Start preparing your visa application today!
Disclaimer: the only official source of information for French visas is https://france-visas.gouv.fr . There is no hotline for Visas in Australia. Please keep in mind that any advice below about visas is subject to change. Campus France is not necessarily informed of any changes.
Important reminder: Australian students cannot apply for a French visa outside of Australian soil! If you are planning on booking a holiday before your program starts, you must apply for your visa and receive it before leaving, otherwise you will have to return from overseas to ask for it.
Steps toward visa application
To apply for a visa in Australia, please follow the step-by-step process on the website of the Consulate-General of France here, as copied below:
1. Do I need a visa?
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Whether or not you need a visa depends on your nationality, age, activity and the length of your stay. In most cases a visa is required for Australian nationals to stay in France for longer than 90 days.
Use the Visa Wizard to verify whether you need a visa. The wizard will also tell you what documents must be enclosed with your application, along with the relevant fee.
2. Complete your application online
- When selecting your purpose of stay, pay attention to the options described under the Student tab. If you're an Australian student going to France on exchange or enrolling in a French university, your purpose of stay is "Study - Student".
If you're taking part in an intra-European mobility program, your purpose of stay is "Study - Student in mobility". - The EEF procedure does not yet apply in Australia. You should leave this field blank.
- If you don't have a permanent address in France, you may provide the address of the host university.
- Take note of your Registration Number (FRA*****etc) because you will need this for the next step.
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Once you have confirmed wheter you need a visa, you can complete your application on the online portal. You will need to create a France-Visas account, which is used for each step of the process.
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You will fill out an online formula with your information and the details of your project in France.
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Once this formula is complete, the platform will indicate a list the required documents you need to provide with your application. Student visa applicants can then scan and upload their documents to the portal.
3. Submit your application to the visa centre
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After you complete the online part of the visa application, you must attend a visa appointment in person at a Visa Collection Centre. These are available in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. You can book an appointment at any one of these - Please note you may be required to travel if there are no visa centres in your city of residence. It is not currently possible for you to complete your application by email or by post. The Honorary Consulates in Australia do not treat Long Stay visas. France-Visas will provide you with all necessary information on how and where to submit your application.
Your appointment must take place within 3 months of the beginning of your course, and more than 3 weeks before your departure - Do not leave booking an appointment until the last minute or you risk running out of available time slots before your planned departure.
4. Attend your visa interview
At the end of the online questionnaire, the website will produce an official list of the required documents which you must prepare submit. You must submit all the required documents. Failure to provide all documentation will delay your visa processing time. We recommend taking several copies of everything to the appointment just in case.
When you attend the interview, you will submit your passport and it will be returned to you with the visa in it; during this time you can’t fly internationally because you would need your passport. You must not book a departure close to the visa appointment. If in doubt, it may be safest to wait until you already have your visa before making travel plans.
What is the Etudes En France application?
If you've heard about the EEF - Etudes En France procedure, please note that this procedure doesn't exist in Australia.
There is no need for an interview with Campus France if you are departing from Australia.
If you're living in Australia, regardless of your nationality, the EEF procedure does not apply to you. The EEF procedure only applies to students living in one of the following countries:
Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam.
The Etudes en France application begins with the creation of a personal electronic application file, a process you can complete at your own pace. An application fee is charged. More information about the Etudes en France application here.
If you are a resident in Australia, please follow the normal visa process outlined below.
No visa obligation for European students
If you are a national of a EU country (European Economic Area and Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland), you do not need a student visa to study or do an internship in France. You may freely enter French territory regardless of the length of your stay or your studies.
On the other hand, you must have a sickness and maternity insurance and sufficient financial resources to meet your needs and any family you may be supporting.
Citizens of the EU/EEA/Switzerland may work while studying in France without a residency permit to a maximum of 964 hours per year.
Short-stay visa waiver
In accordance with the existing agreements, Australian citizens may enter France without any visa and stay for a period up to 90 days. When moving between different countries within the Schengen Area, please note that the 90-day period takes effect from the date of crossing the external border into the Schengen Area. The 90-day period is applied over any period of 180 consecutive days. Before or after your visa period, you must exit the Schengen area and re-enter if you wish to make use of the 90-day visa waiver.
Please note - If you have a long-stay student visa, you must exit the Schengen Zone at the end of the visa. If you want to make use of the extra 90-day period after your studies, you must exit and re-enter the Schengen zone. The same goes for the beginning of the visa - If you arrive in Europe before the start date of your visa, you must leave the Schengen zone and then re-enter to get your passport stamped to activate this after the start date. If you’re planning on long holidays overseas before arriving in France to study, it is recommend you either wait until you already have your visa before booking a departure, or return to Australia to apply for a visa after the holiday.
Young traveller!
Young Australians aged between 18 and 35 years old (up to the date of 36th birthday) can benefit from the working holidays programme. This programme allows you to visit France for a period of more than three months with the right to work, so as to supplement your financial resources. You will obtain a long-stay visa containing the statement vacances travail (working holiday). Its duration is one year and may not be extended, unless otherwise stipulated. It will entitle you to undertake paid employment on a secondary basis, without prior approval from the French Administration.
IMPORTANT TO READ
1/There is no hotline for the visa section. Contact the visa section here.
All the relevant information on these matters can be found on France Visas’ website: https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/welcome-page.
2/ The visa centres only accepts debit/credit card payments. No cash will be accepted. It is not a mandatory requirement for the visa applicant to use their own credit card.
3/ Appointments - waiting times for appointments and for processing applications vary depending on your nationality and the time of year. Timeslots on the appointment application (France visas) are available two months in advance: each day, new appointments are available from 10.00 am. New appointments may become available in the event of a cancellation. Please check the appointment system regularly in order to find a suitable date.
Users are therefore asked to submit their visa applications well in advance of their departure date.
Visa FAQS
1) What do I do if there are no available appointments before I leave?
The period before study exchanges the visa section is always busy.
You should start the visa process as early as possible and get the documents together, but if you are waiting on one final document, do not wait until the last moment to apply. Apply for the visa and inform them you are waiting on one document.
Language Assistants, Short Program and Language Teaching Training attendees and Nicolas Baudin grant laureates are given priority for visa processing. If you are going to France earlier than your studies for holiday travel, your visa will not be given priority, it is the student's responsibility to be organised in advance.
If you cannot find an appointment, book a later one in the calendar, and send an email with your information to education.canberra-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr, and we can try to help you get an earlier one.
2) Do I need to buy a plane ticket before applying for my student visa?
No, you can apply for a visa before you have booked your flights. This is in some cases recommended as unforeseen delays can happen.
When the visa process asks for your 'travel document', it means your passport.
3) Can someone else apply for my visa for me?
It is better if the person applying fills out their own application unless they are a minor.
4) Who can I talk to about this process if I am stuck?
You can contact Campus France Australia at education.canberra-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr for visa questions.
5) What do I have to provide to show proof of income?
To guarantee proof of income, you can provide a statement from your bank account in Australia with enough funds. As well as this, students should write and sign a letter attesting to the fact they will open a bank account in France if they are there long term.
A guarantor letter is a signed letter of support from one or both parents or carers, with a copy of their ID, a bank statement, and proof of regular income like pay slips.
As you cannot open a French bank account from overseas, this is the best way forward.
6) How do I prove accommodation in France?
Students can show a booking in a hotel or AirBnB for a few weeks until they find an apartment, as well as a signed letter saying that you will search for an apartment once you are there.