked on 11 September 2026.

Between an institution's positive answer and the day you leave, several months often go by. Months of forms, budget calculations, housing searches from thousands of kilometres away, and questions no official website really answers: how much does a month in Lyon actually cost, which bus do you take from the airport, which residence should you avoid. Yet in the city where you're going to study, compatriots have already been through exactly these steps, and many are only too happy to talk about it. This guide explains how to find them and write to them before you even leave, what they can really offer you, and the safety rules that are not up for negotiation. What happens once you've arrived is covered in another article, flagged at the end of this page.

Why contact students already in France before you leave

Official sources give you the rules: the Études en France calendar (the online application platform run by Campus France, the French agency for international students), the visa documents, the minimum resources. They don't tell you what it's like on the ground. A student who arrived last year knows how much they really spent in the first month, how long it took to open a bank account, and what they wish they had known before packing.

That knowledge doesn't replace official information, it completes it. Always start with our complete guide to the Campus France procedure and the website of the Campus France office in your country, then turn to those who came before you for everything those pages can't say.

You still have to find the right people. Searching for "Cameroonian community Lyon" or "Senegalese in Lille" mostly leads to groups of thousands of members where questions drown. What you need is a handful of people from your country, in your future city, ready to answer.

What a compatriot already there can bring you, step by step

Rereading your study project

A student who got their place can reread your study project and tell you whether it's clear, consistent and credible. They won't write it for you: a text that isn't yours shows, and the interview quickly reveals it. Our advice on writing it: the Campus France cover letter.

Preparing the interview

Those who have been through the Campus France interview can tell you how it went for them and help you rehearse. Keep in mind that each Campus France office has its own practices and that one candidate's experience is not a rule. The details are in our article on the Campus France interview.

Estimating the real monthly budget

The minimum resources required for the visa, €877.50 per month for applications filed since 1 August 2026, is an administrative floor, not a living budget. A student settled in your city will give you concrete orders of magnitude: rent, transport, groceries, phone, start-of-year expenses. Cross-check them with our article on what the procedure and the first year cost.

Checking or visiting a place to live

This is probably the most valuable help of all. Looking for housing from abroad exposes you to fake listings. A compatriot on the spot can check that an address exists, go to a viewing on your behalf, tell you whether the area has good transport links. Absolute rule: no payment for a place nobody has seen. The full method is in finding student housing from abroad.

Welcoming you on arrival

Knowing that someone is waiting for you, or at least will answer the phone on the day you arrive, changes everything. They can tell you the route from the airport or the station, the cheapest supermarket in the area, the first thing to take care of. To prepare for that day: the departure checklist.

Finding your future city's community on Compatri

On Compatri, the basic unit is the community: a country of origin crossed with a city of residence, "the Cameroonians of Lyon", "the Ivorians of Toulouse". You can join it before you've moved, and that's actually the best time to do so.

The free plan is enough to join communities, discover meetups and reply to messages. It does, however, limit the number of new conversations you start each month, which encourages you to choose carefully whom to write to and what to ask. The paid plans, Starter at €99 a year and Avancé at €199 a year, broaden those possibilities.

Writing to a member: how to ask a good first question

Nobody is paid to answer you. A good first message respects the time of the person reading it:

• Short: five or six lines are enough.
• Specific: a concrete situation, not "info about France".
• Polite: a greeting, a one-sentence introduction, a thank-you.
• One question at a time: the next one will come up in the conversation.
• Proof that you've looked: "I read that…, did it go like that for you?" makes people want to answer.

Then, a few simple habits. If nobody answers, don't send reminder after reminder: write to someone else, or save the question for a meetup. When someone helps you, say thank you, then tell them how things turned out: that's what makes people want to help the next person.

If your future city doesn't have a community yet

Not every country × city combination exists yet. If yours is missing:

• Look at the nearest big city: students from the same region often cross paths.
• Join the "Étudiants africains" group, which doesn't depend on any city.
• Spread the word. A community starts with its first members settled there: the Claim your city page explains how the first people to bring a city to life become its reference members, the "chefs-lieux". If you know an elder who has lived there for a long time, tell them about it; once you've arrived, you can help bring it to life.

Safety and etiquette: the rules that are not negotiable

A community of compatriots inspires trust, and that's precisely what some scammers exploit. A few rules, without exception:

• Never send money to someone you've only met online, even a compatriot, even to "reserve" a place to live, even in an emergency. A genuine request can withstand a check.
• Don't send scans of your passport, visa or bank statements by message. Those documents go to the authorities, to your institution and, once the housing has been checked, to your landlord. Not to a contact you met the day before.
• Meet first in a public place: a café, the campus, a community meetup.
• Nobody can "speed up" a visa. The decision belongs to the consulate, and the application is made on France-Visas, the official portal. Anyone offering you, for money, a faster appointment, a guaranteed place or an assured visa is a scammer. Going through an informal intermediary also exposes you to fake documents slipped into your file, which lead to refusal.
• Beware of urgency. "You have to pay today or it's gone" is the signature of a scam.
• Report any suspicious message from within the conversation, so that moderators see it.

Finally, Compatri is neither a visa agency, nor a bank, nor a law firm: the platform doesn't sell blocked accounts and doesn't give legal advice. For your application, rely on the Campus France office in your country, the consulate and France-Visas; for a legal problem, a lawyer or an association specialising in immigration law.

And once you've arrived

The connection made before departure really comes into its own in the first weeks: a coffee with the person who answered your questions, a first community meetup, a familiar face in an unfamiliar city. What comes next, finding your bearings and widening your circle, is covered in finding your compatriots when you've just arrived. And a year from now, it will be your turn to answer the message of a future student from your country.

Official sources

• Campus France: organise your arrival in France
• France-Visas, the official visa portal for France
• Service-Public.fr: visa and residence permit for international students
• Campus France DRC: pre-arrival checklist (example of a local site)