In a move that will be felt by thousands of prospective international students, the French government has issued Decree n° 2026-526, published in the Journal officiel on 24 June and commented on by immigration lawyers on 29 June. The decree raises the minimum amount of money a non-EU applicant must demonstrate when applying for a long-stay student visa (VLS-TS) or a student residence permit from €615 to 47 % of the gross monthly minimum wage (SMIC) – €877.50 at the SMIC in force on 1 June 2026. The new threshold comes into effect on 1 August 2026.
![France hikes proof-of-funds for student visas to €877.50 per month]()
For students wondering how to gather the right paperwork under the new rules, VisaHQ can streamline the process: its dedicated France page (https://www.visahq.com/france/) walks applicants through the latest financial requirements, reviews supporting documents before submission and offers live assistance, making compliance with the updated regulations faster and less stressful.
The Interior Ministry argues that the 42 % increase brings the requirement into line with today’s cost of living and with EU Directive 2016/801 on the conditions of entry and residence of students and researchers. Officials also say linking the amount to the SMIC will ensure automatic indexation in future. Universities and student-housing providers have broadly welcomed the clarity but warn that the change risks pricing out candidates from developing countries unless scholarship budgets rise in parallel. For applicants and corporate mobility departments, timing is now critical. Files lodged before 1 August will still be assessed under the old €615 benchmark, offering a brief window to submit pending applications. After that date, supporting documents such as bank statements, scholarship letters or parental guarantees must all show the higher figure. Labour-market advisors note that the higher bar could push more students to take part-time jobs; yet French law still caps student work at 964 hours per year (60 % of full-time), so earnings alone will rarely be enough. Companies that rely on sandwich-course students or on-the-job master’s programmes should review their HR calendars to make sure employees switching status from “student” to “employee” do so before their permits expire. Immigration counsel suggest factoring in the doubled stamp duty on student permits (€150 instead of €75) when budgeting relocation packages. Finally, the decree signals a broader tightening of France’s international-student policy ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. Observers expect a forthcoming arrêté to standardise document check-lists across prefectures and to reinforce controls on fictitious enrolments. Universities fear longer processing times in July but hope the reforms will ultimately make compliance more predictable.
For students wondering how to gather the right paperwork under the new rules, VisaHQ can streamline the process: its dedicated France page (https://www.visahq.com/france/) walks applicants through the latest financial requirements, reviews supporting documents before submission and offers live assistance, making compliance with the updated regulations faster and less stressful.
The Interior Ministry argues that the 42 % increase brings the requirement into line with today’s cost of living and with EU Directive 2016/801 on the conditions of entry and residence of students and researchers. Officials also say linking the amount to the SMIC will ensure automatic indexation in future. Universities and student-housing providers have broadly welcomed the clarity but warn that the change risks pricing out candidates from developing countries unless scholarship budgets rise in parallel. For applicants and corporate mobility departments, timing is now critical. Files lodged before 1 August will still be assessed under the old €615 benchmark, offering a brief window to submit pending applications. After that date, supporting documents such as bank statements, scholarship letters or parental guarantees must all show the higher figure. Labour-market advisors note that the higher bar could push more students to take part-time jobs; yet French law still caps student work at 964 hours per year (60 % of full-time), so earnings alone will rarely be enough. Companies that rely on sandwich-course students or on-the-job master’s programmes should review their HR calendars to make sure employees switching status from “student” to “employee” do so before their permits expire. Immigration counsel suggest factoring in the doubled stamp duty on student permits (€150 instead of €75) when budgeting relocation packages. Finally, the decree signals a broader tightening of France’s international-student policy ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. Observers expect a forthcoming arrêté to standardise document check-lists across prefectures and to reinforce controls on fictitious enrolments. Universities fear longer processing times in July but hope the reforms will ultimately make compliance more predictable.
