All students who are non European Union nationals must have a valid student visa to be enrolled at AUP. Students must request a ‘D visa’ at the French Consulate in their country of residence before they leave for France. Students planning on staying in France for a year need to ensure that they request a three-month visa, which has the strict condition that they make an application for their Carte de Séjour (resident visa) immediately upon arrival in France. The student must arrive at AUP with the student visa in their passport and a copy of their birth certificate. Visiting students only need to request a “six-month student visa” from their French Consulate.

AUP has a dedicated team who will assist students in obtaining their Carte de Séjour. Students should immediately be in contact with the Carte de Séjour team in the Registrar’s Office as soon as they arrive at AUP. It is the student’s responsibility to provide all the documents which will be requested by the Préfecture de Police. The Carte de Séjour application is a collaborative effort between the student, the Carte de Séjour team at AUP and the Préfecture de Police.

Students coming from most countries outside of France must register as a study abroad student with CampusFrance before they can apply for a student visa at the French Consulate. Full details and instructions will be sent in the Acceptance Pack once the student has been accepted to AUP. It is important to allow sufficient time for this process as certain times of the year are much busier than others.

Please impress upon your son or daughter the importance of this matter. Failure to provide valid papers and comply with the French legal residency policy could mean that their registration will be affected and/or the issue of transcripts and they risk expulsion from the country by French authorities. AUP cannot accept students who do not take the responsibility to ensure that they regularize their residency status in France upon arrival.