VISA
Before your arrival, you must obtain a visa in order to stay in France for the duration of your studies.
If you live in a country using the CEF procedure (Campus France), you have to submit your application through an online procedure.
Moving to Lyon
You can reach the city by plane (Aéroport Lyon-Saint Exupéry, + Rhônexpress), train (Gares Part-Dieu et Lyon Perrache), by car or by coach.
Housing
It’s not easy to find a place to stay in Lyon! Start looking before your arrival and plan for temporary lodgings if necessary.
Lodgings for students in Lyon include student residences managed by the CROUS, private residences and temporary accommodations.
The CROUS offer is the least expensive. But if you are not on an exchange program or do not hold a scholarship, it is very difficult to find a place in a student residence.
To help students pay their rent, the Caisse d’Allocations Familiales (CAF) provides financial assistance for housing. This assistance is calculated according to the characteristics of your lodgings and your personal financial situation. Foreign students may benefit from these allowances.
If you come from a European Union country, you follow the same steps as a French student.
If you are from a country outside the European Union, you must simply send your CAF a photocopy of the front and back sides of your currently valid residence permit for more than four months.
Insurance
All students must therefore subscribe to an insurance policy that covers the risks.
The insurance costs 30 to 40 € and can be bought in several places. Social security organisms often offer it.
Bank account
Opening a French bank account is compulsory for students who wish to benefit from the housing aid, scholarships or salaries.
In most cases, opening a bank account is free, although certain services could be charged. Once you have opened your account, you will be able to generate statements of banking identity (relevé d’identité bancaire – RIB). They enable you to communicate your bank particulars in order to pay your rent or invoices (by direct debit, “prélèvement”) or to receive your grants or wages (by transfer, “virement”).
Major credit cards (Visa and MasterCard) are accepted by most places, and there are ATMs everywhere. In France, checks are used less and less. Moreover, checks from foreign banks are rarely accepted.
→ How to proceed?
Choose a bank and make an appointment. It may be useful to ask your own bank if it is associated with a French network; this can facilitate the opening of the account as well as remittances even before you arrive in France.
You will have to bring:
- an ID or passport
- your residence permit (except for European students)
- proof of residential address, less than 3 months old (electricity or telephone bill, accommodation certificate, etc.)
- student card or enrolment certificate
University restaurants
Commonly known in France as the ‘Restos U’, they are open to all students enrolled in a Higher Education institution. They are all situated on or close to university sites.
The Lyon CROUS has a network of 35 university restaurants and cafeterias covering the whole of the academy.
More on www.crous-lyon.fr
Useful contacts
- Campus France
The French national agency for the promotion of higher education, international student services, and international mobility.
www.campusfrance.org - Lyon Campus
www.lyoncampus.info - Cosmolyon
Part of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN), a non-profit international student organisation. Its mission is to represent international students, thus provide opportunities for cultural understanding and self-development under the principle of Students Helping Students
www.cosmolyon.fr - City of Lyon
www.lyon.fr - International Lyon Convivial Association
Dinners organised by families for foreigners living in the ‘Grand Lyon’
www.lyon-international.org - Consulates
www.consulats-lyon.fr
Emergency numbers
- Fire and accident : 18
- Police : 17
- Medical help/SAMU : 15
- SOS Médecins Lyon : +33 (0)4 78 83 51 51
- SOS – all services (recommended when calling from a mobile) : 112
Cultural Events
Lyon is France’s #2 city for culture according to Journal des Arts, just behind Paris. And for good reason, as the city has an abundance of museums, from the Musée des Confluences (opened in December 2014) to the Musée d’Art Contemporain (Contemporary Art Museum), to the Musée de la Résistance and the Institut Lumière (Cinema Museum), allowing you to immerse yourself in Lyon’s history and heritage.
The city’s cultural life is also punctuated by over 21,000 events all throughout the year, ranging from exhibitions, concerts and plays, to festivals, biennial celebrations and much more. These include major international events such as the Festival Lumière (Grand Lyon Film Festival), the Biennale de la danse (Biennial Dance Festival), the Biennale d’Art Contemporain (Biennial Modern Art Festival), the Nuits Sonores (electronic music festival), the Nuits de Fourvière (music festival) or the renowned Festival of Lights.
Pass Culture :
The city of Lyon offers passes to cultural events to international students: a 4-shows card for 16€ giving access to 41 cultural institutions of the agglomeration and discounts for the Nuits sonores electronic festival.
More information : passculture@mairie-lyon.fr
Your budget
Being a student entitles you to discount rates in many areas (accommodation, restaurants, transportation, recreation, etc.). Nonetheless, you should make a precise budget of your needs in France.
Reckon on at least 600€ a month to have a reasonable standard of living, and more the first month (more than 800€ due to the advance expenses for housing).
COST OF LIVING, A FEW EXAMPLES
- Housing : between 200 and 450 €/month for a room, a studio or a one-bedroom flat.
- Monthly electricity/gas and telephone bills : 55€/month on average
- Public transport : 10.50€ for a book of 10 bus/train/metro tickets (pass/month : 30.60€ )
- Roundtrip Lyon-Paris TGV (high-speed train) ticket : 60 euros (with 12-25 pass)
- Groceries : around 250€/month
- Meal at a pizza restaurant, with dessert, without drinks : 12€
- Baguette (250 grams) : 0.70€
- Cinema ticket : 7.50€ on average
- A full meal set menu at the CROUS : 3,25€