Study in France from Gulf Countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar Compared (2027)

Riyadh, Dubai, Kuwait City, Manama or Doha: how different is the road to a French campus? France applies one framework to all five. The Campus France office, the fee, the visa centre and, above all, the home ministry’s rules are what change, and this guide puts them side by side.

What is the same from every Gulf country?

The French side does not change with your departure airport.

Campus France lists all five states among the countries covered by the Études en France procedure, so a student in any of them creates a file on the same platform. The rest of the French framework is common too:

• Degrees: a bachelor’s is six semesters and 180 ECTS credits; a master’s adds four semesters and 120 credits (Campus France).
• Fees: public institutions charge non-EU students €2,902 a year for a bachelor’s and €3,950 for a master’s; private institutions are mostly €6,000 to €18,000 or more (Campus France, 2026-27).
• Visa: a long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) for stays over three months, validated online within three months of arrival for €100 (Service-Public F2231).
• Money: at least €877.50 a month, on top of tuition.
• Work: up to 964 hours a year while you study (Service-Public F2713).

The value of a diploma is also defined in France, not locally. Campus France explains that the State guarantees it for national diplomas, ministry-approved diplomas and titles registered in the RNCP. Each institution then makes its own admission decision.

How do the five routes differ on the ground?

Same platform, five offices, and fees that are not comparable.

Admitted directly by a school outside the platform? Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait all describe a pre-consular procedure for you: you do not apply through Études en France, you register the letter there and move on to the interview and the visa. Kuwait adds that the letter must show the start date, level, programme, selection method and teaching language, and its office exempts holders of a French baccalauréat less than four years old from both fee and interview.

Does your passport or your residence decide?

In three countries the office says it serves residents. Campus France Saudi Arabia addresses “a resident in Saudi Arabia”, Saudi or foreign. Campus France UAE covers Emirati and international students living in the Emirates, but not tourists. Kuwait’s guide covers Kuwaitis and non-Schengen foreigners residing in Kuwait. For expatriate families in Bahrain and Qatar, ask the office which file applies. Oman has its own Campus France site, which this guide does not cover.

What does each home ministry check?

The widest gap in the Gulf, and the one to settle first.

French admission says nothing about how your degree will be read at home. Each Gulf ministry has its own logic, and the table shows how far apart they are.

Saudi Arabia

The ministry’s equivalency service sheet says approval to study abroad is no commitment to equalise the certificate later. For institutions outside the lists, a committee reviews each case, and at least 75% of the degree must be studied at recommended or accepted institutions.

United Arab Emirates

Resolution No. 5 of 2025 applies to UAE nationals, self-funded or sponsored. The institution must meet a ranking test, and France falls under the rule for non-English-speaking countries, unless the institution is in the top 50 for the field. Failing that, the qualification is not counted for employment, promotion or study leave in the federal government sector; a committee can consider exceptions. Separately, Ministerial Decree No. 34 of 2025 sets the general recognition test: a valid qualification from an institution legally established, licensed and accredited in its home country.

Kuwait

The ministry’s Certificate Equivalency Department evaluates foreign qualifications for citizens and expatriates, for employment in both the public and private sectors. It asks for an acceptance letter, graduation certificate and transcript approved by the cultural office, and it runs a cultural office for France. Recommended institutions are published by the National Authority for Academic Accreditation.

Bahrain

The eGovernment portal publishes 18 general criteria for joining institutions abroad. Both institution and programme must be licensed in the country of study and listed on the platform, the institution should appear in an international ranking, and a bachelor’s must be taken in regular attendance on campus. Students can file a Program Recommendation Request for a programme not yet listed, which is the practical tool for a French plan. Equivalency itself sits with the Ministry of Education, which can reject a file if verification fails.

Qatar

Self-funded and employer-funded students need pre-approval from the Department of University Certificates Equivalency, which the ministry calls a key condition for equivalency after graduation. It checks the discipline, track and institution against a list of approved universities. Study and exams take place at the main campus named in the decision, and the duration set for each degree must be respected.

Who funds Gulf students in France?

National schemes vary as much as the ministry rules; French ones are the same for all.

Every nationality can be nominated for the French government’s Eiffel scholarship, but only by a French institution: files must reach Campus France by 6 January 2027, for master’s and PhD studies, at €1,200 a month at master’s level, without tuition. CampusBourses lists other awards by nationality, field and level. Holders of foreign government scholarships are not exempt from the €105 CVEC, according to Campus France. For the Saudi schemes in detail, see our guide to scholarships in France for Saudi students.

What does a first year cost in each currency?

A floor for comparison, in five currencies.

Every line adds tuition to twelve months at the €877.50 visa minimum, or €10,530. Flights, deposits, CVEC and local fees come on top, and AI2 estimates living costs in the Paris region at €900 to €1,700 a month, rent included.

Which language and school certificate do you need?

English-taught options exist; the certificate rarely changes the door.

Campus France Saudi Arabia warns that most bachelor’s programmes are taught in French, and that Year 1 at a public university requires a French test through the DAP. Campus France UAE exempts applicants to English-taught programmes from the French requirement. English-taught options are therefore where most Gulf applicants without French will look, and each programme sets its own proof of English.

Gulf students often hold different certificates within the same country: national secondary, A-levels, American diploma, IB or CBSE. Campus France UAE names all of these, and adds that no fixed list of equivalences exists: each institution reads your file. Bahrain goes further on its side, stating that a student cannot skip a foundation year unless holding A-levels or the IB, so Bahraini readers should raise this with the ministry.

To prepare French, look at the Alliance Française branches in the Kingdom, the Institut français in Kuwait and the Institut Français du Qatar.

An English-taught option for computing, data and AI: AI2

One campus near Paris, one pathway from Year 1 to the MSc.

AI2, the Applied Institute of Artificial Intelligence, teaches 100% in English on its Écouen campus, 22 minutes from Paris Gare du Nord by Transilien line H. French is not required. English is expected at B2 (IELTS 6.0, TOEFL iBT 72 or English-medium schooling), and selection is a file review and an online interview, so you can apply from anywhere in the Gulf. AI2 admits directly, which means the pre-consular route described above.

Each final year awards the AI2 diploma and prepares a professional certification recognised by the French State and registered in the RNCP. At MSc level these are RNCP39978 (Information Systems Architect for Industrial Processes) and RNCP40554 (Internet of Things (IoT) Architect), level 7, master’s level (EQF 7), certified by DATAKOO, AI2’s parent company. Compare the tracks on all AI2 programmes.

Intakes are planned in February, May and September 2027, with a priority deadline of 30 November 2026 for February. The tuition fees page sets out scholarships and payment. If your ministry reviews duration or format, as Qatar’s and Bahrain’s rules suggest, raise the exact format with them before choosing a shorter route.

Your next read, country by country

Each guide goes deeper than this comparison.

📘 Related guide: Masters in France for Saudi students.

Frequently asked questions

Send your certificates: AI2 admissions reviews your file, holds an online interview and confirms your entry year, intake, tuition and any scholarship in your admission letter. Priority deadline for February 2027: 30 November 2026.

Apply nowSee all programmes