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As France returns to normalcy, international students might be the first to benefit, the Ambassador of France, Emmanuel Lenain claimed. He told the media, “We are proud that France was the first country to reopen its borders to Indian students and academics. It is very important, even during this complicated period, to keep the door open for Indian students and researchers who wish to study, teach or carry out research in France. There are over 600000 learners of the French language in India and plenty of others who want to study in English in France, which is possible in most universities and other higher education institutions. France will put everything in place to help fulfil their higher education aspirations.”

In the previous months, French visa centers had shut down. Now, seven (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi) have reopened and begun processing applications for student and other academic visas, as well as the Talent passport holders.

The Talent passport is a multiyear resident permit (4 years) for highly skilled foreigners who wish to live in France. Indians are welcome to apply for the passport. The Ambassador said, “There are many of such talent in India. The Talent passport holders, with the opening of borders, can now travel to France again.”

There were more than 343,000 international students in France in 2017-18 according to the International Consultants of Education and Fairs (ICEF). This was a 4.5% growth over the previous year. France has now set its sights on welcoming 500,000 international students by the year 2027. Indian students are likely to be a major percentage of that population. Currently, India ranks second on the list of international student origin countries, after China, according to the IIE’s Project Atlas report.