Student residence permit: validating your visa, renewing it, working

Three months. That’s how long you have to validate your visa once you land in France, and nobody will remind you.

If you’re a European citizen

Citizens of the European Union, the EEA and Switzerland don’t need a residence permit to study in France. You just need to be enrolled, have health insurance and enough resources. You can ask for a residence card if you want one; it isn’t compulsory.

British citizens who arrived after 1 January 2021 are no longer in this group: they need a visa.

Validate your student visa within 3 months

Your visa is a VLS-TS (visa long séjour valant titre de séjour, a long-stay visa that works as a residence permit): it serves as your residence permit for your first year, as long as you validate it.

1. Go to administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr, the official website (known as ANEF).
2. Enter your visa details, your date of arrival in France and your address in France.
3. Pay the fee: €100 since 1 May 2026, by card online, or with an electronic tax stamp bought at a tobacconist’s (bureau de tabac).
4. Download and keep the validation confirmation.

Your visa doesn’t say "titre de séjour"? A temporary long-stay visa (VLS-T) isn’t validated, can’t be renewed and doesn’t allow you to work.

Renewing your residence permit

At the end of your first year, you apply for a "student" residence card (carte de séjour « étudiant »), or "student – mobility programme", for one year or several years.

When? Between 4 and 2 months before your permit expires, online on ANEF. A late application costs an extra €180.

What you’ll be asked for:

• a digital ID photo (e-photo);
• your enrolment for the coming year;
• your transcripts and diplomas;
• proof of resources of at least €877.50 a month: the threshold rose from €615 to this amount on 1 August 2026;
• on a mobility programme, a document from your institution proving it.

What it costs: €100 for a one-year card, €150 for a multi-year card.

Once you’ve applied, you get an attestation de prolongation d’instruction (a certificate extending your right to stay): it proves you’re legal while your file is processed. Keep it on you. In the Hérault, processing often takes several months. Apply early.

Working while you study

• Your "student" residence permit lets you work up to 964 hours a year, 60% of full-time, without a work permit.
• Your employer must declare your hiring to the prefecture at least 2 working days before your first day.
• Internships that are part of your course, with an internship agreement, don’t count towards those hours.
• Self-employment (auto-entrepreneur) isn’t allowed with this permit.
• Algerian students: the Franco-Algerian agreement applies. Your employer must obtain a work permit, and the limit is 50% of full-time.

Working may also make you eligible for housing aid: see the CAF housing aid guide.

After your degree

With a master’s, a professional bachelor’s degree (licence professionnelle) or an equivalent diploma, you can apply for a "job search or business creation" card (carte « recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise »):

• valid for one year, not renewable;
• you can work without the 964-hour limit;
• apply within the 2 months before your student card expires;
• it costs €150.

Algerian students fall under a separate scheme: ask the prefecture.

Getting help

• ANEF citizen contact centre: 0806 001 620, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.
• Hérault prefecture: pref-etudiants@herault.gouv.fr, after reading its "Étudiants étrangers" page.
• SAIEC, the welcome desk for international students, helps you check and submit your file: 8 rue de l’École Normale, appointments online.
• No computer? The prefecture’s digital help points and France Services centres can assist you.