Carte de séjour temporaire ou pluriannuelle portant la mention « étudiant » (ou VLS-TS « étudiant »)
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Carte de séjour temporaire ou pluriannuelle portant la mention « étudiant » (ou VLS-TS « étudiant ») as of 2026-08-01[1][4] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Legal basis | Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile (CESEDA), articles L. 422-1 et suivants; art. R. 422-7 (montant des ressources) as of 2026-08-01[1] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-01[1] A first admission is made on a VLS-TS « étudiant » valid from four months to one year; thereafter a carte de séjour temporaire « étudiant » (one year) or a carte de séjour pluriannuelle « étudiant » (two to four years). |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2026-08-01[1][4] |
|---|---|
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 1 year as of 2026-08-01[1] |
|---|---|
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-01[1] Renewable. On renewal the applicant may instead receive a carte de séjour pluriannuelle « étudiant » of two to four years. |
| Renewal duration | Not established from a qualifying source Not expressible as one figure: renewal is either a further one-year temporary card or a two-to-four-year multi-year card depending on the course. Carried in initial_duration.note. |
| Work rights | hours capped as of 2026-06-01[1][2] |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | No as of 2026-06-01[3] |
|---|
Requirements
| Enrolment status required | enrolled as of 2026-08-01[1] |
|---|---|
| Means requirement | EUR 877.50 per month as of 2026-08-01[1] |
| Savings alternative | Not established from a qualifying source The fiche accepts a bank attestation of a sufficient credit balance instead of a monthly income stream but states no lump-sum figure for it. |
| Work-hours cap | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value |
| Post-study route exists | Yes as of 2026-06-01[2] The carte « recherche d'emploi/création d'entreprise » (fr-recherche-emploi-creation-entreprise) follows completion of a master's-level French degree. |
| Post-study permit duration | 1 year as of 2026-06-01[2] One year, non-renewable. |
| Post-study income requirement | EUR 2,800.53 per month as of 2026-06-01[2] Not a condition of the post-study permit itself but of employment taken during it: gross monthly pay above EUR 2,800.53, in a job related to the studies. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-01[1] First admission is normally via a consular VLS-TS « étudiant »; renewal and the move to a multi-year card are made at the prefecture in France. |
|---|---|
| Fees |
|
Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-08-01[1] |
|---|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
- A 30-minute call with our consultant, who reads your profile first.
- An offer for legal support built around your case, covering the whole process.
Verification
| Sources cited | 4 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-06-01 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-01 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Étudiant étranger en France : visa de long séjour ou titre de séjour (fiche F2231)
Direction de l'information légale et administrative (DILA) — Service Public · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-01 · Accessed 2026-08-10 - [2] Carte de séjour ou VLS-TS – Recherche d'emploi/création d'entreprise (fiche F17319)
Direction de l'information légale et administrative (DILA) — Service Public · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-01 · Accessed 2026-08-10 - [3] Carte de résident de longue durée-UE (étranger en France depuis 5 ans) (fiche F17359)
Direction de l'information légale et administrative (DILA), Premier ministre — Service Public · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-01 · Accessed 2026-08-10 - [4] Titres, cartes de séjour et documents de circulation pour étranger en France (dossier N110) — enumeration of French residence titles
Direction de l'information légale et administrative (DILA) — Service Public · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-02-10 · Accessed 2026-08-10