Study in France from Kenya: Entry, Visa and Costs
France charges €178–2,902 per year for a public bachelor's and €50 for the student visa, but Kenya is a Campus France country: the Études en France file and its academic interview come before any visa appointment. Living runs €600–800 per month. Most licence teaching is in French.
Is France a good choice from Kenya?
The Kenyan cohort is very small: 246 students among 443,500 international students in 2024/25, out of 23,211 Kenyans abroad. Cost is the argument. A public licence is €178–2,902 per year and a public master €255–3,950 per year, plus the CVEC of €105 per year — well under €14,900–23,900 per year at a private school. Living costs €600–800 per month and PUMA health cover is free once you enrol.
The KCSE gives direct access to the first year of a licence through the DAP, with no bridging year imposed and no foundation programme to buy first. The catch has two parts: teaching is in French with a compulsory TCF for the DAP, and several universities set a KCSE floor of mean grade C+ before they will read your file. More in studying in France.
Entry with the KCSE
Universities apply a grade floor here that they do not publish for West African certificates. Sorbonne University takes the KCSE at an overall C+ or better, that is at least 55 of 80 points, for direct application to Licence 1 through the DAP, and routes lower grades to a diploma pathway. Université Grenoble Alpes applies the same C+ rule under the 2026 ministry country modalities. Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 asks C+, raised to B+ for medicine, maths and science, with French at B2 and C1 for medicine.
Université Paris-Saclay accepts C+ or better for direct L1 entry after case-by-case assessment, with no foundation year. The University of Lille and Aix-Marseille Université take KCSE holders through the Études en France platform with transcripts and a French-level certificate. Below C+, the realistic route is a DUEF language year of 9 months at €2,800–3,860 per year plus a stronger academic file. Compare campuses in universities in France.
The student visa from Kenya
Campus France Kenya comes first, and the academic interview is part of it: the visa appointment can only be booked once that step is passed. Documents and biometrics then go to TLScontact in Westlands, Nairobi, which submits the file to the French Embassy. The visa is the VLS-TS étudiant (long-stay visa valid as residence permit, student category) at the reduced CEF rate of €50, set in euros and paid in local currency at the rate on the day.
France-Visas quotes a minimum of 15 days from submission, against national guidance of 2–7 weeks. Biometrics are taken; no TB test or medical is required. Kenya is not a Hague Apostille party, so documents run a four-step chain: notary, the Attorney General’s office, the State Department for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs in Nairobi, then the French Embassy. See France student visa requirements.
Money: what a first year costs
A public licence is €178–2,902 per year, a public master €255–3,950 per year, and the CVEC adds €105 per year. Living costs €600–800 per month; PUMA health cover is free, with an optional mutuelle top-up priced by the insurer.
The visa is €50 plus a service-centre fee of €28–31, and the OFII stay tax of €100 falls due after arrival. On scholarships, be precise: Erasmus Mundus is open to Kenyan nationals, while Eiffel eligibility is restricted. Full figures sit in cost of studying in France and scholarships for Kenyan students.
From Kenya to France: key facts
| Where to apply | TLScontact Nairobi |
|---|---|
| Who takes the application | TLScontact |
| Apply without leaving Kenya | Yes |
| Visa or permit fee | €50 |
| Processing time (national guide) | 2–7 weeks |
| Refusal rate | Not published |
| School certificate | KCSE |
| Certifying documents | Consular legalisation — no apostille |
| TB test | Not required |
| Scholarships open to Kenyan nationals | Eiffel (some fields or levels only), Erasmus Mundus |
| Kenyan students in France | 246 (2024/25) |
Last verified 2026-09-09 against official sources (nairobi.diplo.de · france-visas.gouv.fr).
What works in your favour
- Public tuition stays low: €178–2,902 per year at bachelor’s and €255–3,950 per year at master’s, plus a €105 per year CVEC.
- The KCSE is read against a published rule, not guesswork: the C+ mean grade that opens a Kenyan degree is the same threshold Sorbonne University, Grenoble Alpes and Paris-Saclay apply.
- Kenya sits on the CEF list, so the visa is €50 rather than the full rate, and TLScontact Nairobi quotes a minimum of 15 days.
- Health cover is free through PUMA, with no minimum-cover insurance policy to buy before you travel.
- Work rights come with the permit: no separate work permit, up to 964 hours a year across term and holidays, at €12.31 per hour.
The honest downsides
- Eiffel, the flagship French government scholarship, is restricted for Kenyan nationals, which leaves Erasmus Mundus as the main national route.
- Below a C+ mean grade, several universities route you to a diploma pathway instead of Licence 1, adding a year before the degree starts.
- French is the working language of most licences, and the compulsory TCF usually means a paid language year at €2,800–3,860 per year first.
- Legalisation is a four-step chain through a notary, the Attorney General and the foreign affairs department, with no published fee schedule and roughly five working days at the ministry stage alone.
- Refusal rates are not published, while money is judged against €877.50 per month, raised from €615 on 1 August 2026.
Our core guidance is free, funded by the commission universities pay when you enrol. We check your KCSE mean grade against each university's published floor before you spend anything, prepare you for the Campus France interview, and time the TCF so the result reaches your file before the DAP closes. We vet transcripts, the Nairobi legalisation chain and proof of funds before submission. Premium Placement is optional and paid. We never sell guaranteed admission — see [how to spot a fake agent](/spot-a-fake-agent/).
How to apply to study in France from Kenya
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Check your KCSE mean grade
Confirm your mean grade against each university's floor. Sorbonne University, Grenoble Alpes and Paris-Saclay ask C+ or better; Lyon 1 asks B+ for medicine, maths and science.
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Open an Etudes en France file
Create your file with Campus France Kenya when the platform opens on 1 October 2026, and prepare for the academic interview that gates the visa appointment.
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Book and sit the TCF tout public
Register for the TCF with the written-expression module in time for the result to reach your file by mid-February, or claim exemption with a B2 French diploma.
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Submit the DAP file before the deadline
File the DAP dossier by 15 December 2026, 18:00 metropolitan France time, for September 2027 entry. Master's candidates file hors DAP on the same platform.
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Legalise your documents in Nairobi
Kenya issues no apostille. Have documents notarised, authenticated by the Attorney General, then by the State Department for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, then the French Embassy.
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Assemble proof of resources
Collect bank statements, a sponsor's attestation de prise en charge or a scholarship certificate covering at least the monthly reference figure for your stay.
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Submit at TLScontact Nairobi
Attend TLScontact in Westlands with the complete file, give biometrics and pay the visa fee in local currency at the day's rate. Allow more than the 15-day minimum.
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Validate the visa and pay the OFII tax
After arrival, validate the VLS-TS online within three months and pay the OFII stay tax, then register with the PUMA health scheme through your university.
Frequently asked questions
A public bachelor's is €178–2,902 per year and a public master €255–3,950 per year, plus the CVEC of €105 per year. Living runs €600–800 per month, health cover is free and the visa is €50. A private school costs €14,900–23,900 per year.
Yes, with a grade condition. Sorbonne University accepts an overall C+ or better, at least 55 of 80 points, for direct Licence 1 entry through the DAP, and Grenoble Alpes and Paris-Saclay apply the same C+ floor. Lyon 1 raises it to B+ for medicine, maths and science. Below C+, universities route applicants to a diploma pathway.
You start with Campus France Kenya on the Études en France platform and pass its academic interview; only then can you book at TLScontact Nairobi in Westlands, which submits to the French Embassy. France-Visas advises a minimum of 15 days from submission, and national guidance runs to 2–7 weeks.
The reference figure is €877.50 per month, effective 1 August 2026, up from €615. France uses no blocked account: bank statements, a guarantor's attestation de prise en charge, an irrevocable-transfer certificate or a scholarship award letter all count. Insufficient or unclear resources is the first refusal reason France lists.
The visa sets no language condition — universities decide. English is official at home, and English-taught programmes commonly ask IELTS 6.5 at both bachelor's and master's level. For a French-taught licence, the TCF tout public with written expression is compulsory; Lyon 1 asks B2, and C1 for medicine.
No. No agent can guarantee a visa or admission, and the Commission for University Education named 20 unlicensed recruitment agencies and 16 fake universities in January 2026. The Campus France interview and the consulate decide. Any upfront fee for a promised place or visa is the clearest sign to walk away.
The OFII stay tax rose to €100 on 1 May 2026. The resource reference rose to €877.50 per month on 1 August 2026. From 1 January 2026, a civic exam and A2 French apply to any first multi-year residence permit, which reaches students when the one-year card is renewed.
You may work up to 964 hours a year, across term and holidays, with no separate permit, at €12.31 per hour minimum. Afterwards the APS job-search permit costs €150 and runs 12 months; a standard licence does not qualify.