The France-Quebec and France-Canada Agreements: Which Canadian Students Pay EU Tuition Rates

Two tuition tracks for Canadian students at the same French university

A French public university can charge two Canadian students in the same lecture hall completely different fees. The difference comes down to one thing: where in Canada you live. Since France introduced higher tuition for students from outside the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland, a bilateral entente between France and Quebec has carved out a separate track for Quebec residents. No equivalent deal exists for the rest of the country.

What the France-Quebec entente covers

France and the Government of Quebec signed a student mobility entente on 12 April 2024, published by French decree on 11 March 2025 (Legifrance ). It applies to students of Canadian citizenship who are domiciled in Quebec, starting with the 2026-27 academic year (French Consulate in Quebec ). This entente is a renewed five-year version of an earlier agreement between the two governments, so if you plan to enroll before the 2026-27 academic year, confirm with your target university's international office whether the previous version of the agreement already covers your situation.

Under the entente, an eligible Quebec student pays the same tuition as a French national at a public university: 178 euros a year for a bachelor's degree and 254 euros a year for a master's. The published text covers bachelor's and master's programs. It sets Quebec students apart from every other non-EU nationality studying in France, who face a much higher bill unless their university grants them an exemption.

What students from other provinces pay

If you live outside Quebec, you fall under France's standard non-EU fee structure. Public universities charge differentiated registration fees: for the 2025-26 academic year the rate was 2,895 euros for a bachelor's and 3,941 euros for a master's. For 2026-27 the rate rose slightly to 2,902 euros for a bachelor's and 3,950 euros for a master's (service-public.gouv.fr ).

There is no broader France-Canada agreement that extends the Quebec rate to students from Ontario, British Columbia or any other province. Search for one and you will only find the Quebec-specific entente. If you come from outside Quebec, plan your budget around the non-EU rate unless your target university tells you otherwise in writing.

The exemption route, and why it is not guaranteed

Individual French public universities can exempt non-EU students from the differentiated fee and charge them the domestic rate instead. For years many universities exempted almost all their non-EU students this way. A decree dated 19 May 2026 (decree 2026-385) caps that practice: universities may now exempt only 30% of their non-EU students for 2026-27, dropping to 25% for 2027-28 and lower after that. Students who already held an exemption for 2025-26 keep it until they finish that same degree level at the same institution.

This means a non-Quebec Canadian applicant should ask each target university directly what share of its non-EU students it plans to exempt and how it selects them, rather than assuming an exemption will apply. Some universities, such as the University of Strasbourg, have historically exempted a very high share of their international students, but the new national cap changes that going forward.

Grandes ecoles and private schools set their own fees

The France-Quebec entente and the differentiated fee rules apply to public universities. Grandes ecoles, business schools and private institutions set their own tuition independent of nationality, and those fees are usually well above either the domestic or the differentiated public university rate. If you are applying to a grande ecole or a private business school, request its fee schedule directly rather than assuming either rate above applies.

Before you apply: what to confirm

If you are a Canadian citizen domiciled in Quebec, ask Campus France's Quebec office or your target university what documents prove your domicile status for entente purposes, since a recent move to Quebec may be treated differently than long-term residence. If you are applying from another province, ask each university on your list what percentage of its non-EU intake it plans to exempt for your entry year and what criteria it uses to select who gets the exemption, since this now varies by institution under the 2026 cap.

The entente runs both ways

The France-Quebec entente is reciprocal, not one-directional. The same 2024 agreement that sets Quebec students' tuition in France also governs how Quebec treats French students who come the other way, exempting them from the extra out-of-province surcharge Quebec charges Canadians from other provinces. This reciprocity is why the deal exists at the government-to-government level rather than as a decision individual universities make on their own, and it is also why it only ever covers Quebec specifically rather than Canada as a whole.