France raises non-EU student fees to 2,895 euros for bachelor's and caps tuition-fee exemptions at 30 percent from 2026-27
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 03, 2026 • Education Planning, Study in Europe, Money & Budgeting, Education News & Policy
France's May 2026 decree limits how many non-EU students each public university exempts from higher tuition fees. Non-EU bachelor's students now pay 2,895 euros a year, while EU, EEA and Swiss students keep paying the same low national fee as French students.
💶 Non-EU bachelor's (licence) fee: 2,895 euros a year
💶 Non-EU master's fee: 3,941 euros a year
🎓 EU/EEA/Swiss students still pay 178 euros (bachelor's) and 254 euros (master's)
📩 Exemption cap: 30% of non-EU students in 2026-27, 25% in 2027-28, 20% after that
Doctoral students stay exempt from the fee rise
What the decree changes
Décret n° 2026-385, published on 19 May 2026, tightens the "differentiated fees" policy France introduced for non-EU students in 2019. Public universities now face a hard ceiling on how many non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss students they exempt from the higher tuition rate, according to Démarches Étrangers .
France introduced differentiated fees for non-EU students in 2019, under a strategy the government called "Bienvenue en France." That policy set a sticker price for non-EU students far above the fee EU students and French nationals pay, while leaving universities free to grant scholarships and waivers case by case. The 2026 decree keeps that basic split and only limits how many students each university moves into the waived category.
Before the decree, some universities used exemptions to sidestep the 2019 policy almost entirely. The University of Strasbourg, for example, exempted up to 97% of its international students, according to the same source. The new ceiling closes that gap.
Who pays what
The higher fee only applies to students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. If you hold an EU, EEA or Swiss passport, you pay the same national fee as French students, wherever you study in France.
| Level | EU/EEA/Swiss and French students | Non-EU students |
|---|---|---|
| Licence (bachelor's) | 178 euros | 2,895 euros |
| Master's | 254 euros | 3,941 euros |
| Doctorate | Exempt from the fee rise |
Figures come from CIDJ . Non-EU students pay roughly 16 times the licence rate and 15 times the master's rate that EU students pay for the same degree.
The exemption ceiling
Universities keep the power to waive the higher fee for individual non-EU students, through scholarships, partnership agreements or need-based grants. The decree caps how many students benefit from that waiver at each institution, stepping the cap down year by year.
2026-27: up to 30% of non-EU students exempted
2027-28: up to 25% exempted
2028-29 onward: capped at 20% exempted
The government frames the step-down as a move against "massive exemptions" at some institutions, restoring the higher fee as the default rather than the exception.
Who this affects
If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national planning to study in France, this decree does not touch your fees. It matters if you hold a passport from outside Europe, including students moving to France from the UK on a study visa, or if you are comparing France against other European study destinations where non-EU fees also run well above EU rates.
How France compares
France is not the only European country charging non-EU students a separate, higher fee. Several public university systems across Europe run at least two fee tracks, with EU nationals paying close to the domestic rate and non-EU nationals paying a market rate. Public tuition varies widely by country and by course, so check the actual fee at your target university rather than assuming a European average.
What to check before you apply
If you are a non-EU applicant, check your target university's international office page for the confirmed 2026-27 fee schedule and available waivers before you apply. Exemption criteria vary by institution: some prioritize scholarship holders, some prioritize partnership agreements, some prioritize financial need. Ask directly whether the waiver quota for your program is already filled for the year.