Do I need to register on CampusFrance Canada?

All Canadian students or international students residing in Canada who hold a degree giving access to postsecondary studies and who wish to start or pursue their studies in France are required to register on CampusFrance Canada.

Simplified procedure

If you have Canadian citizenship and fall into one of the three following categories:

. you are part of an inter-university exchange within the France-Canada agreement on Youth Mobility;
. you are a French Government scholarship recipient: "Boursier du Gouvernement Français" (BGF);
. you are a doctoral or postgraduate student;

you have to register on the CampusFrance website, fill in and validate the online CampusFrance form. If you are already expected by an institution in France (interuniversity exchange, cotutelle, invitation from a research laboratory in France, etc.), please write it in the "motivation" section. Finally, send a copy of your Canadian passport and of supporting document about your status to CampusFrance Canada.

You won't have to go through a CampusFrance Canada interview or pay for CampusFrance Canada service fees. You will be allowed to apply for your visa.

Regular procedure

• Online registration

  Whatever your study project in France may be, you must first register online on CampusFrance Canada. This will give you access to a personal account through which you will be in contact with CampusFrance. All you need to obtain a CampusFrance identifier is an email address.

• The CampusFrance form

  Log on to your personal account, click on "My file", then on "CampusFrance form". Fill in and validate each section of the form before performing the final validation .

• “My procedures” tab

  Once you have validated the CampusFrance form, you are able to explain your study goal in the “My procedures” tab. Two different situations can occur: the French institution you are interested in may be either connected or non connected to the CampusFrance system. Over 175 French higher education institutions are connected to the system.

Connected procedure

If the French higher education institution you are interested in is connected, that institution will be able to look at your application online once you have validated your study goals:

. you have to check the level of French proficiency required by the institution (with your CampusFrance advisor) and contact a certified centre to take a language test if needed. You will then be allowed to validate your study project (in the "My procedures" tab), so that the French institution can access your application online;
. send your paper application, including a copy of the registration to the language test (or the test results, or a copy of the document which can exempt you from such a test). Do not forget to write your full name and CampusFrance identification number on the envelope.

Once you have registered for the language test, or if you have a document which can justify your French level, you have to make an appointment with your CampusFrance advisor for an interview. Please note that you will have to bring the original document.

Non-connected procedure

If the French higher education institution you are interested in is not connected to the CampusFrance system, that institution cannot look at your application online. You will have to contact the institution in France in order to complete the first step of the enrollment process. You will have to check the level of French proficiency required by the institution, and then either contact a certified centre, pass the required French language test and forward the results to the French institution or present a document exempting you from the test (a proof of registration to the French language test may be required for the first stage of the enrollment process at a non connected institution). Once you have received the letter of acceptance from the French institution, you have to send your paper application to CampusFrance and make an appointment for an interview.

Interview

During the interview with a CampusFrance advisor, you will be asked about your motivations, your student and professional background and study project in France. You will have to bring the original documents corresponding to the copies you included in your paper application. A CampusFrance interview takes approximately 20 minutes.

Visa application

Before applying for a student visa, you have to register on the CampusFrance website. Your visa application must include your CampusFrance identification number.

Once you have had the interview, if you have chosen a connected French higher education institution, you must wait for an online notification of acceptance from that institution. Once you have been accepted, you can make an appointment with the French Consulate to submit your visa application. If you have chosen a non connected institution, a letter of acceptance from the French institution is necessary before you can make an appointment with the French Consulate to submit a visa application.

The Consulates have supreme authority when it comes to issuing visas. Being accepted at a French higher education institution does not guarantee you will be issued a visa.

Once you have completed all the steps of the CampusFrance process, you have to make an appointment with the French Consulate of your jurisdiction:

• Consulate General of France in Vancouver (http://www.consulfrance-vancouver.org): British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories;
• Consulate General of France in Toronto (http://www.consulfrance-toronto.org): Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan;
• Consulate General of France in Montreal (http://www.consulfrance-montreal.org): Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nunavut.

French language tests and diplomas

In order to achieve your study goal in France it is important to master the French language. The French Language Diploma (“Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française”, DELF) and the Advanced French Language Diploma (“Diplôme Approfondi en Langue Française”, DALF) are the two official diplomas recognised by the French Ministry of Education to certify the proficiency in French of foreign applicants’.

The French Language Ability Test (“Test de Connaissance du Français”, TCF) (http://www.ciep.fr/tcf) designed by the CIEP and the French Evaluation Test (“Test d’Evaluation de Français”, TEF) designed by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (http://www.fda.ccip.fr) are to evaluate your French language proficiency. The French higher education institutions have full authority to determine the level of French required for applicants. It is strongly recommended that you ask for the level of French required and which tests and diplomas it recognised as well.

In general, the French higher education institutions requires the level 4 with the TCF or with the TEF, or the level B2 with the DELF which are equivalent to the French language ability of “Independent User” on the basis of Common European Framework of References for Languages (CECR). The Conférence des Présidents d'Université (CPU) acknowledges only the TCF, DELF and DALF.

In order to register for a test or a course in preparation for obtaining a diploma, please contact one of the certified centres in Canada.

http://www2.ciep.fr/tcf/Centres/Liste.aspx