France has quietly become a serious destination for Indian students in the last five years, and it surprises families who still picture France only through HEC Paris or INSEAD. The Grandes Ecoles tradition, the elite parallel system of business schools, engineering schools and political-science schools that sits outside the regular French university network, has opened English-taught master's programmes to international applicants.
Three things pull Indian students in. A post-study work permit gives two years of unrestricted residence to new graduates. Public-university tuition is moderate for the brand on offer. And an EU degree opens employer options across Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Spain, not just France.
This guide covers the whole France move for a 2026 applicant: what it actually costs, how the Campus France pathway works, which documents need MEA apostille and certified French translation, the OFII and CVEC steps after you land, and the timeline that ties it together. The document work is the part most families underestimate, and the part SiZA handles, so we are specific about it.
How much does it cost to study in France as an Indian student?
The money question splits cleanly between public universities and the Grandes Ecoles.
Public universities
France's Bienvenue en France policy, in force since 2019, set non-EU tuition at fixed annual rates:
- Master's: EUR 3,770 per year (some institutions waive part of this)
- Undergraduate (Licence): EUR 2,770 per year
- PhD: EUR 380 per year
These are the affordable end of studying in France, and the reason public universities have grown materially as an Indian destination since 2022.
The Grandes Ecoles
Tuition here is far higher and varies sharply by school:
- HEC Paris MBA: approximately EUR 80,000 total
- INSEAD MBA: approximately EUR 105,000
- ESSEC and EDHEC master's programmes: EUR 25,000 to EUR 45,000 per year
- Engineering Grandes Ecoles (Ecole Polytechnique, CentraleSupelec, Mines ParisTech, Ponts ParisTech, ISAE-SUPAERO), in the public-private mixed system: EUR 6,000 to EUR 16,000 per year
Living costs and visa proof
The long-stay visa needs financial proof of roughly EUR 7,380 per year for living expenses, about EUR 615 per month. You show it through a bank balance, a sponsor letter or an education loan.
Why do Indian students have to apply through Campus France first?
Campus France is the French government's official platform for international student applications. Indian students fall on the "Etudes en France" mandatory list, which means you must apply through Campus France for almost every public-university programme and for many Grande Ecole programmes.
It is the longest single step on a France file, so it helps to understand it before any apostille work begins.
The Campus France process, step by step
- Create an Etudes en France account on the India-specific portal, inde.campusfrance.org.
- Upload your academic credentials, identity proof, personal statement, financial documents and a motivation letter.
- Select up to seven preferred programmes across French institutions.
- The Campus France office in Delhi or Mumbai reviews the file and schedules a pre-consular interview.
- Attend the interview, conducted in English or French, typically 20 to 30 minutes. Questions cover your academic background, why you chose your programme, your France-specific reasons and your post-study plans.
- Campus France issues a recommendation report that goes to the institutions you applied to. They make admission decisions, and offers come back through Campus France.
- Accept an offer through the portal, pay any application fees, then move to the French consulate for the long-stay student visa, the Visa de Long Sejour valant Titre de Sejour (VLS-TS).
Total Campus France time runs eight to sixteen weeks from account creation to admission offer. Plan accordingly.
What apostille and certified French translation does a France student file need?
France has been a Hague Apostille destination for Indian documents since 1965, so a single MEA apostille, not embassy attestation, is what makes your Indian academic and personal documents valid there. France is a Hague country, so there is no French embassy attestation and no MOFA step in this file at all. The whole point of the apostille in India is that one government sticker replaces that older, slower form of attestation.
Here is how the apostille attestation work breaks down for a typical France student file.
| Step |
What it covers |
Working days |
| State HRD attestation |
On the degree where the issuing state requires it (Maharashtra Mantralaya Mumbai, Karnataka SHED Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu DTE Guindy, Telangana SHED Tarnaka, AP SHED Mangalagiri, Punjab SHED Mohali, UP SED Lucknow, MP SHED Bhopal, West Bengal SHED Bidhan Bhavan Kolkata, Bihar SED Patna) |
7 to 45 |
| MEA apostille |
At the authorised MEA service-provider route counter on the degree, all marksheets, transcript and birth certificate |
3 to 5 |
| Certified French translation |
By a sworn translator (traducteur assermente or traducteur jure) listed for the French Embassy in Delhi or registered with a French Cour d'appel |
5 to 10 |
| Long-form birth certificate re-issue |
Where the existing certificate is pre-2000 or in regional language only, done at the issuing Municipal Corporation |
7 to 21 |
A quick note on the first row. For an engineering or science degree, the educational certificate attestation goes through your issuing state's HRD attestation directorate before the apostille. State HRD timelines vary widely, roughly 7 to 45 working days depending on the state and the university, so this is the step to start first. Personal documents like a birth certificate skip HRD and go straight to the MEA apostille step at the authorised MEA service-provider route in Delhi.
To get an apostille in India on your degree, the work starts with that state HRD attestation, then the marksheets, transcript and birth certificate are bundled for MEA apostille in one go. Once the documents carry the apostille, SiZA's Multi Lingual Translators division handles the certified French translation accepted by Campus France, French consulates and French universities. If you want only the language step, our dedicated French sworn translation page covers what a traducteur assermente delivers.
Once these are done, you upload the apostilled and translated set to the Campus France portal. The French institutions and the consulate read from this set.
A word on credential recognition
France does not run a single ENIC-NARIC equivalence the way Italy uses CIMEA and its Declaration of Value, but French universities still want a clean, apostilled and translated Indian academic record before they confirm admission. Treat the apostille attestation and certified French translation as part of getting admitted, not as paperwork you can leave for later.
What are OFII and CVEC once you reach France?
After the visa is issued and you arrive, two administrative steps complete your residence.
- OFII validation (Office francais de l'immigration et de l'integration): within three months of arrival, validate your long-stay visa with OFII. The process is online at the OFII portal. The fee is currently EUR 50, paid via timbre fiscal (an electronic fiscal stamp).
- CVEC (Contribution de Vie Etudiante et de Campus): before you enrol at your institution, pay the CVEC contribution, currently EUR 100 and valid for the academic year. Pay it online at the CVEC website. You will need the receipt at the university enrolment desk.
How early should an Indian student start for a September 2026 intake?
Run the document work in parallel with the admission decision so nothing waits on anything else. State HRD attestation is the slow step, so begin it the moment your degree and marksheets are in hand.
| Stage |
When |
| Campus France account creation and document upload |
October 2025 to February 2026 |
| Campus France interview at Delhi or Mumbai |
February 2026 to April 2026 |
| French institution admission decision |
March 2026 to May 2026 |
| State HRD attestation, MEA apostille at the authorised MEA service-provider route, certified French translation |
April 2026 to June 2026 (parallel with admission) |
| Long-stay student visa application at the French consulate (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pondicherry) |
June 2026 to August 2026 |
| Visa decision |
two to six weeks |
That puts your flight to France in late August or early September 2026.
Which French universities and Grandes Ecoles admit Indian students?
Business and engineering Grandes Ecoles
- HEC Paris: the flagship Grande Ecole de Management; MBA and MIM programmes draw significant Indian intake.
- INSEAD: Fontainebleau France, with Singapore and Abu Dhabi campuses; the one-year MBA is heavily Indian-represented.
- ESSEC Business School: Cergy outside Paris; strong Indian master's intake in finance and management.
- ESCP Business School: Paris and other European campuses.
- EDHEC Business School: Nice, Lille and Paris; finance and economics.
- EM Lyon Business School.
- Ecole Polytechnique: the elite engineering Grande Ecole in Palaiseau.
- CentraleSupelec, Ecole des Ponts ParisTech, ISAE-SUPAERO, Mines ParisTech: the engineering cluster that hires Indian BTech and MTech graduates.
- Sciences Po Paris: political science, international affairs and public policy.
Traditional public universities
Sorbonne Universite, Universite Paris-Saclay, Universite Paris Cite, Universite de Strasbourg, Universite Grenoble Alpes, Aix-Marseille Universite, Universite de Bordeaux, Universite Toulouse and Universite de Lyon.
Design and fashion institutions
Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Parsons Paris, Marangoni Paris, Mod'Spe Paris and ESMOD. Design and fashion files lean heavily on portfolios, but the degree, marksheets and birth certificate still need the same MEA apostille and certified French translation as any other Indian student file.
How does SiZA handle the apostille and French translation from Noida?
A France student file usually reaches SiZA once the Campus France process is in progress, or once the French institution offer is in hand. Send your Indian degree, marksheets, transcript, birth certificate, passport and your Campus France or institution communications on WhatsApp to +91 9220161774. We confirm the state HRD path, advise on the certified French translation requirements for your specific institution, run the apostille and translation work, and prepare a packet ready for Campus France upload and the visa application.
When the originals reach our Noida office at C-25, C Block, Sector 8, the work runs in this order:
- State HRD attestation where the issuing state requires it
- MEA apostille on the bundled academic and civil documents at the authorised MEA service-provider route
- Certified French translation by sworn or court-listed translators (traducteur assermente)
- Tracked return courier
You receive the apostilled and translated set ready for Campus France upload or the French consulate visa application.
What SiZA does not handle: the Campus France account creation (you do this directly), the Campus France interview at Delhi or Mumbai, the French institution admission decision, the OFII validation, the CVEC payment, or the visa interview at the French consulate.
Two more pages on this site worth reading: the France country documentation guide and our MEA apostille services in India. If your French university also wants documents translated into other languages, our certified translation hub covers French, German, Italian, Arabic and Spanish. For a free scan-review of your France student file, WhatsApp +91 9220161774 with a photo of your offer letter.
