► Your situation

You want to enrol in a higher education establishment that requires you to pass an entrance examination organised in France (European and non-European countries).

► Your visa

You will be issued a short-stay visa i.e. a “étudiant/étudiant-concours” (Student examination) visa authorising you to stay for 90 days maximum in a 180-day period. If you pass the entrance examination, this visa will enable you to regularise your situation at the Préfecture (police station) in your place of residence in France without having to return to your habitual country of residence to apply for a long-stay visa to study.

Important: to benefit from this, you must apply for a short-stay “étudiant/étudiant-concours” (Student examination) visa even if you do not need a short-stay Schengen visa.

The short-stay “étudiant-concours” (student examination) visa, whose duration may not exceed 90 days, can only be issued when the results of the entrance examination are known i.e. usually within 90 days.

Should you fail the entrance examination, the prefectural authorities will not issue the residence permit and you must leave the Schengen area once your short-stay visa has expired.

► Your supporting documentation

This list of supporting documents you must join to your application will be indicated in the visa wizard. You will be especially required to provide proof of enrolment or the entrance examination invitation.

In your “étudiant-concours” (student examination) visa application file, you must include your invitation to the entrance examination and proof of the serious nature of your studies.

The term “entrance examination” includes all examinations, practical tests, oral tests and any interviews required prior to enrolling in a higher education or vocational training establishment having signed an agreement with the State (or not).

Since no provisions for a “étudiant-concours” (student examination) visa were included in the Franco-Algerian Agreement dated 27 December 1968, Algerian nationals are therefore not permitted to apply for this type of visa.