Bachelor in France for UAE Students: Grade 12 Entry, Visa and Budget in AED (2027)

Finishing Grade 12 in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or the Northern Emirates and thinking about a bachelor’s in France? Which UAE school certificates open the door, how the application and visa work for residents of every nationality, whether you need French, and what Year 1 costs in dirhams.

Can you start a bachelor’s in France straight after Grade 12 in the UAE?

Year 1 is open to UAE school leavers of every curriculum.

Yes, and the route is clearer than many families expect. France organises higher education in the licence, master, doctorate system: according to Campus France, a bachelor’s (licence) takes six semesters and 180 ECTS credits, and a master’s four more semesters and 120 credits. A UAE school leaver enters the first year.

Campus France UAE sets out who can use the Études en France (EeF) platform from the Emirates. You qualify if you are a UAE resident and hold a non-European high school diploma, and it names five examples: the IB, A-levels, the Thanawiyya Amma, a US diploma and CBSE. Students preparing the French or the European baccalauréat use Parcoursup instead, and a tourist without UAE residency cannot use the UAE platform.

Campus France UAE also reminds applicants that no predetermined set of equivalences between French and foreign degrees is officially recognised in France. Each institution reads your file and decides, which is why your grades, subjects and school documents matter more than the name of the certificate.

Which UAE school curriculum do you hold, and what goes in your file?

Five curricula, one set of documents.

The UAE’s schools teach several curricula side by side. For a French application they all lead to the same first step, Year 1, with the same set of school documents.

For a technical bachelor’s in computing, data or AI, the subject that usually decides is mathematics: make sure it is visible on your transcripts for the final school years, whatever the curriculum.

For undergraduate applicants, Campus France UAE lists the documents to prepare: academic records for Grades 10 and 11, predicted results for Grade 12 or 13, counsellor recommendations, the school profile and mid-year reports, plus your passport and Emirates ID, a CV, a cover letter and a photo. Each file must stay under 500 KB and be in French or English; Campus France UAE links to a list of sworn translators in the UAE for documents in other languages.

The UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research lists its own service for the equivalency of a Grade 12 certificate within the UAE. It is a UAE procedure and it does not appear on the Campus France UAE document list for French applications.

Which application route fits: public university or private institution?

Campus France UAE publishes the procedures and deadlines for the 2027-28 intake. The route depends on the type of institution and the year you enter.

Two consequences for UAE students. First, the public-university window for Year 1 closes on 15 December 2026 and allows only three choices. Second, a private institution that admits you directly gives you an admission letter outside EeF; you then go straight to the pre-consular procedure for the visa.

For the broader picture of English-taught options for international students, see our guide to a bachelor in France in English.

Do you need French, IELTS or both?

For a programme taught in French, Campus France UAE requires a DELF or TCF certificate at B2 from applicants whose country does not have French as an official language. It lists the exams available in the UAE: the TCF TP (AED 1,500, valid two years), the DELF B2 for adults (AED 680) and the DELF Junior for teenagers (AED 585). Applicants to a programme taught in English are exempt.

English-taught programmes set their own English requirement. Some, including AI2, accept English-medium schooling as proof of level. Our guide to studying in France without IELTS explains how that works.

How does the student visa work for UAE residents of any nationality?

One platform, one visa centre, for Emiratis and expatriates alike.

Campus France UAE states that Emirati and international students resident in the UAE who apply to a bachelor’s or master’s programme at public or private universities go through the EeF platform. Nationality changes the paperwork, not the route. Emiratis can visit France without a Schengen visa for short stays, but a programme longer than three months requires the long-stay student visa (VLS-TS), valid from 4 months to one year.

1. 1
   Get your admission letter

   From the institution, through EeF or directly.
2. 2
   Open the pre-consular file on EeF

   Upload passport and Emirates ID, CV, last completed school certificate with transcripts, the admission letter and any language test. Campus France UAE reviews it in 4 to 6 working days in low season, 5 to 7 in high season, and cannot speed this up.
3. 3
   Pay and attend the meeting

   Pay the fee by bank transfer after the EeF email (Campus France UAE quotes AED 340 to 700 depending on the page), then attend an in-person meeting with a Campus France representative.
4. 4
   Fill in the France-Visas long-stay form

   Choose the long-stay form, not the short-stay one.
5. 5
   Lodge the file at VFS Global Abu Dhabi

   Walk-ins are allowed for long-stay student visas. Bring every checklist document in two copies; the visa fee is AED 201 and the VFS charge AED 99.08. The decision usually takes 3 to 4 weeks.

What the checklist adds for school leavers

• A passport valid for at least 15 months from the start of the programme, issued within the last 10 years, with two adjacent blank pages.
• A copy of a valid UAE residency visa. Students sponsored on a parent’s visa should check its expiry date early.
• Proof of funds: for a sponsored student, the sponsor’s passport and residency visa, a signed guarantee letter, 3 months of statements and a salary certificate.
• Housing booked for at least the first 3 months.
• If you are under 18: a translated birth certificate, authorisation from both parents with their IDs and marriage certificate, an adult contact in France, health insurance and vaccine records (UAE records are accepted).

Skipping the Campus France step leads to an automatic refusal, so start as soon as you hold an offer and at least two months before departure. Our France student visa guide for UAE residents details every document and how to prepare the meeting.

What happens to an expatriate student’s UAE residence?

Many UAE school leavers hold a residence visa sponsored by a parent. The UAE Government portal explains that, as a general rule, a residence visa is cancelled when its holder stays outside the UAE for more than 180 continuous days. The same page lists exceptions, including students enrolled in educational institutions abroad who hold a valid residence visa, and expatriate students at universities abroad under Dubai rules, and it advises checking with the ICP whether this applies to your emirate.

Settle this with your family before departure, because it affects how you return to the UAE during and after your studies.

What does Year 1 cost in dirhams?

Rates in this section use the Central Bank of the UAE euro rate of 28 October 2026, €1 = AED 4.088278. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so dirham amounts move with the euro-dollar rate.

The Campus France UAE checklist asks that the account shown for the visa hold the first year’s living costs plus tuition. Housing deposits, transport and every other line are added up in our full first-year budget for UAE residents, and funding options in our guide to scholarships for UAE residents.

An English-taught option: the Bachelor in Applied AI at AI2

Three years in English near Paris, from Grade 12 to a level 6 title.

For a UAE student who wants to work in software, data or AI, AI2, the Applied Institute of Artificial Intelligence, offers a three-year Bachelor 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. French is not required.

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. Intakes are planned in February, May and September 2027, and the priority deadline for February 2027 is 30 November 2026. The final year awards the AI2 diploma and prepares a professional certification recognised by the French State and registered in the RNCP.

AI2 is also building links with institutions in the Emirates: in September 2026 its president visited the UKCBC Dubai campus to discuss academic progression to France for its graduates (read the visit report). Programme details are on the Bachelor in Applied AI page.

A timeline for a September 2027 start

Prefer to start sooner? AI2 also plans February and May 2027 intakes. Holding a Pakistani or Sri Lankan passport? You still apply from the UAE as a resident; our guides to a bachelor in France for Pakistani students and for Sri Lankan students cover the home-country certificates.

📘 Related guide: Study in France in English from the UAE.

Frequently asked questions

Tell AI2 your curriculum and current results: admissions reviews your file, holds an online interview and confirms your year, track, tuition and any scholarship in your admission letter.

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