France announces streamlined visa process, courses to be taught in English for Indian students
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, February 18, 2026 (ANI):Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that France will simplify visa and sourcing procedures for Indian students and expand the availability of courses taught in English, as part of efforts to deepen Indo-French academic cooperation.
Speaking at the campus of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, President Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment to strengthening educational ties with India and significantly boosting student mobility between the two countries.
“We want to welcome more Indian students and have more French students coming here. We are currently speaking about 10,000 per year. We have decided with Prime Minister Modi to increase this number to 30,000 per year by 2030. From the French side, we will simplify the sourcing and the visa process,” Macron said.
He assured that procedures would be streamlined to make them more practical and aligned with students’ expectations, while also establishing stronger institutional support systems.
During the visit, President Macron, along with Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda, inaugurated the Indo-French Campus on Artificial Intelligence in Global Health at AIIMS. The initiative is aimed at strengthening collaboration between India and France in AI-driven healthcare solutions.
Highlighting France’s academic ecosystem, Macron said Indian students would gain access to world-class teaching and leading research centres known for interdisciplinary collaboration. He also emphasised that France would expand academic programmes offered in English to make higher education more accessible.
“I would also like to tell all Indian students who come to France that we have best-in-class teaching and access to research centres with strong interdisciplinary collaboration. We can offer different approaches in English,” he added.
The newly launched Indo-French Campus is expected to advance research, innovation and capacity building in artificial intelligence for global health, while fostering deeper academic partnerships between the two nations.