34 articles tagged
Arrived in France on a student visa? You have three months to validate your VLS-TS on the ANEF website. What to have at hand, the fee, the confirmation you receive, what happens if you are late and how to prepare the renewal.
In the city where you're going to study, compatriots have already been through the application, the interview, the housing search and the first month. How to find them and write to them before you leave, what they can really offer, and the safety rules you must never forget.
Most guides stop at the visa. This one follows the student to their first week in France: Études en France file, interview, answers, resources, visa, housing, VLS-TS and community, in seven stages.
The Campus France campaign for the 2027 intake opens on 1 October 2026. DAP and non-DAP deadlines, answers, final choice, visa: what is confirmed, what varies by country, and what to do each month.
CVEC, enrolment, visa validation, social security, top-up health cover, bank account, insurance, CAF: the week-by-week checklist for an international student's first month in France, with the pitfalls to avoid.
No template to copy: advisers spot copied texts. A five-step method to link your background, the programme and your career plan, annotated examples (weak version, strong version), the CV and the mistakes to avoid.
Campus France application fees are only the first line of the budget. Amounts by country taken from official websites, visa, tuition fees, CVEC, VLS-TS validation, the first month on site: every item, with its source.
Licence 1 or master's, French baccalauréat or foreign diploma, living in France or abroad: the right procedure depends on a few simple questions. Decision tree, dossier blanc and dossier vert, verified exemptions.
Three choices for the first year of licence, up to seven for a master's: on Études en France, every choice counts. Number of choices, 2026-2027 differentiated fees and capped exemptions, recognised and unrecognised private schools, balancing ambition and safety.
The Campus France interview is neither an admission exam nor a formality. Length and format by country, questions by theme, what the adviser looks for behind each one, documents to bring and mistakes to avoid.
TCF for the DAP, TCF tout public, DELF B2, DALF: which test to take for your procedure, who is exempt according to the official notice, the expected level, how long results stay valid and when to register.
When answers arrive on Études en France, how to read them, what the final choice commits you to, the steps after the “yes”, and a realistic plan B if all your applications are refused.
For the student visa the amount is fixed, but how you prove it is up to you: scholarship, sponsor, bank deposit, irrevocable transfer or blocked account. A neutral comparison, documents by country, pitfalls and renewal.
After Études en France comes the visa. France-Visas form, appointment at the application centre, documents, fees, processing times and validating the VLS-TS on arrival: the process step by step, and what varies by country.
Resources, study plan, purpose of stay, inconsistent documents: the grounds for refusing a student visa can be read and prevented. And once the refusal has landed, there is an appeal, with a 30-day deadline before the commission in Nantes.
Looking for a place thousands of kilometres away is exactly the situation scammers prefer. What the visa really requires, which official channels to use first, the most common scams, what a landlord is allowed to ask for and where to stay for the first weeks.
One month before, one week before, the day before, the cabin bag, arrival day and the first 72 hours: everything an international student needs to prepare to go and study in France, with the customs rules on cash, food and medicines.
A non-European student can work 964 hours a year without authorisation, provided they hold the right permit. How this ceiling is calculated, what is different for Algerian students, what the employer must do, what you risk by exceeding it and where to look for a job.
Every member gets a number that looks like an international phone number without being one. Here is what its fourteen digits contain, why the code is +999, and what the number actually lets you do.
Being the first member of your country's and city's community means laying the first stone. Here's how to invite, welcome newcomers and launch the first event, and why a real community is measured by its mutual aid, not its counter.
We all dream of a big party, but it's the small improvised coffee that truly brings people together. Here's how to go from idea to a real event: simple format, clear description, protected address and a follow-up that builds the habit.
Finding work abroad often runs through those who arrived before you. Here's how your already-settled compatriots become a career shortcut, job leads, referrals, trade circles, without ever locking yourself inside your own community.
Registering your residence, a bank, health cover, proof of address, a phone, recognised diplomas: the first weeks feel like a maze. Here is a clear order to move forward calmly, and how compatriots who have been through it save you weeks.
Property portals, direct lets, student rooms, flat-shares, social letting agencies: where to rent a flat in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven or Liège when you arrive, what file to prepare, and the scams to spot before you pay a single euro.
Which documents to gather, what a landlord may lawfully ask for (and when), what they may not demand, and how to present your income so your application survives the first cut.
Simple or joint-and-several surety, the scope and duration of the undertaking, the documents required, the new Civil Code rules since 2026, and the alternatives when nobody can stand guarantor for you.
Twenty minutes of viewing decide two years of your life. Damp, windows, EPC, heating, meters, noise: what to look at, what to ask, and the warning signs of a rental scam.
Without a detailed entry inventory, a deduction from the deposit is almost impossible to justify. What it must contain, why it must be joint, when to call in an expert, and where the line runs between fair wear and tear and tenant damage.
Who must register, within what deadline, how (MyRent, plus IRISrent in Brussels), what to attach, and above all what happens if you skip it. Spoiler: the big loser is the landlord.
Two systems, two logics, two risks. What can be passed on to the tenant, what stays with the landlord, the annual reconciliation, the supporting documents you can demand, and why individual meters settle half the disputes.
Major upkeep on the landlord, day-to-day upkeep on the tenant, and between them a line that can be drawn precisely. Boiler, seals, cistern, window panes: clear-cut examples, and what normal wear and tear really means.
Energy certificate, housing quality standards, smoke detectors, a written and registered lease, an inventory of fixtures: everything you must have in order before publishing an ad in Belgium, and how to write a listing that attracts good candidates.
What you may legitimately assess (solvency, income stability, references), what you may not ask for, why refusing someone on benefits is unlawful, and how to document a refusal so you can defend it.
Positioning against the local market, measuring the effect of the energy rating on rental value, distinguishing rent, charge provisions and flat fees, and working out what a month of vacancy really costs.