You should begin preparations over a year in advance in order to obtain a passport, visa and Social Security.

Citizens of European Union member countries do not require a visa to enter France – a valid national identity card or passport will suffice.

To check if you require a visa, please visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (in French). If you need to apply for a visa, please contact the nearest French Consulate (in French).

ALEGESSEC – the ESSEC Business School Student Accommodation Association - makes 886 rooms and small furnished flats available, all within easy reach of the campus.

Further information about ALEGESSEC student accommodation: reservation, rent, office hours etc.

In and around Cergy-Pontoise a further 17 halls of residence are available, representing accommodation for approximately 3500 students.

Other solutions: you may wish to rent an apartment, reserve a room in a hotel or hotel residence, rent a room within a house, or share an apartment/house

N.B: Esseclive – the ESSEC student website – publishes on a regular basis classified ads for accommodation on the “Pratique” part of the website forum, within which you can also publish your own advertisement.

The Office of Student Affairs is also on hand with advice on finding accommodation other than ALEGESSEC residencies.

Remember that accommodation in France must be insured. The owner of a property is entitled to refuse you access to accommodation unless you are able to produce a comprehensive insurance policy certificate. Further information on accommodation insurance

ALEGESSEC - the ESSEC Business School Student Accommodation Association - is unable to provide for you and your family.

For couples without children, we recommend the Les Estudines student hall of residence, situated in Cergy St-Christophe.

We recommend that families with children rent an apartment at la Citéa for a maximum period of 9 months and at a cost of approximately €700 per month.

Contact details:

Citéa

Cergy-Le Hazay

87 avenue du Hazay

95800 Cergy-le-Haut

Telephone: (+33) (0)1 34 46 68 00

N.B: check that all necessary papers (visa, residence permit etc.) are in place for the people coming with you

You must have a valid residence permit (for international students from non-EU countries) and a copy of your birth certificate translated into French by a certified translator from your native country. ALEGESSEC - the ESSEC Business School Student Accommodation Association - automatically deducts the Rent Rebate from your monthly payment.

Rent Rebate may be granted only partially and based upon your income.

N.B: it is imperative that you complete your APL application for ALEGESSEC in the first two months following your arrival. Beyond this deadline, your monthly payment will be automatically set at the full rate, upon written notification of your parents by recorded delivery.

More information about APL (in French).

The preferred method of payment is by direct debit from your bank account (for French accounts only), between the 5th and 10th day of the month. You can also pay by bank card.

First of all, check if your spouse and children require a visa. This will depend upon their nationality, place of residence, the length of their stay and the reason for their stay. If they do require a visa, contact the closest French Consulate. It is possible that your family will have to submit an "accommodation certificate" to the Consulate in order to obtain a visa.

N.B: you will require proof of residence in France as part of your family’s visa application. In this case, try to secure accommodation as quickly as possible upon arrival.

You should then check if they require a temporary residence permit upon their arrival in France. Click here for a checklist of the documents required for your stay in France. This list will prove very useful for your stay in France, be it unaccompanied or with your spouse/family.

France has a temperate climate, with average temperatures ranging from 0 °C to 8 °C in the winter through to 16 °C to 24 °C in the summer. Very low temperatures are rare but, if you come from a country that is considerably hotter, the difference may be significant.

To find out the weather forecast for the day of your arrival, please consult the Météo France website.

Costs will include accommodation, food, transport, health, and trips out.

Click here to see the monthly expenditure of a student living in France on a limited budget.

Here is a non exhaustive list of scholarships that international students can apply for.

The ESSEC MBA program also includes an Excellence Scholarship Program. Click here for the conditions of application.

If you require further information, please contact us directly by e-mail.

You will have to choose a bank near ESSEC and a solvent financial guarantor in France. You can even open a bank account before receipt of your residence permit, provided that you can supply a photocopy of your passport, a bill with proof of your address in France, and an ESSEC enrollment certificate. You will then need to supply a photocopy of your residence permit once you receive it.

For a loan application outside of France, ESSEC is a member of the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) scheme. When signing up, make sure you use the ESSEC identification number: 03095900.

For further information, please consult the following pdf document

An apprenticeship scheme is available to students from a European Union country and under 26 years of age on 1 May 2004. By choosing this scheme, your time will be divided between classes and working for a company that will pay you a salary to cover your tuition fees, amongst other things. The program, continual assessment and diploma are identical to those of other students, with the organization of the in-company internship coordinated with the ESSEC Apprenticeship Training Center.

This apprenticeship scheme is available via the following programs: ESSEC MBA, Specialized Master's in International Business Law and Management, Specialized Master's in Information Systems and Telecommunications Networks, Specialized Master’s in International Supply Management, MBA in International Hospitality Management, and EPSCI Bachelor's in International Business Administration.

However, as a full-time international student, you do not have the right to take up full-time employment. It is therefore not possible to plan financing your stay in France via paid work on this basis. In addition, your workload will be such that you will not have sufficient time to dedicate yourself to any full-time activity other than your studies.

Positions are available to you on campus, and do not require a work permit of any nature.

These include a scheme offering employment for departments within the school, which is considered a student activity and is rewarded via the attribution of ESSEC scholarships. This financial assistance will enable you to cover a part of your expenses, but will not be sufficient to pay for your entire tuition fees and cost of living while in France.

ESSEC also offers students the opportunity to carry out research work in return for a research scholarship, to be deducted from their tuition fees. Only fee-paying students are eligible for this scheme.

N.B: for employment outside of ESSEC (maximum 20 hours per week), students from non-EU countries will require a temporary work permit in addition to their residence permit before being able to start a job.

Click here for information on obtaining a temporary work permit.

From Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport: take the south-bound RER B high-speed suburban link and change at Châtelet-Les Halles, then the west-bound RER A as far as Cergy-Préfecture.

By bus, the quickest route to Cergy is via the 95-18 line, which takes 1 hour from Roissypole to Cergy-Pontoise.

From central Paris: the best solution remains the RER A: your journey time to Cergy-Préfecture will range from 25 minutes (if you are coming from la Défense) to 1 hour (from the east of Paris). You will then have a 3-minute walk from the suburban-line train station to the campus.

To check all routes, please refer to the interactive map of Paris and check the train and underground timetables supplied by the Paris transport network.

If you have a car, your journey should take around 40 minutes in normal traffic conditions from the Porte de Clichy or Porte de Clignancourt exits of the Paris ring-road (the “périphérique”) or 1 hour from Place de l’Etoile. You can prepare your journey in advance via the Mappy website.

ESSEC address and contact details:

ESSEC Business School

Avenue Bernard Hirsch - BP 50105

95021 Cergy-Pontoise Cedex

FRANCE

Tel: 33 (0) 1 34 43 30 00

Fax : 33 (0)1 34 43 30 01

If you have a long-stay visa, you must apply for a temporary “student” residence permit upon your arrival in France.

If you are living in the 95 department, please read carefully this document

If you are living in the 75 or 92 department, please read carefully this document

If you are living in the 95 department, please read carefully this document

If you are living in the 75 or 92 department, please read carefully this document

If you are under 28 years old, then you must be registeredto French Social Security for students. However, some exceptions do exist.

Students under 20 years old on October 1 are eligible, free of charge. Registration for students over 20 is compulsory. Fee in 2006-2007 amounted to €189. Registration for Social Security takes place at the same time as your enrollment at ESSEC. You can choose from two Social Security centers: LMDE (601) and SMEREP (617). In addition, these two centers offer an optional, top-up policy (or “mutuelle”).

Students not eligible for Student Social Security (over 28 years old on October 1) can, in certain cases, receive free of charge universal health cover (“couverture maladie universelle” or “CMU”) or even sign up for private insurance via the ESSEC Office of Student Affairs.

If you are on an apprenticeship and benefit from salaried employee status, you will be registered on the general Social Security system. However, you must re-register on the student equivalent from the end of your apprenticeship contract until your graduation date.

In France, you must take out a number of insurance policies: accommodation insurance, travel insurance, car insurance, and insurance of your bank card, amongst others. In addition, you must also take out additional health insurance as cover in the event of illness.

For information on the documents required in order to open a bank account as well as what to do in the event of card loss or theft, consult the relevant section of the Egide Living in France website.

The preferred method of payment is by direct debit from your bank account (for French accounts only), between the 5th and 10th day of the month. You can also pay by bank card.

You must have a valid residence permit (for international students from non-EU countries) and a copy of your birth certificate translated into French by a certified translator from your native country. ALEGESSEC - the ESSEC Business School Student Accommodation Association - automatically deducts the Rent Rebate from your monthly payment.

N.B: it is imperative that you complete your Rent Rebate application for ALEGESSEC in the first two months following your arrival. Beyond this deadline, your monthly payment will be automatically set at the full rate, upon written notification of your parents by recorded delivery.

More information about Rent Rebate (in French)

Do not forget to renew your residence permit and inform the relevant services of any change of address. Click here for a summary, as well as a list of essential papers for during your stay in France.

N.B: as an international student in France, your rights and formalities are available for consultation on service-public.fr

The STIVO bus service (16 lines) covers the Cergy-Pontoise area 7 days a week, from 5.30am to midnight. Visit the SNCF website.

General Practitioners and Specialist Doctors are available. Certain chemists are also authorized to offer advice on medication. For further information on access to health care in France, click here

Social Security will cover 70% of the cost of health care. For further information on the cost of health care and reimbursement methods, click here.

To find out more about life in Cergy, you may wish to consult the following websites (in French):