Scholarships in France for Saudi Students: Custodian Programme, Eiffel and School Awards (2027)

Who can actually pay for your studies in France? How the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques programme is organised today, how a self-funded student can join it later, what happens once an award is issued, which French schemes are open, and what school scholarships change in riyals.

Who funds what?

Seven sources, each with its own gatekeeper.

Campus France Saudi Arabia splits its scholarship page by nationality, and that is the right first filter. Saudi citizens can look at the two government programmes it names. Non-Saudi residents of the Kingdom cannot, and depend on French, international or school awards.

How is the Custodian programme organised today?

Older pages and current services use different names, so read the dates.

The ministry traces the programme to an approval in 2005. It connected students through the Safeer platform in 2010, began a second phase in 2011, linked scholarships to jobs through the “Your Job, Your Scholarship” project in 2015, and closed the third phase in 2019. In March 2022 the Minister of Education presented a strategy with four tracks (Research and Development, Alrowad or Pioneers, Imdad, and Wa’ed), each with its own goals and fields.

The current application service, last updated on 13 October 2026, lists six routes: Pioneers, Imdad, Excellence, Research and Development, Training Scholarship and Health Agreements. Applications now start on the Qubool platform, through Nafath or the ministry’s unified login, where you enter language test and international exam results. Older ministry pages still send applicants to Safeer, so trust the service page.

What the Excellence Track pages add

The ministry’s Excellence pages describe the 2021-22 and 2022-23 cycles, so treat them as a guide to how selection works. Applicants compete on the university’s level in international rankings, the average of their previous qualification, and not already holding the same or a higher degree. Seats were capped at 1,000 a year, with seven per major at a university. There was no age limit, employees could apply with a leave permission from their employer, and the major did not have to continue the previous one. The ministry’s list of fields for this track, in a page updated in February 2025, is led by business administration, sports, hospitality, tourism, public policy and social sciences.

On language, the Minister said in 2022 that English preparation would be provided locally, leaving students free to learn another language in the scholarship country. Ministry pages for specific tracks do set test levels, so read the rules of yours.

Does France appear in the Saudi programme?

Yes in the pages we read, and the list for your cycle is what counts.

France is named on the ministry’s scholarship page among the countries for two health tracks published in 2021: nursing, and applied medical sciences, both for bachelor’s and master’s. It also appears among the countries for human medicine fellowships and subspecialties, where the page asks for French at C2. Those entries show that a French institution can sit inside the programme, but each track sets its own countries, majors and institutions.

For anything else, the ministry’s tools answer better than any guide. Its recommended-universities search lets you filter by country, university, specialty and degree, and the scholarship portal publishes the institutions and majors for each cycle.

Already studying at your own expense? Joining a mission

A second chance at a scholarship, with demanding controls.

The ministry’s “Request to Join a Mission” service lets students abroad at their own expense apply without visiting its headquarters, also through Qubool. Lists of universities and specialisations were updated from January 2024. You need the ministry’s approval for your self-funded study, which is one more reason to file it early (see our guide to a bachelor in France for Saudi students).

The institution must also meet a ranking test: among the top 50 in the specialisation, or the top 100 on the ministry’s approved classification, with a route through the top 200 for approved medical, engineering and scientific fields. The specialisation must be recommended and not closed or overcrowded, the country must be a scholarship country, and seats are limited. Most self-funded students should therefore budget as if no mission will follow.

What happens after a Saudi award?

The paperwork continues in France, through the cultural mission.

The ministry’s Excellence pages set out a sequence that shows how an award turns into payments. Check the steps for your own track.

1. 1
   Scholarship decision

   Requested on Safeer with your unconditional admission letter, passport, national ID, national address and academic documents. Family companions’ documents go in the same file. Employees add a leave permission.
2. 2
   Embassy letter and travel ticket

   The ministry introduces you to the embassy of the study country, which helps the visa, and you can request your ticket online once the visa is issued.
3. 3
   Start of study

   You must begin within a month of the date in your decision, then file “Start Study” on Safeer 2 for the cultural attaché supervising your country.
4. 4
   Study plan and financial guarantee

   After you enter your stages and subjects, you request a guarantee letter, which the cultural mission sends once the university’s details are confirmed.

Three French details matter here. Holders of foreign government scholarships are not exempt from the CVEC, €105 for 2026-27, about SAR 440, according to Campus France. Students in a Saudi-French cooperation programme are exempt from the SAR 300 Campus France KSA fee, according to its 2022 guide. And for a permit renewal, Service-Public lists an attestation from the paying body in your home country, stating the amount and length of the scholarship, as proof of resources. The rest of the visa file is in our France student visa guide for Saudi Arabia.

Which French scholarships can Saudi students target?

Eiffel is the main one, and you do not apply yourself.

Eiffel is competitive and it does not fund a bachelor’s. If you are finishing a degree now, talk to the institution before December, because it decides whom to nominate. For everything else, Campus France points to CampusBourses, a search engine covering grants from governments, companies, foundations and institutions, filtered by nationality, field and level. Worldwide schemes are compared in our guide to scholarships in France for international students.

Living in the Kingdom without Saudi citizenship? Eiffel remains possible, and Campus France KSA also lists the Civil Society Leadership Awards, which it describes as fully funded master’s scholarships. Also check what your country of nationality offers.

What can a school scholarship change?

Usually tuition only, which helps the budget but not the visa minimum.

Most self-funded Saudi students will meet scholarships at this level. Each school sets its rules, so ask for the amount in writing before you commit. AI2, the Applied Institute of Artificial Intelligence, teaches in English on its Écouen campus, 22 minutes from Paris Gare du Nord, and assesses every international application automatically: there is no separate form and no extra fee. The award can combine up to three criteria: excellence (academic record and interview, with early application also taken into account), partner channel, and full payment of the academic year.

The conditions are the same for each programme: the award applies to the first year of enrolment, is not transferable and cannot be combined with other discounts, and assessment does not guarantee an award. The Fast-Track has its own €1,500 scholarship, which cannot be combined either. AI2 states that its scholarship reduces tuition and does not count towards the €877.50 a month required for the visa, about SAR 3,660. Rules are on the AI2 scholarships page and the tuition fees page.

AI2’s awards are AI2’s own decisions and sit apart from Saudi government lists. If your funding depends on a ministry, check with the ministry first, as above.

Work-study from the second year

French work-study is another route to free tuition. Under an apprenticeship or professionalisation contract, the employer’s training-fund operator pays tuition for the contract period and you earn a salary. At AI2 it is possible in Bachelor Year 2, the BSc final year and MSc Year 2, and depends on finding an employer: see work-study at AI2. Your first year still needs its own funding, as our budget for Saudi students shows.

A funding calendar for 2027

Dates we could confirm; government cycles change each year.

The order that protects you most: secure an unconditional admission, verify the ministry’s lists, and only then pay. For master’s applicants, our guide to a master’s in France for Saudi students covers routes, and our pillar on studying in France from the Gulf compares the region.

Frequently asked questions

Apply online: admissions reviews your record, holds an online interview and states your entry year, tuition and any award in your admission letter. Fast-Track scholarship until 15 November 2026; priority deadline 30 November 2026.

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