France student visa financial requirement
How much you must show for a France student visa, in what form, and for how long you must have held it. This is the requirement that refuses more applications than any other, and almost always on the form of the evidence rather than the amount.
At a glance
| Visa | VLS-TS "étudiant" — the long-stay visa that doubles as a residence permit (visa long séjour valant titre de séjour) for courses longer than 90 days. It is not a Schengen visa and it is not a separate permit: for your first year the visa itself IS your residence permit, provided you validate it online within three months of arriving. A VLS-TS for study is valid for a maximum of one year; staying longer means applying to your prefecture for a residence permit, between four and two months before it expires. |
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The requirement, as published
€877.50 a month. This changed recently and it is the single most common out-of-date figure on the French route: Campus France India states that "effective 1 August 2026, the minimum proof of financial resources required for a French student visa will be revised to 877,5€/month", replacing the previous €615. Guides and older PDFs still carrying €615 are describing a threshold that no longer applies. The requirement can be met by personal savings, by a guarantor, or by a scholarship, and it is assessed against your situation rather than as a flat bank balance.
The form of the money matters as much as the amount
Applicants concentrate on reaching the figure and are refused on how the money is held. Across every major student visa route the same four questions decide it.
- Whose account is it in? Routes differ on whether a parent's account is acceptable and what proof of relationship is needed.
- How long has it been there? Many routes require the funds to have been held for a continuous period, and a deposit made last week usually fails.
- What kind of account? Some routes exclude accounts you cannot access immediately.
- Can you evidence the source? A large recent credit without an explanation invites a refusal even when the balance is correct.
Education loans as proof of funds
A sanctioned education loan is accepted as evidence of funds by several routes, which is why the loan timeline and the visa timeline are the same timeline. A sanction letter is usually needed, not an in-principle approval.
- Confirm your route accepts a loan sanction letter, and from which kind of lender.
- Allow for the loan taking longer than the lender indicates — collateral valuation is the usual delay.
- Keep the sanction letter, the disbursement schedule and the lender's letterhead details together.
Our lender pages at /education-loan carry each lender's processing indication and how recently we read it. Work backwards from the visa date, not from the course start.
Financial requirement — FAQs
2 questions
The amount is quoted above from the official source, and it depends on your course length and where you will live. The holding period and the form of the account matter as much as the figure.
Several routes allow it with evidence of the relationship and their consent. Check the requirement above and the official source, because the rules differ by country.
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Sources
Checked against these sources on 10 November 2026.