First-year Students

Navigating all of the requirements of French immigration can be tricky. AUP’s Student Immigration Services exist to assist students with the immigration process and help make a potentially confusing process an orderly and painless one.

Necessary paperwork differs by student (see below). Be sure to look up what’s required of you from the moment you receive your acceptance letter and throughout your time at AUP.

Since some processes may take up to a few weeks (if the French Authorities’ Department which is on charge of processing the residency applications, is either understaffed or overworked-sometimes both- the residency renewal procedure can take a few months).

Therefore, it’s imperative that you follow the necessary steps at the earliest possible moment. You must take care of your immigration requirements in order to enroll and remain enrolled at AUP. Please be aware that it’s illegal to enter France under a tourist visa, or without a visa at all, with the intention of studying. Students living in France without the proper documents are subject to deportation.

Student Immigration Policy you are required to read.

First-year students

When you are accepted to the University, you’ll be provided with instructions and necessary documents to apply for a long stay student visa student visa (the new students are given the necessary information by their AUP Admission Councilor whereas the returning students who need to apply for a new student visa must be in touch with SIS).

This residence visa allows you to legally live and study in France. Read the procedures for first-year students carefully to make sure that you can successfully enter and reside in France.

The Immigration Office of AUP hereby declines any responsibility for any consequences which could result from a NON EU student (illegally) entering into France with NO valid documents (valid student visa, valid passport, valid residency card).

Before the start of your first semester, you must provide Student Immigration Services with a birth certificate (a certified copy in English or French). This document is mandatory and must be prepared before arriving in France. Marriage, divorce, and adoption certificates are necessary to justify any change of name, if applicable.

PROCEDURE FOR First-year students

All students are expected to maintain legal residency status in France during their studies at AUP. If you’re a citizen of France or any other European Union country, you need only show us your passport (or your National ID) once during Orientation and are exempt from any further visa requirements.

All non-European Union students need to first apply for a student visa, the Visa D-Long séjour- Ceseda R311-3 6°, to become a legal resident of France. Upon acceptance to the University, you will then be provided with instructions and the documents necessary to apply for your student residence permit, the VLS-TS Titre de Séjour. This residence permit allows you to legally live and study in France. All of these steps require that your passport is valid and not due to expire for more than six months.

It’s illegal to enter France with a tourist visa, or no visa at all, with the intention of being a student. Students living in France without the proper documents are subject to deportation.

THE NEW RESIDENCY PROCEDURE

The OFII procedure does no longer take place.

The French Authorities have decided to modify the procedure for the NON EU students who enter France with a long stay student visa in order to legally study and live on the French Territory *

Therefore, to offer the NON EU students a better service, the French Authorities have officially appointed some schools/ universities in Paris to finalize the residency procedure by issuing the students their residency permit.

The Immigration Office of AUP (SIS) assists the students in completing the residency application and in being issued the residency permit.

After a first meeting with SIS at Orientation, the students will be scheduled an appointment with SIS (which is located on campus) to start and to finalize the procedure.

*This piece of information also applies to the Returning students who re-enter France with a NEW long stay student visa after a Leave of Absence- LOA (University withdrawal, Study Abroad, etc.).

What to bring to orientation

Before you come to Paris, you’ll need to have obtained your student visa. Your acceptance pack has all the latest details on the procedure. In addition to your passport, you must also bring a birth certificate mentioning both of your parents’ names with you to Orientation and supply it to Student Immigration Services. The birth certificate must be a certified copy in either English or French. This document is mandatory and must be prepared before arriving in France. Marriage, divorce, and adoption certificates are also necessary to justify any change of name.

Arrival in France

FALL ORIENTATION/ SPRING ORIENTATION

When you arrive at Orientation, you’ll meet with a member of the Student Immigration Services team. We will check with you we have gathered the required documents from you (the copy of your passport information page, the copy of your student visa, the copy of your entrance stamp OR your boarding pass).

The week that follows Orientation, SIS will contact you to schedule an appointment to apply for your residency permit. This appointment is mandatory and cannot be rescheduled. Missing the residency visit results in the cancellation of both the visa and the residency application, so it’s imperative that you attend your appointment with SIS. This appointment is part of validating process for the student visa in order to legalize the non-EU student's stay in France.

SUMMER ORIENTATION

The NON EU students who come to AUP for both the Summer sessions and the Fall and who have been issued a long stay student visa, are required to meet with SIS within the first week of their arrival in France (no later) in order to apply for their residency permit.

LATE ARRIVALS/ LATE ACCEPTANCE

The NON EU students who will arrive late/ after Orientation and who have been issued a long stay student visa, are required to meet with SIS within the first week of their arrival in France (no later) in order to apply for their residency permit.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR THE RESIDENCY MEETING

(VALIDATION OF THE STUDENT VISA WITH SIS TO OBTAIN THE RESIDENCY PERMIT)

• The passport
• The long stay student visa
• The entrance stamp or the boarding pass (which confirms the day the NON EU student entered France/ EU)
• A valid housing address in France (in Paris or outside Paris)
• A valid email address: the student can either use the AUP email address or their private email address (they can choose which email they would like the information about their residency permit be sent to)
• A valid payment card in order to buy the tax stamp on line Important: AMEX CARD NOT ACCEPTED
• The tax stamp is a mandatory fee to pay in order to be issued the residency permit to legally study and live in France

THE PROCEDURE

• The student is scheduled an appointment to meet with SIS/ sent a list of requirements before the appointment takes place
• The appointment takes 20-30 minutes
• On the day of the appointment SIS helps the student to complete the residency procedure on line (to fill out the necessary documents, to buy the tax stamp, to obtain the residency permit)
• SIS issues the residency permit “Confirmation de la validation de l’Enregistrement de votre Visa Long Séjour valant Titre de Séjour”
• SIS confirms the student their reference/ file number
• SIS updates the student residency records in the University database
• SIS informs the student about the residency renewal

IMPORTANT- THE OFII PROCEDURE DOES NO LONGER TAKES PLACE

The NON EU students are no longer required to visit the OFII to validate the long term student visa they have been issued in order to legalize their stay here under a student status since the French Authorities modified the procedure. 

SIS assists the students in doing the entire procedure= “NO MORE OFII APPOINTMENT!”

Residency VISA renewal

Three months and a half (no later) before your residency expires, you are required to email/ to meet with the Student Immigration Services Office to discuss your renewal options, receive the list of required documents, and to schedule an appointment for your renewal. Your residency permit renewal application must be complete and ready to be processed three months prior to the expiration date. Remember that if your residency permit expires in April/May/June/July/August you must discuss your situation (residency renewal or student visa application) with SIS before you plan to leave for summer vacation. Have a look at our Returning Students section for more information about residency renewal procedures and documents.

Important: Students whose residency expires in April/May/June/July/August and who plan to leave France immediately after Spring semester is over are required to apply for another long stay student visa back home (over the summer) in order to legally return to France/AUP next Fall semester. For those whose residency card expires mid-summer/ late summer and who may be able to return to France before their residency card expires, it is possible to do the residency renewal procedure upon their return instead of applying for a new student visa. Contact SIS and we will advise accordingly.

Contact us

We’re here to help you every step of the way, but it’s your legal responsibility to maintain your legal resident status in France. Any student who does not respect French immigration policy will not benefit from any assistance from the University and re-admission to the University will be made on a case-by-case basis.

The Student Immigration Services Office at AUP is available throughout your studies for assistance in working with the local authorities to fulfill your visa requirements as well as with the renewal process. The Immigration Office keeps records of residency cards, passports, visas, and birth certificates. Please contact us to make sure your records are updated, or if you have any questions or concerns.