From 1 August 2026, any non-EU or EEA national applying for a French long-stay student visa (VLS-TS) or for the first issuance/renewal of a student residence permit must now demonstrate monthly resources of at least €877.50. The new floor – equivalent to 47 % of France’s gross minimum wage (SMIC) – was set by Decree No 2026-526 of 22 June 2026 and has just entered into force, prompting the government information portal Service-public.fr to update its guidance for foreign students today. Until yesterday, the benchmark had been frozen at €615 since 2018. The government says indexation was necessary to reflect inflation and the successive re-valuations of the SMIC; the threshold will now be reviewed annually. French consulates and the France-Visas platform have begun rejecting files prepared on the old figure, and Campus France offices worldwide have issued last-minute advisories urging July applicants to top up bank deposits or scholarship letters before resubmitting. For prospective degree-seekers, the higher bar means proving roughly €10 530 for a 12-month stay instead of €7 380—an increase of almost 43 %. Students relying on parental sponsorship or blocked accounts must adjust their funding plans, and education consultants warn that loan approvals and foreign-exchange transfers may take several weeks. Universities are also revisiting their own acceptance letters to ensure they specify any housing subsidies or meal-plan waivers that could be taken into account when visas are adjudicated. Business schools and grandes écoles—many of which depend heavily on non-European enrolment—fear the rule could deter talent. “Our Indian and West-African candidates are particularly exposed to currency volatility; an extra €3 000 is significant,” said Stéphane Martin, admissions director at a Paris engineering school. Some institutions are expanding partial tuition waivers or emergency bursaries to help candidates bridge the gap. For employers, the change has knock-on effects on internship hires and VIE assignments: students who cannot meet the new bar may defer arrival, shrinking the pipeline of bilingual junior talent. Companies sending dependents on expatriate packages should also ensure scholarship or allowance letters meet the updated figure. Consular posts confirm that applications lodged before 1 August will continue to be assessed under the former €615 threshold, but any request submitted or reopened after that date must comply with the new amount.
Source: Service-public.fr
