Study in France from Egypt
You apply to France from Egypt through Campus France's Études en France platform, months before any visa appointment. Public tuition is €178–2,902 per year, living costs are €600–800 per month, and you must show €877.50 per month in resources. Most degrees are taught in French, so your French level decides whether the plan works.
Is France a good choice from Egypt?
France is the low-fee option in Western Europe if you can study in French. Public universities bill €178–2,902 per year for a licence and €255–3,950 per year for a master, across 3,500 recognised institutions, against living costs of €600–800 per month. Egypt already sends one of the larger African cohorts: 3,256 students of 443,500 internationals in 2024/25.
The Thanaweya Amma is treated as Baccalauréat-equivalent for first-year licence entry, so no bridging year is imposed. The catch is French rather than money: the TCF tout public with the written-expression module is compulsory for the DAP file, and a May 2026 decree has narrowed the exemptions that used to bring non-EU tuition down to the EU rate. Start with the France country guide.
Entry with the Thanaweya Amma
Egypt has a Campus France CEF space, so your certificate goes into the DAP dossier on Études en France, not to the university directly. Sorbonne University grants L1 access this way, with minimum admission percentages recalculated every year. Université Grenoble Alpes reads the grade you obtained to decide which track you may enter. Université Paris Cité and the University of Lille publish no fixed minimum score.
ENIC-NARIC France issues an attestation de comparabilité, not a binding equivalence: each university decides. If your French is below B2, budget a DUEF language year — 9 months at €2,800–3,860 per year — because a B2 diploma also exempts you from the compulsory TCF. The calendar is fixed: the DAP file for September 2027 entry runs from 1 October to 15 December 2026. See France universities and entry routes.
The student visa from Egypt
You first need a CEF number from Campus France Egypt at the Institut français d’Égypte in Cairo, before biometrics can be booked. Documents and fingerprints then go to TLScontact, which has centres in Cairo, East Cairo, Alexandria and Hurghada. The fee quoted in Egypt is €99, inside the national band of €50–99, plus a service-centre fee of €28–31. Decisions take 2 to 7 weeks.
Show €877.50 per month in resources: bank statements, a guarantor’s attestation de prise en charge, a blocked-transfer certificate or a scholarship award. No TB test and no medical exam is required. Egypt is not a Hague Apostille party, so each academic document is certified by the issuer, authenticated at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs ratification office, then legalised by the French mission. See France student visa requirements.
Money: what a first year costs
Count a public first year as tuition of €178–2,902 per year for a licence or €255–3,950 per year for a master, the CVEC at €105 per year, living costs of €600–800 per month, the visa at €99, and the OFII stay tax of €100 paid when you validate after arrival.
Health cover is free. Private schools are a separate budget at €14,900–23,900 per year and €24,000–30,450 per year for a master. Egyptian nationals are eligible for both schemes France runs nationally, Eiffel and Erasmus Mundus. See what France costs and scholarships for Egyptian students.
From Egypt to France: key facts
| Where to apply | Campus France Egypt / Institut français d'Égypte, Cairo |
|---|---|
| Who takes the application | TLScontact |
| Apply without leaving Egypt | Yes |
| Visa or permit fee | €99 |
| Processing time (national guide) | 2–7 weeks |
| Refusal rate | ≈15.7% (2024) — short-stay visas, not a student figure |
| School certificate | Thanaweya Amma |
| Certifying documents | Consular legalisation — no apostille |
| TB test | Not required |
| Scholarships open to Egyptian nationals | Eiffel, Erasmus Mundus |
| Egyptian students in France | 3,256 (2024/25) |
Last verified 2026-09-09 against official sources (france-visas.gouv.fr).
What works in your favour
- Public tuition is €178–2,902 per year for a licence and €255–3,950 per year for a master.
- The Thanaweya Amma gives direct entry to the first year of a licence through the DAP, with no bridging year imposed.
- Health cover is free: PUMA registration is automatic at enrolment, and no insurance certificate is asked for at the visa stage.
- You may work without a separate permit, inside an annual cap, at a minimum wage of €12.31 per hour.
- The whole file is handled in Egypt: a Campus France office in Cairo, then four TLScontact centres.
The honest downsides
- French is the real gate: the TCF tout public with written expression is compulsory for the DAP, and a DUEF year costs €2,800–3,860 per year first.
- A May 2026 decree restricts exoneration to hardship cases, so the non-EU top of the €178–2,902 per year band is likelier for 2027/28.
- The post-study permit runs 12 months at €150 and needs a master’s-level diploma; a standard licence does not qualify.
- Egypt is outside the Hague Apostille system, so every certificate passes through issuer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and French mission.
- The OFII tax doubled to €100 in May 2026 and the resources reference rose to €877.50 per month in August.
Our core guidance is free, paid for by commission from the universities we place students with. For Egypt that means shortlisting programmes you can enter, holding your Études en France file to the DAP calendar, and settling French early enough to sit the TCF. We vet the legalisation chain, transcripts and the resources file against the €877.50 per month reference before submission. Premium Placement is optional and paid. If anyone promises a guaranteed visa, read [how to spot a fake agent](/spot-a-fake-agent/).
How to apply to a French university from Egypt
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Settle the French question first
Most degrees are taught in French at B2. Book the TCF tout public with the written-expression module, or plan a nine-month DUEF year at 2,800 to €3,860 if your level is lower.
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Open your Etudes en France file
Register with Campus France Egypt at the Institut francais d'Egypte in Cairo, build the DAP dossier and get a CEF number. The procedure opens 1 October 2026 and closes 15 December 2026.
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Legalise your certificates
Egypt is not a Hague Apostille party. Have the issuer certify each document, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs office authenticate it, then the French mission legalise it.
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Attend the Campus France interview and accept an offer
Defend your projet d'etudes at the interview, then accept one admission on the platform. A weak or incoherent study plan is a listed refusal reason at the visa stage.
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Prepare the resources file
Show €877.50 a month through bank statements, a guarantor's attestation de prise en charge, an irrevocable-transfer certificate or a scholarship award. Keep figures consistent.
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Book biometrics at TLScontact
Submit passport, dossier and fingerprints at TLScontact in Cairo, East Cairo, Alexandria or Hurghada. Pay the visa fee plus the service-centre charge, and allow 2 to 7 weeks for a decision.
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Validate the VLS-TS after arrival
Once in France, validate your long-stay visa online and pay the €100 OFII stay tax. Register with the PUMA health scheme at enrolment; it is free and needs no insurance policy.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Egypt has a Campus France CEF space, so the Thanaweya Amma goes into the DAP dossier on Études en France and is treated as Baccalauréat-equivalent for first-year licence entry. Sorbonne University, Université Paris Cité, the University of Lille and Université Grenoble Alpes all admit on this route, each judging the grade you obtained.
At a public university, tuition of €178–2,902 per year plus the CVEC at €105 per year, living costs of €600–800 per month, the visa at €99 and the OFII stay tax of €100. Health cover is free. Private schools start at €14,900–23,900 per year.
You start at Campus France Egypt in Cairo, get a CEF number on Études en France, then give biometrics and documents at TLScontact in Cairo, East Cairo, Alexandria or Hurghada. The fee quoted locally is €99, plus €28–31 at the centre. Decisions take 2 to 7 weeks.
The reference figure is €877.50 per month. France does not use a blocked account: you prove resources with bank statements, a guarantor's signed attestation de prise en charge, an irrevocable-transfer certificate or a scholarship award. Insufficient or unclear proof of resources is the first listed refusal reason, so keep the paperwork consistent.
The visa rules set no language condition; universities decide. For a French-taught licence the TCF tout public with written expression is compulsory for the DAP file, with B2 the working level. Schooling in Egypt is Arabic-medium, so English-taught programmes normally want a test; the floor recorded for France is IELTS 6.5.
France runs two schemes nationally and Egyptian nationals are eligible for both: Eiffel, awarded through the institution rather than by direct application, and Erasmus Mundus joint master's programmes. Holders of a French-government scholarship are automatically deemed to meet the resources requirement. Most other money is a per-programme fee reduction decided by the school.
Yes, within 964 hours a year, an annual cap you can spread across term and holidays. No separate permit is needed; the right is built into the validated VLS-TS, at a minimum wage of €12.31 per hour. Your employer notifies the prefecture before you start.
Three things already in force. The OFII stay tax doubled to €100 in May 2026. The resources reference rose to €877.50 per month in August 2026. And a May 2026 decree limits tuition exoneration to individual financial-hardship cases, ending blanket institutional exemptions from the non-EU rate.