Europe student visa — step by step

There is no single "Europe" student visa. For courses longer than 90 days you apply for the destination country's own national long-stay "D" visa / student residence permit, issued under EU Directive (EU) 2016/801 (conditions of entry and residence for study). Examples of the official route names: Germany — nationales Visum zu Studienzwecken (national D visa, §16b Residence Act); France — VLS-TS "étudiant" (long-stay visa valid as residence permit); Netherlands — MVV entry visa + study residence permit, applied for by your university at the IND; Ireland (EU but not Schengen) — Long Stay "D" Study Visa, registered as Stamp 2.

Set nationally, not EU-wide. As published: Germany national (D) visa EUR 75 (under 18: EUR 37.50) — germany.info/auswaertiges-amt.de. France long-stay student visa EUR 50 as published by Campus France, plus a residence-permit validation payment on arrival that service-public.gouv.fr publishes as EUR 150 for VLS-TS validation. Netherlands study residence permit EUR 254.00 as published on ind.nl (fees change every 1 January). Ireland long-stay study visa EUR 60 single-entry / EUR 100 multi-entry as published by Irish Immigration Service Delivery. Indian applicants to Germany additionally pay the APS India verification fee (amount as published at aps-india.de). Always re-check the destination consulate's current tariff before paying.

No single EU-wide figure exists; each mission publishes its own. Germany: the German Missions in India state that processing "may take several months" and that status enquiries are not answered within the first three months after filing (india.diplo.de). Ireland: Immigration Service Delivery and the Embassy of Ireland in New Delhi publish current decision timelines and advise lodging the application well ahead of travel — check ireland.ie/en/india/newdelhi for the live processing dates. Netherlands: your institution files the application with the IND, which publishes its statutory decision period on ind.nl. France: driven by the Études en France (Campus France) calendar plus the consular appointment. Treat any single "X weeks" number as unreliable — book biometrics as early as the intake calendar allows.

Country-specific, as published: Germany — a blocked account (Sperrkonto) of EUR 11,904 for one year, with a maximum withdrawal of EUR 992 per month (German Federal Foreign Office mission pages, diplo.de); proof must cover the first year of the planned stay, unless other accepted proof (scholarship, formal declaration of commitment) is presented. France — service-public.gouv.fr publishes monthly means of EUR 877.50 for student long-stay applicants (assessed according to your situation). Netherlands — IND's published 2026 required amount is EUR 1,130.77 per month for university/HBO students (EUR 928.58 for MBO). Ireland — from 30 June 2025, Immigration Service Delivery requires access to EUR 10,000 for a one-year course (EUR 833 per month for stays of 6–8 months), in addition to tuition fees, and EUR 10,000 for each subsequent year. Figures are revised, usually annually — verify on the official site before opening any account.

Set by national law, not by the EU directive. Germany: Section 16b(3) of the Residence Act entitles students to "employment of up to a total of 140 working days per year (working day account)"; days under four hours count as half days (commonly cited as 140 full / 280 half days), and student assistant jobs are not counted. France: Campus France states VLS-TS "étudiant" holders may "work 964 hours per year, i.e. 20 hours per week". Netherlands: the Netherlands Labour Authority states a non-EU student's employer needs a work permit (TWV) and the student must choose either "working full-time in the months of June, July and August" or "working a maximum of 16 hours per week". Ireland: Stamp 2 holders on eligible programmes may take casual employment up to 20 hours per week during term and up to 40 hours per week in the standardised holiday periods (June–September and 15 December–15 January); Stamp 2A holders may not work.

Biometrics are effectively universal; a formal interview is not. Every long-stay D application requires you to attend in person at the consulate or its outsourced centre (VFS Global for Germany and Ireland in India, TLScontact for France) to give fingerprints and a facial image and to submit originals. Germany runs the application through its online Consular Services portal first, then a biometric appointment; consular officers commonly ask questions about your course choice, funding and post-study plans at submission. France's decisive step is the Campus France "Études en France" pre-consular interview/evaluation, which happens before the visa appointment. Netherlands normally has no consular interview at all — the university files with the IND and you collect the MVV after approval. Ireland's process is document-based online via AVATS with biometrics at VFS, though the visa office may call for interview. Note also that the EU Entry/Exit System (fully operational 10 April 2026) registers facial image and fingerprints at Schengen external borders; Ireland is outside Schengen.