Student visa for France, for students from Dominican Republic

VLS-TS étudiant, a long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit, issued for four months to a year. No separate residence permit application in the first year.

Études en France (EEF) is mandatory for students resident in roughly 73-75 designated countries. It combines the academic application, language verification and a compulsory Campus France interview, and feeds into the consular appointment.

• Visa fee: €50 in EEF countries, €99 elsewhere
• The EEF procedure fee is separate and set per country, for India it is INR 20,000 from 1 August 2026
• The money: €877.50 a month. This rose from €615 on 1 August 2026, a 43% increase. Many Campus France country pages still display €615. Anyone relying on the old figure will be refused. The requirement is waived if you passed a concours at a state-contracted institution.

Validation on arrival. You must validate the VLS-TS online within three months of arriving, and the tax is €100, doubled from €50 on 1 May 2026. Validation is what makes your stay lawful and lets you re-enter across the Schengen border. Missing the three-month window is a serious problem.

Renewal, request between four and two months before expiry. Taxes also rose on 1 May 2026: €150 first issuance, €100 renewal.

Consular decisions commonly take two to four weeks after the appointment, but the EEF procedure before it runs for months. Start six to nine months before your intake.