France recently passed a controversial immigration law that will have some effects on foreign students, including raising the cost of studying there.
The amended legislation was passed by the French parliament on December 19, following the rejection of the previous version. One of the most important changes for international students in the most recent version of the bill—which includes even harsher measures for foreigners in France—is the addition of a deposit that must be paid when applying for a student visa.
The deposit, the amount of which has not yet been determined, is intended to cover “unexpected costs” that may occur while the student is in France. It will be reimbursed to the student in the event that they depart before their student residency permit expires, if they renew their permit, or if they obtain a new residency permit in France with a different title or status. According to the bill, if the student has “evaded enforcement of a removal order,” the deposit will be permanently withheld.
Le Parisien, a French publication, reported that the law also increases tuition fees for students from non-EU nations. Additionally, it mandates that holders of multi-year student residency permits submit documentation each year attesting to their enrollment in a “real and serious” study program.
In a column published in Le Parisien, the heads of ESSEC, ESCP, and HEC, three of France’s most prestigious business schools, voiced their concerns about the immigration law. They claimed that the measures could “seriously threaten” France’s ability to compete internationally and described the provisions as “far from solutions.”
Paul Midy, a politician from Macron’s Renaissance party and member of the National Assembly, expressed his opposition to the deposit idea in an interview with BFMTV. He suggested that the amount should be “modest” and “symbolic,” with a range of 10 or 20 euros.
The three leaders of the business schools claim that the amount “which would not be determined by law, opens the door to arbitrary and clearly dissuasive variations,” but stakeholders are still demanding clarification.
The three leaders emphasized the 2019 target that Campus France set for itself: to enroll 500,000 international students by 2027. They questioned whether achieving the historic number—which they see as crucial to enhancing the nation’s academic standing and economic competitiveness—could be negatively impacted by the immigration law and its modifications.
Fortunately, international students are exempt from this particular change and can still receive housing benefits with their student visa. The immigration law is set to make it more difficult for immigrants in France to receive certain benefits, such as housing aid.
Additionally, the bill will make it more difficult for immigrants to bring family members to France by raising the age requirement for unmarried partners from 18 to 21 years old and lengthening the period of time an immigrant must reside in France before doing so from 18 to 24 months.
France is not the only country that has tightened its regulations on dependents; on January 1, the UK implemented a ban on international students bringing dependents.
The French Constitutional Council still has to approve the immigration law, and during this process, provisions may be added or removed.