How to lower your university fees in France

Two students sit in the same lecture hall, on the same degree. One pays 178 euros a year. The other pays 2,902. The only difference is their nationality, and a request the second student can file to close the gap. Many international students never learn this request exists, because universities used to grant it quietly. That changed in May 2026.

What you actually owe

Public universities charge two rates. The national rate applies to French and European students. Differentiated fees (droits différenciés) apply to students from outside the European Union.

Here are the amounts for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Degree	National rate	Differentiated fees
Bachelor's (licence)	178 €	2 902 €
Master's	255 €	3 950 €
Doctorate	397 €	Not concerned

On top of that comes the CVEC, the student life and campus contribution. It costs 105 euros and is paid before you enrol. It is a separate charge: the exemption from differentiated fees does not cover it.

Are you already exempt without knowing it?

Some students are not liable for differentiated fees at all. They pay the national rate, with no request to file. Check first whether any of these lines describes you.

• You are a national of a European Union country, of the European Economic Area or of Switzerland.
• You hold a residence card as the family member of a citizen of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland.
• You hold a carte de résident (the ten-year long-term residence card).
• You have been tax-resident in France, or attached to a French tax household, for at least two years.
• You are a refugee or a beneficiary of subsidiary protection.
• You are a national of a country bound to France by an agreement that provides for it, such as Monaco or Andorra. A separate France-Quebec agreement (entente France-Québec) grants the same right to Canadian nationals domiciled in Quebec.
• You are enrolling in a doctorate: differentiated fees apply to bachelor's and master's degrees (including BUT, DEUST and engineering degrees), never to the doctorate.

If a single line matches your situation, you already pay the national rate. Nothing to request.

What changed in May 2026

Until now, many universities exempted almost all of their international students. The request existed, but it was a formality.

The decree of 19 May 2026 ended that practice. Every university now has a quota. It may exempt only 30% of its non-EU students in 2026-2027. That ceiling drops to 25% in 2027-2028, then to 20% from 2028-2029.

The consequence fits in one sentence: your request has become an application. It is reviewed, compared, and it can be refused.

Policies vary a great deal between institutions. Some universities still exempt everyone who asks. Others convene a committee that selects. Assume nothing: find your own university's page.

What if you work?

Working does change things, but not in the way people expect. A student job, even a declared one, exempts you from nothing. Two situations really count.

Work-study contracts. With an apprenticeship (contrat d'apprentissage) or a professional training contract (contrat de professionnalisation), you pay no registration fees at all. Your employer, together with its skills funding body, pays for the training. For an employee on a professional training contract, the labour code even forbids the institution from asking for any financial contribution. The differentiated fees disappear along with the rest.

Tax residence. If you have been tax-resident in France for at least two years, you pay the national rate. A student who has worked and declared income in France for two years meets this condition, even with no family in France. It will not help in your first year, but it can change everything when you move up to a master's.

How to file your request

There is no national form and no national deadline. Each university sets its own procedure and calendar.

1. 1

   Find your university's page

   Search for "exonération droits différenciés" followed by the name of your institution. The page gives the form, the calendar and where to file. If you find nothing, write to the registrar's office (service de la scolarité).

2. 2

   File as soon as you are admitted

   The request is usually made when you complete your administrative enrolment, often on the university portal. Answers arrive between July and September. The quota fills up: a late request competes for what is left.

3. 3

   Argue from your personal situation

   The decree looks at your personal situation, and first of all at your financial resources. Give figures, not adjectives. State what you earn, what your family sends you, and what your year will cost.

4. 4

   Attach every piece of evidence

   An incomplete file fares badly before a committee that has to choose. Translate foreign documents. Number your attachments.

5. 5

   Keep a record

   Save the acknowledgement of receipt and the date you filed. You will need both if you have to chase the registrar.

Complete your administrative enrolment

Xenaflow guides you: documents to provide, payment of fees and the calendar to respect.

View procedure

Seven ways to improve your chances

The committee compares files against each other. Yours should be easy to process and hard to set aside.

File on the day the portal opens. The quota is a resource that runs out. Between two equal files, the one that arrives in July beats the one that arrives in September.

Read the criteria your university voted on. Every year the governing board adopts a resolution setting the exemption criteria. It is often published online. Answer that document point by point, rather than answering what you imagine it says.

Put numbers on your year. Present a simple budget: your annual resources on one side, rent, food, transport and fees on the other. A table showing a shortfall beats a paragraph saying "I cannot afford it".

Explain what changed. A job lost in your family, a currency devaluation, an illness, a death. A committee understands a trajectory better than a snapshot.

Add your results if merit counts. When the criteria mention academic record, attach your transcripts, your class ranking, a letter from a teacher.

A complete file beats a long letter. Every missing document is an easy reason to set you aside. Translate, number, and send only what is asked for.

Apply for a scholarship in parallel. A French government scholarship, obtained through the embassy or Campus France, exempts you from all registration fees without going through the 30% quota. If you have been attached to a tax household (foyer fiscal) in France for at least two years, look into the needs-based CROUS scholarship too.

The bottom line

The fee is set nationally, but the exemption is decided at your university. Your job is simple to state: find its dedicated page before the summer, file early, and answer with figures rather than words.

If the bill stays heavy, ask the registrar about paying in instalments: many universities allow it. And remember these fees are only part of your budget. Look into CAF housing aid as well, and check that your visa matches your study plans.