The government promises to index student grants and add 15,000 university places. Which foreign students can actually get a bourse sur critères sociaux

What was announced

On Monday 26 October 2026, after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu met lycée and student organisations, Education Minister Édouard Geffray and Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste presented a package of measures, as reported by AFP and Euronews.

The announcements include:

• means-tested student grants (bourses sur critères sociaux) to be indexed to inflation; according to Euronews, starting with the academic year that begins in autumn 2027;
• 15,000 extra places in higher education, mainly in BTS and IUT programmes;
• Parcoursup: a substantial overhaul for 2027 and replacement in 2028; according to AFP, the replacement will require a law;
• seconde classes capped at 28 pupils: first in the most disadvantaged lycées from next school year, everywhere in 2028;
• around €5 billion to renovate lycées and universities, mostly as low-rate loans to local authorities.

An important caveat: according to AFP, the minister acknowledged that the measures need funding in a budget before they can apply. The rules have not changed yet: grant amounts for 2026–2027 stay as they are. A debate without a vote is scheduled in the National Assembly on Wednesday. Student organisations are calling for further protests, with the next nationwide date on 5 November.

Which foreign students are eligible

A common assumption is that anyone studying in France can get a CROUS grant. That is not the case. According to service-public.gouv.fr (checked on 10 April 2026), the conditions depend on nationality.

EEA, Swiss and Andorran nationals must meet one of two conditions:

• the student has worked in France, as an employee or not, full- or part-time;
• or one of their parents has had income in France.

Nationals of other countries must meet all three conditions at once:

• hold a residence permit (titre de séjour);
• have lived in France for at least 2 years;
• show they have belonged to a tax household (foyer fiscal) in France for at least 2 years.

A student who recently arrived on a student visa usually does not yet meet the two-year conditions. As reported, the indexation concerns the amounts; nothing was said about changing these eligibility conditions.

Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection recognised by OFPRA fall under a separate heading.

Other conditions

• under 28 on 1 September of the year of the first application (with extensions, for example for each child raised or for a recognised disability);
• full-time initial studies (formation initiale) at an institution approved to take grant holders;
• family income is taken from the revenu brut global line of the tax notice: for 2026–2027, 2024 income is used. Special rules exist for parents living abroad and for foreign students;
• keeping the grant depends on progress in studies, attending classes and sitting exams.

How much, and when to apply

Amounts for 2026–2027 range from €1,454 a year (level 0 bis) to €6,335 (level 7), paid in ten monthly instalments.

The application is made online through the dossier social étudiant (DSE). For the current year the window ran from 1 March to 31 May 2026. A conditional answer arrives by email by July at the latest, and the final decision follows enrolment. A refusal can be challenged in court within 2 months.

A common mistake is waiting until September and applying after enrolling. The DSE window opens in spring, before enrolment. The official simulator, linked from the service-public page, gives an estimate of entitlement.

This is general information about the rules, not personal advice.