Advice, inspiring stories and resources to stay connected to what matters.
The minimum resources required of international students rise from €615 to €877.50 a month for applications filed since 1 August 2026. Calculation, timing, renewals and what it means for families: what you need to know.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
Since 1 July 2026, non-European students who do not hold a means-tested grant can no longer receive the APL, unless they work or are on a work-study contract. Who is affected, which exceptions apply, what happens to existing recipients and how to balance your housing budget without the aid.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
Universities and campuses, the welcome desk for international students, the CROUS, TCL passes, the real budget, winter and the places of the African diaspora: what to know about Lyon before you unpack.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
Welcome, mentoring, tips, cultural evenings: the association of students from your country is often the best shortcut on arrival. Where to look, how to check it is active, and how to create one if it doesn't exist.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
No Campus France and no visa for students from Mayotte and the overseas territories: Parcoursup, the student social file, LADOM's study mobility passport, aid from the Département, Mahoran associations in mainland France and the first winter, everything to prepare your first year.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
Two or three months' rent? It depends on your Region and on when your lease was signed. Where the money must sit, how it is released, and why the inventory decides everything.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
Nine-year leases, short leases, tacit renewal, notice periods, indemnities, mandatory clauses: what to know before signing, and why the answer depends on the Region the property sits in.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
A regime of its own, different in all three Regions: a term aligned with the academic year, a framed early exit, subletting, kot versus studio, and what a parental guarantor actually signs.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
One joint lease or individual leases, joint-and-several liability, a flatshare pact, domicile, charges: what sharing really commits you to, and how it differs by Region.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
No benefit claimants, no foreigners, couples without children: those refusals are unlawful in Belgium. Protected grounds, the forms newcomers meet most often, proof, and who to turn to in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
Three months' notice, sometimes an indemnity, and a starting date almost everyone gets wrong. The rules differ in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders: here is how to leave without paying an extra month.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
The exact formula, the health index, the anniversary date, the fact that nothing is automatic and retroactivity is capped, and what the EPC still changes in 2026, Region by Region.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
A landlord cannot end a nine-year lease whenever he likes. Personal occupation, major works, notice without grounds: three doors, three deadlines, three costs, and a heavy sanction if the stated ground never materialises.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
What the certificate is, who issues it, how long it lasts, the mandatory statements in the ad and the fines. They differ between Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders, where it is called EPC and where an energy standard for homes applies from 2030.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
Regional registration, the Brussels 90-day rule, fire safety, planning, co-ownership, tax and EU Regulation 2024/1028: tourist accommodation is regulated, and the rules change by Region and municipality. What to check before the first night.
Espero AKPOLI
11 Sept 2026
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.
Espero AKPOLI
9 Aug 2026
