France mandates higher fees for non-EU students starting 2026-27, end fee waivers

France has ended the flexibility that allowed its universities to keep tuition fees low for most international students. From the 2026-27 academic year, non-EU students will be required to pay standardised higher fees, and the discretion that institutions once had to waive them is largely gone.

Higher education minister of France, Philippe Baptiste, confirmed the shift plainly: "Differentiated fees are now the rule, exemption is the exception."

What changes and what it costs

Under the new framework, non-EU students entering bachelor's programmes will pay €2,895 per year. Master's degree students will be charged €3,941 annually. Until now, universities could, and most did, waive these rates in favour of the standard domestic fees of €178 for bachelor's and €254 for master's programmes, citing equal access as the rationale.

That option is now effectively closed. Fee exemptions will be limited to up to 10 per cent of non-EU students. The government has also indicated that 60 per cent of scholarships will be directed toward students in priority disciplines, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, quantum studies and biotechnology.

The changes apply to the 2026-27 intake, raising immediate concerns about disruption for prospective students already in the application process or mid-way through their study decisions.

Universities push back

The announcement has drawn a sharp response from France Universités, the body representing French higher education institutions. The organisation warned that the policy risks undermining principles the sector has long stood by.

"At first sight, the proposed measures to generalise the application of differentiated fees appear to be in contradiction with the humanistic values of hospitality and openness that universities extend to students from around the world," it said.

France Universités argued that applying higher fees to at least 90 per cent of non-EU students "will not limit the deterrence effect" and warned that the scholarship system would create "massive bureaucratic inflation." It described the reform as a "sharp and abrupt reduction" in universities' ability to define their own international strategies and called it "yet another blow to university autonomy."

The organisation called specifically for doctoral students to be excluded from the differentiated fee system and for institutions to retain flexibility in designing postgraduate programmes. It also flagged broader consequences for France's research ecosystem, noting that international student access is "a determining factor" in the country's academic and scientific influence.

"The application of differentiated tuition fees can in no way serve as a magic remedy for the chronic underfunding of universities," it added.

The bigger picture

The policy is part of France's broader 'Choose France for Higher Education' strategy, which carries an ambitious target of 500,000 international students by 2027. France currently hosts over 440,000, a record high representing 17 per cent growth over five years.

Mayank Maheshwari, Co-Founder and COO of University Living, argued that the fee reform should be read as a structural shift rather than a retreat. "France's decision to enforce differentiated tuition fees for non-EU students from 2026-27 is not a retreat from openness. It is a structural shift in how the country is positioning its international education model," he said.

He pointed out that even at the revised rates, France remains significantly more affordable than most competing destinations. "Even with revised fee levels in the €2,800 to €3,900 range annually, France remains significantly more affordable than most major destinations. But affordability alone is no longer enough. Students and families are increasingly evaluating destinations based on employability, course relevance, and long-term outcomes."

For Indian students specifically, Maheshwari noted that momentum remains strong. India is among the fastest-growing source markets for French higher education, with over 9,000 students and double-digit growth in the past year. A bilateral roadmap between India and France targets 30,000 Indian students by 2030.

"For students, this is not a deterrent. It is a signal to plan better. The opportunity remains strong, but the decisions now need to be sharper," Maheshwari said.