Do I need to validate my visa?

Congratulations on your student visa!

If your visa is a VLS-TS (long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit), you must validate it online within 3 months of arriving in France. Validation makes your stay legal and lets you leave and re-enter the Schengen area. It costs €100.

If you have a temporary long-stay visa (VLS-T), you do not need to validate it.

Algerian students: different rules apply under the Franco-Algerian agreement. Your visa does not need to be validated online; instead, you apply for a residence certificate at your prefecture. See Service-Public's page for Algerian students.

Not sure? Enter your visa number on the ANEF validation page and it will tell you.

Then follow our guide: How to validate my student visa VLS-TS.