Finishing secondary school in Riyadh, Jeddah or the Eastern Province and looking at a bachelor’s in France? The two application doors, the Ministry of Education checks to make before you pay anything, the visa sequence and what Year 1 costs in riyals.
Can a Saudi secondary certificate open a French bachelor’s?
Yes for Year 1, with the institution deciding on your file.
France organises undergraduate study as the licence, the French word for a bachelor’s. Campus France describes six semesters and 180 ECTS credits, and Campus France Saudi Arabia adds that you can start in the first year or join in the second or third year. Each institution reads your grades and subjects.
| What you hold | Where you usually enter | Application route |
|---|---|---|
| General Secondary School Certificate | Year 1 | DAP for a public university; direct application for a private institution |
| French or European baccalauréat, for instance from a French school in the Kingdom | Year 1 | Parcoursup, then Études en France for the visa |
| One validated year at a university in Saudi Arabia or abroad | Possibly Year 2, in a related field | Études en France, or directly with the institution if it is not on the platform |
| Two validated years, or a two-year diploma | Possibly Year 3, the final year | Same as Year 2; the course list is reviewed subject by subject |
Campus France Saudi Arabia addresses its procedure to residents, so an expatriate student in Jeddah with a British or Indian certificate files with the Saudi office. The ministry section below concerns Saudi applicants.
DAP or direct admission: which door fits you?
The first choice is a language choice as much as an institutional one.
Campus France Saudi Arabia warns that most bachelor’s-level programmes in France are taught in French. With solid French, the public university route is open and inexpensive. Without it, you are looking at the smaller group of programmes taught in English.
| Door 1: DAP, public university | Door 2: direct application | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Year 1 at a French public university, or a first health year (PASS) | Institutions outside the DAP, including private schools and programmes that are not on Études en France |
| Language | French test compulsory: TCF DAP, DELF-DALF or TEF | Set by the programme; often IELTS or similar for English-taught courses |
| Choices | Up to 3 programmes, ranked; 2 if the field is architecture | As many as you can manage; each institution has its own form |
| Calendar for 2027-28 | Opened 1 October 2026; universities answer before 30 April 2027; you reply before 31 May 2027 | Each institution sets its own dates and deadlines |
| Campus France KSA fee | SAR 500 in the 2022 admission guide | SAR 300 in the 2022 pre-consular guide |
Two details. The main Campus France page prints the closing date of the DAP window as 15 December 2027, which cannot be right since universities reply by April 2027: read it as 15 December 2026 and check the date shown in your account. And the pre-consular guide exempts students admitted through Études en France from the SAR 300 fee, so the two fees do not stack.
The admission pages of Campus France Saudi Arabia still display 2022 calendars, so rely on your live account for dates. Its first-step page advises preparing a study project almost a year ahead: for September 2027, that means now.
Do you need French, IELTS or both?
French for the DAP; English proof for English-taught programmes; sometimes neither test.
Applying in French
Applying in English
Arabic transcripts need translating either way. Campus France Saudi Arabia publishes a list of sworn translators. Our guide to studying in France in English for Saudi students compares the English proofs institutions accept.
What does the Saudi Ministry of Education expect from a self-funded student?
Do this before you pay a deposit, because it is hard to repair afterwards.
This is the step most guides skip, and the one with the longest consequences. Three Ministry of Education services matter, all free, online and in Arabic.
- 1Request to study abroad on your own accountFiled on the Safeer 2 portal, under “Students Wishing to Study”. You enter the degree, country, institution, specialisation and admission date. The service sheet gives five business days.
- 2Inquiry about recommended universitiesOn the ministry’s search page you select country, university, specialty and degree. The ministry describes a list of institutions students are advised to join, set under principles of its Certificate Equivalency Committee.
- 3Equivalency of a qualification issued abroadFiled after graduation on the ministry’s equivalency portal.
The equivalency service sheet, updated on 26 October 2026, sets out the rules that shape a bachelor’s plan:
| Ministry rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Prior approval from the ministry is needed for self-funded study abroad, and that approval is no commitment to grant equivalency later | Treat approval and equivalency as two separate questions, and ask about both |
| The institution and the programme should be on the recommended lists; otherwise each case is considered separately by the committee for non-Saudi institutions | Search the exact programme, not only the institution’s name. If it is absent, expect a case-by-case review and no automatic result |
| At least 75% of the degree requirements must be studied at institutions recommended or accepted by the committee | A transfer between institutions counts: plan the whole degree |
| Study is in principle regular and full-time, with residence in the country of study | Keep proof of enrolment and residence for each year |
| Documents must be certified by the Saudi cultural attaché in the country of issue, or the nearest Saudi embassy | Keep the originals of your French transcripts and certificates |
| A degree that falls short of the minimum may be equated to the level below | Ask how a three-year programme and its final title would be treated |
Aiming at the private sector, work abroad or a master’s? Then the French value of the diploma comes first: Campus France Saudi Arabia states that the French State guarantees it for national diplomas, diplomas approved by the ministry and titles registered in the RNCP.
How does the student visa work for a school leaver?
Admission first, then Campus France, and VFS Global last.
A bachelor’s needs the long-stay student visa, the VLS-TS, and Campus France Saudi Arabia is firm on the order: the pre-consular procedure comes before any visit to the visa centre.
- 1Open your Études en France fileChoose Campus France Arabie Saoudite. Admitted directly by a private institution? Select “I already have an admission”.
- 2Upload your filePassport and ID or iqama, photo, CV, motivation letter, transcripts, diplomas and language certificate, each at most 300 KB.
- 3Pay, then attend the interviewAt the French Embassy in Riyadh or the Consulate General in Jeddah, with the originals.
- 4Apply on France-Visas and lodge at VFS GlobalFrance-Visas lists centres in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam; Campus France calls the Eastern Province centre Al Khobar. Campus France Saudi Arabia indicates an answer within 15 days.
- 5Validate in FranceWithin three months of arrival, online, with a €100 tax (Service-Public F2231).
France requires resources of at least €877.50 a month. Under 18 at departure? The Campus France KSA guides we read do not list documents for minors, so ask its advisers early. The document list and interview advice are in our France student visa guide for Saudi Arabia.
What does Year 1 cost in riyals?
Tuition depends on the door; living costs do not.
Riyal amounts use the European Central Bank reference rate of USD 1.1133 per euro on 28 October 2026 and the official rate of SAR 3.75 per US dollar, the peg the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has publicly committed to keep. That gives about SAR 4.175 per euro, rounded here to the nearest ten.
| Year 1 item | EUR | SAR (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Public university bachelor’s, non-EU fee, 2026-27 | €2,902 | 12,120 |
| AI2 Bachelor in Applied AI, Year 1 (AI2 scholarship possible) | €9,000 | 37,580 |
| Visa minimum for 12 months | €10,530 | 43,960 |
| CVEC 2026-27, if your programme is subject to it | €105 | 440 |
| VLS-TS validation tax | €100 | 420 |
| Campus France KSA fee (2022 guides) | Paid in riyals | 300 to 500 |
| Public university: fee plus visa minimum | €13,432 | 56,080 |
| AI2 Year 1: tuition plus visa minimum | €19,530 | 81,540 |
AI2 estimates living costs in the Paris region at about €900 to €1,700 a month, rent included, or about SAR 3,760 to 7,100. Our full budget for Saudi students goes line by line. Over three years, AI2 tuition adds up to €27,900, about SAR 116,480, before any scholarship.
Campus France Saudi Arabia explains that non-European students register online with French social security, free of charge. The visa allows up to 964 hours of paid work a year.
Can a scholarship fund a bachelor’s?
Sometimes, and the list decides.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques programme covers bachelor’s degrees, for Saudi nationals with direct, unconditional admission to one of the specialisations and institutions the ministry specifies. Self-funded students abroad can ask to join a mission, under separate controls: at bachelor’s level, 30 completed academic units and an average of at least 3 out of 4. The French Eiffel scholarship is for master’s and PhD only.
For self-funded families, the realistic levers are an institution’s own awards and, in some programmes, work-study from the second year. Our guide to scholarships in France for Saudi students sets out each scheme and its calendar.
An English-taught option: the Bachelor in Applied AI at AI2
Three years in English near Paris, in software, data or industrial systems.
If computing is your field, AI2, the Applied Institute of Artificial Intelligence, offers a bachelor’s taught entirely in English on its campus at the Hub Nikola Tesla in Écouen, 22 minutes from Paris Gare du Nord by Transilien line H. No French is required. AI2 admits directly, so you use the pre-consular route described above.
| Year | Data & AI track | Industrial IT track |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (420 h, about 14 hours a week) | Mathematics, Python, SQL, Git, Linux, data visualisation, a first Flask web app | Python, networks, SQL, electricity and sensors, PLCs, industrial organisation |
| Year 2 | R, advanced SQL, MongoDB, BI, cloud data (350 h) | Data engineering, routing, industrial protocols, APIs, machine learning (420 h) |
| Final year | BSc AI-Powered Application Development: 500 h on campus, then a company placement | BSc Data Analytics & Applied AI (Industry 4.0): about 450 h on campus, then a company placement |
Entry for Saudi school leavers. Year 1 asks for a secondary-school leaving certificate with mathematics, or science for the Industrial IT track. English is B2: IELTS 6.0, TOEFL iBT 72 or English-medium schooling. Selection is a file review and an online interview. One validated year in a related field can open Year 2, and two years the final year, after review of your course list.
What you finish with. The final year awards the AI2 diploma and prepares a professional certification recognised by the French State and registered in the RNCP at level 6 (EQF 6): RNCP37873 or RNCP41370, depending on the track. Graduates can continue to MSc Year 1. The application development year adds 42 hours of French for company life.
Fees. Years 1 and 2 cost €9,000 a year and the final year €9,900, with AI2 scholarships possible (excellence, early application); every international application is assessed automatically. Work-study is possible from Year 2, subject to an employer contract. Rules are on the AI2 tuition fees page and the curriculum on the Bachelor in Applied AI page.
A timeline for a September 2027 start
Work back from the date your certificate is issued.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Now | Define your project; check the ministry’s recommended list; ask the questions above |
| Before 15 December 2026 | DAP file, if you are aiming for Year 1 at a public university in French |
| As soon as you hold an acceptance | Request ministry approval on Safeer 2 if you are self-funded; open or finish the Études en France file |
| After the interview | France-Visas, then VFS Global; allow about 15 days for an answer |
Already finished school and ready sooner? AI2 also runs February and May 2027 intakes. For February, the priority deadline and the complete visa file are due on 30 November 2026, with enrolment and deposit by 15 December 2026. Comparing countries in the region? See our pillar on studying in France from the Gulf.
📘 Related guide: Masters in France for Saudi students.
Frequently asked questions
Can I study a bachelor’s in France with the Saudi General Secondary School Certificate?
Yes. It can open Year 1. Public universities use the DAP procedure on Études en France, with a compulsory French test, and private institutions that admit directly set their own entry rules. Each institution decides on your file.
Do I need French for a bachelor’s in France?
For Year 1 at a public university through the DAP, yes: a French test is compulsory. Campus France Saudi Arabia says most bachelor’s programmes are taught in French, but a catalogue lists programmes taught in English, and those set their own language rules.
Will Saudi Arabia recognise my French bachelor’s?
The Ministry of Education decides, case by case for institutions outside its recommended lists. Self-funded students need prior approval to study abroad, and that approval is no commitment to equivalency. If you need equivalency, confirm with the ministry before enrolling.
How much does a bachelor’s in France cost in riyals?
A public university charges €2,902 a year for non-EU students in 2026-27, about SAR 12,120. AI2 Years 1 and 2 cost €9,000, about SAR 37,580. The visa then requires at least €877.50 a month, about SAR 3,660.
Can I apply for a French student visa at 17?
The Campus France Saudi Arabia guides we read do not list specific documents for minors. Contact its advisers in Riyadh, Jeddah or Al Khobar early, because extra parental documents may be requested.
When does AI2’s Bachelor start?
AI2 plans intakes in February, May and September 2027. The priority deadline for February 2027 is 30 November 2026. School leavers finishing in 2027 usually aim for September.
Sources consulted on 30 October 2026: Campus France KSA: Admissions · Campus France KSA: Études en France platform · Campus France KSA: Licence 1 guide (PDF, 2022) · Campus France KSA: pre-consular guide (PDF, 2022) · Campus France KSA: Bachelor programs · Campus France KSA: English programs · Campus France KSA: First step · Campus France KSA: Applying for a student visa · Campus France KSA: Learn French · Campus France KSA: Translators · Campus France KSA: higher education system · Campus France KSA: Arrival checklist · Campus France: Études en France procedure · Campus France: French degrees and LMD · Campus France: tuition fees · Campus France: CVEC · France-Visas: Saudi Arabia · Service-Public: F2231 (verified 1 August 2026) · Service-Public: F2713 · Saudi Ministry of Education: equivalency · Ministry of Education: study on one’s own account · Ministry of Education: recommended universities · Ministry of Education: applying for a scholarship · Ministry of Education: joining a mission · SAMA: commitment to the exchange rate policy · European Central Bank: euro reference rates (28 October 2026) · AI2: Bachelor in Applied AI · AI2: BSc AI-Powered Application Development · AI2: BSc Data Analytics & Applied AI · AI2: tuition fees 2027
Send your secondary-school transcripts: AI2 admissions reviews your file, holds an online interview and confirms your year, track, tuition and any scholarship in your admission letter, the document Campus France will ask for.
