As the President of France advocates for increased enrollment of international talents, a recent decision has reversed the earlier plan to raise fees for students from overseas. In December 2023, the announcement of a proposed immigration law in France required international students to pay a deposit when applying for a student visa. Moreover, there were increased tuition fees for non-EU students. Additionally, a provision mandated students to annually demonstrate the legitimacy and seriousness of their study programmes.
However, the Constitutional Council has recently marked these changes as ‘unconstitutional,’ leading to the removal of these measures from the country’s immigration law. The revised immigration law now emphasises a simplified ‘talent passport’ scheme, particularly benefiting young foreign graduates with master’s and doctoral degrees who will now have access to a multi-year residence permit.
The French economy, benefiting significantly from international students, contributed €5 billion in the academic year 2022–23. Particularly, the top sender countries include Morocco, Algeria, China, Italy, and Senegal, which collectively sent around 400,000 students to France.
While many stakeholders celebrate the decision to limit these measures, some commentators express concerns about broader attitudes towards immigration in France. Earlier, some commentators raised concerns about the potential financial burden that could impact groups vulnerable to increased poverty due to the additional financial requirements.
During his recent visit, President Emmanuel Macron reinforced his commitment to welcoming 30,000 Indian students by 2030. The meeting between the leaders of India and France paved the way for enhancing international classes in France, focusing on integrating non-French-speaking international and Indian students into the higher education system through French language classes starting in 2024.
