Westside Visa Consultants has placed Pakistani students in France every year since 2021, through the Etudes en France procedure and through direct admission. This article explains a change in French law that most people in Pakistan have not heard about yet, and that changes the budget for a Fall 2027 application.

What changed, in one paragraph

On 19 May 2026 the French government published Décret n° 2026-385, in force since 21 May 2026. Until then, French public universities were allowed to vote a blanket exemption that released all or nearly all of their non European students from the higher “differentiated” tuition fees introduced in 2019. Many of the best known universities did exactly that, which is why Pakistani students have spent years hearing that a French public university costs about EUR 250 a year.

The decree ends that practice. Categorical exemptions are abolished. An exemption is now either automatic, which covers French government scholarship holders, pupilles de la Nation and students covered by a reciprocal bilateral agreement, or individual, assessed case by case on the student’s own financial and family circumstances.

Individual exemptions are also capped. The Ministry of Higher Education sets the ceiling at 30 percent of each student category for 2026/2027, 25 percent for 2027/2028 and 20 percent from 2028 onward.

The real numbers for 2026/27

These amounts appear identically on the fee pages of Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lyon 1, Aix-Marseille and Sorbonne Paris Nord. Rupee figures use EUR 1 = PKR 320 and will move with the rate.

One clarification that matters: the doctorate is not subject to differentiated fees. A Pakistani PhD student pays the same EUR 398 a year as a French one. If your plan is research, the change described here does not affect you.

Why the figures you have been given are wrong

Two different errors are circulating in Pakistan, and they compound each other.

The first error is the amount. Almost every consultancy website, forum post and YouTube video still quotes EUR 2,770 for a licence and EUR 3,770 for a master. Those were the original 2019 figures. They have been indexed since. The current amounts are EUR 2,902 and EUR 3,950.

The second error is much bigger. Because so many universities used to waive the differentiated fee entirely, a generation of advice grew up around the idea that the differentiated fee was theoretical and every Pakistani student would end up paying the European rate. That was broadly true until 21 May 2026. It is not true now.

Put the two together and a family can be planning around EUR 250 a year, roughly PKR 80,000, when the realistic figure is EUR 3,950 plus CVEC, roughly PKR 1.3 million. That is not a rounding error in a budget. It is the difference between a plan that works and a student who runs out of money in the second semester, which is also the fastest way to lose a residence permit renewal.

University by university: who charges what

France sets fees per institution, not per programme, so the position below applies to every national master’s degree at that university. All figures are 2026/2027, read on the universities’ own pages in September 2026.

What it means if you are applying for Fall 2027

• Budget the full fee and treat an exemption as a bonus. Apply for it, by all means. But a plan that only works if the exemption comes through is not a plan, and the cap for your year is 25 percent.
• Your financial proof has to match the new number. The funds you show for the visa have to cover tuition plus living costs. If your file was built on a EUR 250 assumption, the whole financial section is wrong, and financial capacity is one of the three most common grounds for refusal.
• Check the university, not the country. The spread is enormous. Lille at around EUR 255 against Côte d’Azur at EUR 3,941 is a difference of roughly PKR 1.2 million a year for the same level of degree.
• Ask about payment terms, not just the amount. Aix-Marseille requires payment in full at enrolment. For a family transferring money from Pakistan under the current exchange rules, when the money is due can matter as much as how much it is.
• Consider the doctorate route if research is your aim. At EUR 398 a year, a French PhD is now dramatically cheaper relative to a master than it was six months ago.

What has not changed

Three things, and they matter.

Private schools are not affected. Business schools and private engineering schools set their own fees and always have. A programme at a private grande école was never subject to the differentiated fee regime, so nothing in this decree changes its price. The relative gap between a public university and a private school has narrowed sharply, which changes the comparison a family should be making.

The Etudes en France procedure is unchanged. The campaign for the Fall 2027 intake opens on 1 October 2026 and closes on 18 November 2026. The EEF service fee payable in Pakistan, the document requirements and the Campus France academic interview are all as before.

Automatic exemptions still exist. A French government scholarship still exempts you completely, and so does a reciprocal bilateral agreement. These sit outside the quota entirely. If you are a strong candidate, the scholarship route is now worth far more effort than it was.

If you are choosing a programme rather than just budgeting for one, we have published a companion page: every English taught programme in France for Fall 2027, 215 of them, each with the fee in euros and rupees, the application route, and the entry rules taken from the institution’s own website.

What to do now

1. Write to the admissions office of every university on your shortlist and ask, in writing, what a non EU student will pay for 2027/2028 and whether any exemption route applies to you. Keep the reply.
2. Rebuild your financial plan on the full differentiated fee plus CVEC plus living costs, which run roughly EUR 800 to 1,200 a month depending on the city.
3. Start your IBCC and HEC attestations now rather than in November. They take weeks and they are the usual reason a good candidate misses the EEF deadline.
4. Compare honestly against the private route. With the public gap narrowed, a private school with rolling admission and a January intake may now suit your circumstances better.

Sources: Décret n° 2026-385 of 19 May 2026 published on Légifrance, and the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research FAQ on differentiated registration fees for non European students, both read on 20 September 2026. University fee positions were read on the institutions’ own websites in September 2026 and are 2026/2027 figures. Rupee conversions use EUR 1 = PKR 320. Fees change and 2027/2028 amounts are not yet published; we update this page when they are. This article is general information, not advice on an individual case.