The sheet to print
Going to study in the Union: the sheet to keep
Six reflexes, from the application to the registration counter. Each one carries the text it stands on.
File EU 2004/38
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Law as verified onJuly 29, 2026
- 01
Apply anywhere: nationality is not a criterion
You are entitled to study at any EU university under the same conditions as nationals, and access to education cannot be refused to you on grounds of your nationality. Prepare the file and, if the country requires it, the language test.
Section “Admission and entry to university” · University: admission and entry conditions · europa.eu - 02
Pay the nationals' enrolment rate, and claim their course-fee grants
Higher course fees than the country's nationals cannot be required of you, and the grants that cover course fees are open to you as they are to them. Have any “international” classification corrected before paying.
Section “Course fees and grants” · University: course fees and grants covering course fees · europa.eu - 03
Build your budget without counting on the maintenance grant
Equality covers neither loans nor maintenance or support grants. Some countries provide them on their own initiative: look into it, but do not rest the rent on it.
Section “Course fees and grants”, warning · University: the limit on maintenance grants and loans · europa.eu - 04
The first three months: your identity card, nothing else
Up to three months, no condition or formality other than holding a valid identity card or passport. A country may ask you to report your presence, not to assemble a file.
Article 6(1) · Directive 2004/38/EC (free movement and residence), Article 6 (Right of residence for up to three months), paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 05
At registration, supply three documents and not one statement more
Identity document, proof of enrolment, proof of comprehensive sickness insurance, and a resources declaration whose amount cannot be demanded. The official page confirms it: you do not need to provide other documents, and paragraph 2 of the same Article requires the certificate to be issued immediately.
Article 8(3) · Directive 2004/38/EC, Article 8, paragraph 3, third indent (the documents a student can be required to present) · eur-lex.europa.eu - 06
Faced with an injunction to leave, demand the forms
Written decision, stated reasons, appeal routes and deadlines specified: without these elements, the decision is incomplete. At the end of your studies, proof of work or sufficient resources keeps the right of residence alive.
Section “Can you be requested to leave or be deported?” · Students, residence rights: requests to leave and deportation · europa.eu
General information on the European baseline, not legal advice on your case. Independent educational site, unconnected to the institutions of the European Union. The redress links in this file point only to official bodies.
Sources checked on July 29, 2026. · https://depleindroit.odersa.org/en/fiches/partir-etudier-dans-l-union · Content licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What the law owes you
Every right with its amount or its deadline, the extract of the official text it rests on, and its address.
Study at any university in the Union, with no nationality barrier
You are entitled to study at any EU university under the same conditions as nationals, and no country may refuse you access to education or training on grounds of your nationality. Entry conditions genuinely vary: the equality covers the rules, not the outcome.
The official text · Section “Admission and entry to university”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/education/university/admission-entry-conditions/index_en.htm“As an EU citizen, you are entitled to study at any EU university under the same conditions as nationals. However, conditions of entry vary significantly between individual countries and universities. […] Regardless of the other entry conditions, you may not be refused access to training or education in another EU country on grounds of your nationality.”
The nationals' course fees, and their course-fee grants
You cannot be required to pay higher course fees than nationals of the country, and you are entitled to the same grants as them to cover course fees.
The official text · Section “Course fees and grants”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/education/university/fees-and-financial-help/index_en.htm“you cannot be required to pay higher course fees. you are entitled to the same grants to cover course fees as nationals of that country.”
The written limit: maintenance grants are not guaranteed
Equal treatment does not necessarily apply to support or maintenance grants and loans. Some countries provide them to foreign students on their own initiative: a possibility to check, never a right to demand.
The official text · Section “Course fees and grants”, warning
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/education/university/fees-and-financial-help/index_en.htm“This treatment does not necessarily apply to support or maintenance grants and loans. Some countries may nevertheless choose to provide maintenance grants to foreign students, on their own initiative.”
Three months with no formality other than an identity document
Up to three months, residence in another Member State knows no condition or formality other than holding a valid identity card or passport. No visa, no permit, no file.
The official text · Article 6(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02004L0038-20110616“Union citizens shall have the right of residence on the territory of another Member State for a period of up to three months without any conditions or any formalities other than the requirement to hold a valid identity card or passport.”
Beyond three months: three conditions, and the resources proof your way
Student residence beyond three months rests on enrolment at an accredited establishment, comprehensive sickness insurance cover, and the assurance of sufficient resources given by means of a declaration or by such equivalent means as you may choose.
The official text · Article 7(1)(c)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02004L0038-20110616“are enrolled at a private or public establishment, accredited or financed by the host Member State on the basis of its legislation or administrative practice, for the principal purpose of following a course of study, including vocational training; and […] have comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the host Member State and assure the relevant national authority, by means of a declaration or by such equivalent means as they may choose, that they have sufficient resources for themselves and their family members not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the host Member State during their period of residence”
A fenced-in registration: three documents, no amount demandable
To issue the registration certificate, the State may only require the identity document, proof of enrolment, proof of insurance and the resources declaration, which it may not require to refer to any specific amount. Paragraph 2 of the same Article adds that the certificate is issued immediately.
The official text · Article 8(3)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02004L0038-20110616“Union citizens to whom point (c) of Article 7(1) applies present a valid identity card or passport, provide proof of enrolment at an accredited establishment and of comprehensive sickness insurance cover and the declaration or equivalent means referred to in point (c) of Article 7(1). Member States may not require this declaration to refer to any specific amount of resources.”
No leaving on a vague injunction: written, reasoned decision with appeal routes
A request to leave the territory or a deportation decision must be given in writing, state its reasons and specify how to appeal and by when. Deportation on public-policy grounds remains exceptional and requires proof of a serious threat.
The official text · Section “Can you be requested to leave or be deported?”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/residence-rights/students/index_en.htm“In exceptional cases, your host country can deport you on grounds of public policy or public security - but only if it can prove you represent a serious threat. […] The deportation decision or the request to leave must be given to you in writing. It must state the reasons for your deportation and specify how you can appeal and by when.”
This site is educational and independent: it is not an official site of the European Union, and this verdict is not legal advice on your case. The wordings quoted are copied from the official text and the official pages, whose link appears under each right.
File EU 2004/38
The items in this file
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