We answer to your questions

A. The Campus France procedure

You must go through the Campus France procedure before applying for a long-stay visa for studies. You can only start this procedure once you have pre-registered.

• Registration on Campus France
• Fill the questionnaire about your school and/or university career and your plans to study in France
• Submit your educational file, with the application fee
• Examination of the application, authentication of documents
• Motivation interview
• Consultation of the application and interview reports by the institutions chosen by the student, who publish the pre-registration decision online.
• If pre-registration is approved, it's time for visa application.

B. Submission of the visa application (VLS - TS) with the following supporting documents:

Once the Campus France procedure has been completed, you must apply for a long-stay student visa as follows:

• Completed Campus France procedure (the e-mail received via your Campus France personal space)
• French level certificate (holders of the French baccalauréat are exempt)
• Study level certificate/diploma
• Proof of enrolment in an academic establishment
• Proof of employment if you have interrupted your studies
• Proof of sufficient resources: at least equivalent to the basic monthly maintenance allowance (615 euros per month in 2016, i.e. approximately 6200 euros for the academic year)
• Proof of accommodation in France: the "attestation d'accueil", intended for short stays, is not accepted for the purpose of issuing a long-stay visa; however, an attestation on plain paper by which a person undertakes to provide accommodation for you is accepted, provided that this attestation is accompanied by a photocopy of the French identity card or residence permit of the person providing accommodation for you, as well as proof of address (property tax, council tax, rent receipt, water or electricity bill, for example).
•  Consulate decision: visa issued or refused

In most cases, the consulate will make its decision within 2 weeks of the visa application being submitted. However, it may take longer depending on the specific nature of certain applications.

C. Welcome in France!

You must notify the FIGS team of your arrival in France by email: admissions@figs-education.com or by telephone: 04 72 85 72 66.

D.. Après l’entrée en France : demande de carte de séjour

Within the 3 months following your arrival in France, you must contact Ofii.
You have to send the following document to you local Ofii office:

• Ofii certificate application form filled by yourself,  (this form was given to you by the embassy or consulate in your country),
• A copy of the pages of your passport containing details of your identity and your entry into France or another country in the Schengen area (police stamp).

On receipt of these documents, the Ofii registers your application and sends you (by letter) a certificate of application to the address you gave on the form.

(Source : Service-public.fr)

There is no visa requirement for students from the European Economic Area (EU countries and Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) or Switzerland.

However, in this case, you must be covered by sickness and maternity insurance and have the necessary resources to support yourself and your family (if they are accompanying you).

If this is not the case, you must obtain a student visa (even for a stay of less than 3 months).

All students can open a bank account in France, whatever your nationality. This is a French right recognised by law.

So you can open a bank account at any time and with any bank.

To open a bank account, you will need :

• An ID
• Adress certifiate
• School attendance certificate

Whatever your nationality or level of study, it is possible to work in France in addition to your studies.

You are allowed to work 964 hours a year (this can only be a supplementary wage). In France, whether or not you are a foreign national, the legal minimum wage applies (SMIC), which is €11.65 per hour.

Please note that if you are non-European, you will need a "student" residence permit to be able to work.

Work placements:

In some courses, it is compulsory to do an internship to validate your diploma. However, there are two rules governing work placements:

• The placement must be covered by an agreement (a document signed between the establishment and the company where you are doing your placement).
• If the placement is longer than two months, the student must receive an allowance. The hourly gratification is €4.35.

You can respond to "student job" advertisements on various platforms such as https://www.indeed.fr/.

You can also work within your university by tutoring, welcoming students, organising cultural and sporting events, supporting disabled students, etc.

To give yourself the best chance of success, we advise you to start your search at least 2 months before your departure, even before you have your visa. However, be careful not to make a definitive commitment before you have obtained your visa, otherwise you may lose the money you have paid. Don't forget that your search must be really active: in other words, you need to contact several owners/residences a day, follow up daily, be responsive and, above all, not get discouraged?

Webstites to know:

• https://www.campusfrance.org/fr/logement-etudiant-en-France
• www.leboncoin.fr
• https://www.location-etudiant.fr/
• www.seloger.com
• www.lacartedescolocs.fr/

We've put together a complete guide to good addresses (student residences, homestay accommodation, serious advertising sites) for all our 10 campuses. To receive it, just send an e-mail to info@figs-education.com stating your full name and the name of the school to which you have been admitted.

We are also constantly on the lookout for accommodation partners who offer a range of services tailored to international students. Here are our main partners:

1. My Studapart

My Studapart is a platform made available to students admitted to our schools by the HEP EDUCATION collective.This platform, dedicated to your search for accommodation, brings together a large number of properties available for rent, subletting or sharing.

My Studapart is simple and available in three languages: French, English & Chinese!

Whether in France or for your departures abroad, with My Studapart you can :

• Find/propose a rental
• Find your flatmates and set up your roommates
• Find/propose a sublet
• Find/propose a temporary room

The offers available come from :

• Student residence managers
• Estate agencies
• Private individuals, including students from our schools

TO DISCOVER STUDAPART : http://figs.my-studapart.com

Please request your "School Key" by e-mail to info@figs-education.com

Thanks to My Studapart, take advantage of negotiated rates on housing in student residences and technical assistance available 6/7 days.

    2. Club Etudiant residencies

Club Etudiant is a network of student residences located throughout France in close proximity to our campuses. Our partner offers preferential rates and a simplified rental solution with My French Guarantor. My French Guarantor is an insurance service allowing our international students who do not have guarantors in France to rent an apartment simply.

Student Club residences include:

• A bathroom: sink, toilet, shower
• A main room equipped: bed, table, chairs available
• A kitchen: sink, two hotplates, refrigerator

WIFI Fiber Optic (see price in residence).

Possibility of receiving Personalized Housing Assistance (A.P.L).

Approaches and simulations on www.caf.fr

Rental possible in short or long stays.

Housing represents 55% of the student budget on average. It is therefore essential to choose housing whose rent is adapted to your financial capacity. It is imperative to avoid any problems with your landlord to pay your rent monthly and without delay.

You can subscribe to the Visale Rental Guarantee. Visale is a free device. It is accessible to students aged 18 to 30 years old who are part of the European Union or holders of a Long Stay Visa valid as a Residence Permit, mention «student» (VLS-TS)

The subscription to Visale must be made before the signing or renewal of your lease.

It applies to private housing and student residences

All information on the Visale procedure HERE 

You can also subscribe to the CLE (Student Rental Deposit) offered by the CROUS. All details HERE 

Applications for aid must be submitted in accordance with the procedures of the referring organization. We invite you to contact them directly for more information.

• APL (Personalized Housing Allowance)
• CROUS Social Grants 

The easiest way is to book a room in one of the hundreds of hostels available on the territory. A hostel is a tourist accommodation mainly reserved for students from all over the world and offers shared or private services. Several options are possible: dormitories girls, boys, mixed, dormitories of 12 people, private rooms of 2 or 4 people. Hostels also offer Wi-Fi, shared kitchen and other services. The average price per night is 20 euros.

Enfin n’hésitez pas à nous envoyer un mail à info@figs-education.com afin de recevoir notre guide.

Social Security membership is free and compulsory for all students in France, even international students. Login onr etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr once you are registered at your higher education institution in France to create your file.

In France, all students, regardless of their nationality, have the right to join a social security.

To increase the amount of reimbursements, any student can subscribe to a mutual or complementary health.

The implementation of the Student Life and Campus Contribution was decided in March 2018 under the law "Orientation and Student Success". It should make it possible to better welcome students and offer them social, health, cultural and sports support during their studies. 
The CVEC will be used to finance actions whose first beneficiaries will be students.  These actions will take different forms: access to care, social support, sport, access to arts and culture, improvement of reception conditions.

Not to be confused with Social Security :)