Tuition: Rates, Exemptions, Waivers, Refunds

The following are NOT subject to differentiated tuition fees (national rules and transitional measures) and pay the same tuition fees as French students: 

1. Nationals of any European Union member state, nationals of another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, nationals of Monaco, Andorra, and Switzerland, and residents of Quebec; 
2. Holders of a residence permit bearing the notation "Residence permit for a family member of a Union citizen/ EEA/Switzerland” on it;
3. Holders of one of the residence cards provided for in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article L. 411-1 of the Code on theEntry and Residence of Foreign Nationals and the Right of Asylum, or holders of a document of the same nature issued under an international agreement applicable to the French Republic, or minors under the age of eighteen who are direct descendants or dependents of the holder of one of these cards; 
4. Individuals domiciled in France or affiliated with a tax household domiciled in France for at least two years as of January 1 preceding the start of the academic year for which enrollment is requested;
5. Individuals who have been granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, or individuals whose father, mother, or legal guardian has been granted such status or protection; 
6. Nationals of a country that has entered into an international agreement applicable to the French Republic providing that French nationals pay the same registration fees as citizens of that country, or exempting nationals of that country from the requirement to hold a residence permit in France (excluding short-stay Schengen visas)
7. Doctoral students and those enrolled in the Habilitation à diriger des recherches (HDR) program

Transitional measures for students subject to differentiated fees

Students exempt from tiered tuition fees for the 2025–2026 academic year remain exempt until the end of their degree program (the entire duration of a bachelor’s degree or the entire duration of a master’s degree).

Not being subject to differentiated tuition fees means that the student is partially exempt from tuition fees. They will be required to pay tuition fees at the same rate as those paid by French or European students as defined in Article R719-50 of the Education Code, starting with the 2026–2027 academic year.

It is the students’ responsibility, at the time of their online administrative registration directly in the PEGASE student management application, to indicate one of the situations listed above and to attach the corresponding supporting document within that same application. 

The President of INALCO instructs the Office of Student Affairs to verify these documents and authorizes it to refuse to validate the registration if the supporting document submitted does not correspond to the situation indicated by the student.

Are eligible for a full and automatic waiver of tuition fees (national policy):

1. Recipients of state-funded higher education scholarships, particularly means-tested scholarships (BCS) for enrollment in a national degree program or a degree program authorized to accept scholarship students, and French government scholarships (BGF) awarded by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs for enrollment in the program for which the BGF was granted to them;

2. Wards of the Nation and Wards of the Republic enrolling in a national degree program or a degree program authorized to accept scholarship students;

3. Foreign students covered by an agreement with a foreign institution that exempts French students it hosts from paying tuition fees, or who are part of a European or international program for hosting students participating in international mobility that has the same effect, are, by operation of law, exempt from paying such fees, in accordance with terms of reciprocity determined by an order of the Minister of Higher Education;

4. Students enrolled in an Inalco apprenticeship program (subject to the signing of an apprenticeship contract).

It is the students’ responsibility, at the time of their online administrative registration directly in the PEGASE enrollment management application, to indicate one of the situations listed above and to attach the corresponding supporting document within that same application. 

The President of Inalco instructs the Office of Student Affairs to verify these documents and authorizes it to refuse to validate the registration if the supporting document submitted does not correspond to the situation indicated by the student

Students who are fully exempt from tuition fees must, however, pay the CVEC.

At INALCO, in addition to bachelor’s and master’s programs, only the introductory courses in Arabic (in-person), Chinese, and Russian are eligible to accept students receiving scholarships.

The president of INALCO authorizes the waiver of tuition fees for certain students, upon request, based on their personal circumstances.

1. Upon submission of a request accompanied by supporting documents, students may apply for a full exemption from tuition fees for a single degree program—whether national (Bachelor’s, Master’s, D) or institutional degree, as well as for the FLE program (in the case of enrollment in the FLE program in addition to enrollment in a degree-granting program at Inalco):

• Students with refugee status or who are granted subsidiary protection;

• Students with temporary protection status, stateless persons, or asylum seekers;

• Unemployed workers in France and who are not receiving benefits from France Travail;

• Recipients of the Active Solidarity Income (RSA);

• Single parents or expectant single parents, upon presentation of the CAF notification;

• Students with disabilities receiving the adult disability allowance

• Students enrolled in a program governed by a joint accreditation or a national or international agreement that provides for full exemption;

• Inalco’s tenured and contract staff on permanent or fixed-term contracts (administrative and teaching staff, including contract doctoral students and ATERs); The staff members listed above are also fully exempt from Passeport registration fees, as well as specific distance learning (EAD) fees

• Temporary teaching staff teaching at least 60 hours per year at INALCO and temporary administrative staff hired for a minimum of 140 hours of temporary work at INALCO;

• BULAC staff

2. Alumni are eligible for a 25% discount on registration fees for Passeport and institutional degree programs (25% off the base rate)
    

3. The tuition waiver does not apply to the following enrollments:

• as a continuing education trainee,

• in a minor program (unless provided for by a joint degree accreditation or a valid agreement with a partner institution),

• ePassport, except for tenured and contract staff at Inalco on permanent or fixed-term contracts, and for Inalco alumni.

4. The specific distance learning (EAD) fees, which are in addition to the basic tuition fees, are not waived, except for Inalco’s permanent staff and contract employees on permanent or fixed-term contracts.  

It is the students’ responsibility, at the time of their administrative registration online directly in the PEGASE student management application, to indicate one of the situations listed above and to attach the corresponding supporting document to the same application.

Unless they can provide proof at the time of their annual administrative registration of circumstances that would allow the President to consider a possible exemption, all EU and non-EU students must pay the full amount of the required tuition fees by the deadline for administrative registration and re-registration. Otherwise, their registration will not be validated.

Students enrolled in national degree programs (Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate), in the DU Passerelle program, DUH2M, and in the non-degree FLE program whose personal circumstances are not covered by the situations listed in the previous tabs may request an exemption through a refund of the tuition fees paid for the 2026/2027 on an individual basis (based on their personal circumstances). Requests must be addressed to the President , provided that they have completed their registration and paid the corresponding tuition fees. 

These requests for exemption must be submitted between July 7, 2026 (start of administrative registration) and September 15, 2026 (the deadline for administrative registration) AND only via this form.

These waivers, if approved by the President, will be granted solely through a refund of the registration fees paid. If the President approves the exemption, the refund will be issued within 4 to 6 months of the exemption decision

At the start of the academic year: request for cancellation and refund of tuition fees (deadline for receipt of the request is October 30, 2026)

The decree of April 19, 2019, provides for the reimbursement of tuition fees to students who withdraw from a national degree program before the start of the academic year, except for a fee of 23 euros, which is retained by the institution to cover administrative costs associated with enrollment.

INALCO extends this option for cancellation and refund to students who withdraw from enrollment in an institutional degree program or a non-degree program, and extends it until October 30, 2026 (until November 30, 2026, for doctoral students).

Any decision to cancel enrollment at INALCO results, when the full tuition has been paid by the student, a full refund of tuition fees, subject to a non-refundable fee of 23 euros retained by the institution to cover administrative costs associated with enrollment, in accordance with the rate set by ministerial decree.

Procedure upon request:

• For requests to cancel enrollment and receive a refund of tuition fees for Bachelor’s, Master’s, institutional diplomas, and the Passport, submit the request by email to View e-mail
• For requests to cancel and receive a refund of tuition fees for Doctoral programs, please submit your request by email to View e-mail

During the academic year: request for cancellation and refund of tuition fees (deadline for receipt of the request is December 5, 2026)

After October 30, 2026 (after November 30, 2026 for doctoral students), cancellation and/or refund of tuition fees is not guaranteed. They may be granted by the President, on an exceptional basis, upon a substantiated request, received no later than December 5, 2026. No requests for cancellation or refund submitted after this date will be considered (except in the event of death).

These cancellation requests will be subject to the prior review of the committee responsible for evaluating cancellation and refund requests, which will examine the reasons provided (including changes in personal or professional circumstances, or enrollment in multiple programs). Cancellation of administrative registration during the academic year does not automatically result in a refund of tuition fees.  The committee decides, on the one hand, on the cancellation request (acceptance or denial) and, on the other hand, on the refund request (refund granted or denied), based in particular on the courses taken and attendance at exams for the 1^st semester.

If a decision is made to refund all or part of the tuition fees, the institution retains 23 euros to cover the administrative costs associated with enrollment, in accordance with the rate set by ministerial decree.

Cancellation and refund are effective only once the student has returned their student ID card. The processing time for cancellation and refund requests begins upon notification by the committee and may take between 4 and 6 months, depending on the time of year.

Any request for a refund of the CVEC fee paid by students is not processed by INALCO. Students must submit this request directly to the CROUS.

Students must submit requests for a refund of the CVEC fee directly to the CROUS.

Please review the consequences of canceling university enrollment in the decree regarding enrollment periods, procedures, cancellation, refunds, and exemptions.

Application-based procedure:

• To receive the application form for cancellation and refund of tuition fees for Bachelor’s and Master’s programs, institutional diplomas, and the Passport, please email View e-mail
• To receive the application form for cancellation and refund of tuition fees for Doctoral programs, please submit your request via email to View e-mail

After December 5, 2026, requests to cancel administrative enrollment—with or without a refund for the academic year—will not be accepted. 

Any request received after this date by the Office of Academic Affairs constitutes a withdrawal from studies (or academic withdrawal) effective as of the second semester of the academic year in question. No tuition refunds will be issued. Any request to withdraw from studies must be submitted before the end of the second week of classes in the 2^nd semester (i.e., by February 5, 2027, at the latest).

Consequences of withdrawing from studies:

• Administrative enrollment is not canceled in the student records database

• Grades earned in the 1^st semester of the academic year in question and approved by the examination committee are retained

• Academic registrations for the second semester are canceled

• Students are prohibited from attending classes and taking exams in the second semester

• The academic year in question counts toward the degree program

• Withdrawal from the program is final for the second semester of the current academic year

• Students receiving financial aid must notify the CROUS offices of their withdrawal from studies as soon as possible. Withdrawal from studies results in the suspension of scholarship payments by the CROUS

Procedure upon request:

• For requests to withdraw from a Bachelor’s or Master’s program, institutional degrees , submit the request by email to View e-mail
• For requests to withdraw from a Doctoral program, please submit your request via email to View e-mail