Study in Schengen EuropeStudent Visa Guidance from Jalandhar

Information on this page was checked against official EU and national government sources on 22 October 2026. Reviewed by Mandeep Sandhu, Sandhu Overseas, Jalandhar. Next scheduled review: January 2027. This page covers several countries, each with its own rules; every figure carries its official source. Always confirm on the linked page before you act.

Why students from Jalandhar look at Europe

Continental Europe is usually the answer for a student from Punjab who wants a recognised degree without Canadian or Australian tuition. Public universities in several countries charge low fees or none, living costs outside the capitals are moderate, and European Union law gives every international student a floor of rights that no individual country can go below — a minimum work allowance during study and a minimum period to look for work afterwards.

The complication is that “Europe” is not one system. Twenty-nine countries are in the Schengen area, Ireland is not, each sets its own money requirement and work hours, and the amounts change on different dates. This page sets out what is common to all of them and then what differs, country by country, with the official source beside each figure.

Schengen visa or national visa? The difference that decides your application

The European Commission states it plainly: a Schengen visa covers “a visit of up to 90 days in any 180-day period”, and “visas for stays exceeding 90 days are subject to national procedures.” Spain’s own consular guidance says the same from the other direction — a student visa is not required for study stays of up to 90 days, and anything longer is processed as a long-term visa.

In practice this means you choose the country first, then apply through that country’s mission in India, under that country’s rules, with that country’s money requirement. A refusal from one country does not automatically affect another, but it is a fact you will usually have to declare.

Official sources: European Commission — EU visa policy · Directive (EU) 2016/801, Articles 17–18.

No, you do not need an ETIAS

This is the most widely mis-stated point on Indian consultancy websites, and the law is not ambiguous.

ETIAS applies only to travellers who are exempt from needing a visa. The regulation establishing it says so in its first article: it is for “third-country nationals exempt from the requirement to be in possession of a visa.” Its scope provision then expressly excludes holders of uniform visas, holders of national long-stay visas, and holders of residence permits.

India is a visa-required nationality. India appears in Annex I of the EU’s visa-requirement regulation, the list of countries whose nationals must hold a visa to cross the external border.

For completeness: ETIAS has no start date fixed by the Commission, and its fee has been raised from €7 (approx. ₹730) to €20 (approx. ₹2,090) for when it does begin. The separate Entry/Exit System, which records biometrics at the border instead of stamping passports, became fully operational on 10 April 2026.

Official sources: Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 (ETIAS), Articles 1 and 2 · Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Annex I · European Commission — Entry/Exit System.

What EU law guarantees you, wherever you study

A single directive — Directive (EU) 2016/801 — sets the floor for international students across the Union. Individual countries can be more generous; none can be less.

Nine months is a floor, not an entitlement to aim at. Every country on this page gives more: France twelve months, the Netherlands twelve, Italy twelve, Sweden twelve to eighteen, and Ireland — outside Schengen and outside this directive — twelve to twenty-four.

Official source: Directive (EU) 2016/801, Articles 11, 24, 25 and 31.

Country by country: money, work and after graduation

Official sources: Campus France India · IND — required amounts · Irish Immigration Service · EU Immigration Portal — Italy · Migrationsverket. All of these amounts are revised on their own cycle — Dutch figures each 1 January, Italian each academic year, Swedish annually. Confirm before you move money.

France: a route that exists because you are Indian

France’s standard post-study permit is the carte de séjour “recherche d’emploi – création d’entreprise”, which allows a master’s graduate to stay and work without restriction for one year. Alongside it, France operates a separate APS route under ratified bilateral agreements with thirteen countries — and India is expressly on that list, with Benin, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Congo, Gabon, Georgia, North Macedonia, Mauritius, Montenegro, Serbia and Tunisia.

Note also the funds figure. Campus France India publishes €877.50 (approx. ₹91,500) a month from 1 August 2026, while some other Campus France country sites still show the older €615 (approx. ₹64,100). Use the higher figure, and confirm on France-Visas before you apply.

Official sources: demarche.numerique.gouv.fr — RECE · Campus France India — working in France.

The Netherlands: your university applies, not you

This surprises almost everybody. For a Dutch student residence permit, the educational institution applies on your behalf — only the institution can apply, and it must be an IND recognised sponsor. Your programme must be accredited, your enrolment full-time, and you must earn at least 50% of the credits for each study year to keep the permit.

The work rule is unusual too, and it is an either-or: you may work sixteen hours a week all year, or full-time in June, July and August — but not both. For employee work your employer must hold a work permit. Self-employment needs no permit but does need a Chamber of Commerce registration, and a traineeship that forms part of your programme needs nothing extra. Family members who join you are not allowed to work.

Afterwards, the orientation year gives twelve months of free access to the labour market with no employer permit needed. You must apply within three years of completing a qualifying Dutch programme, and it cannot be extended — you move to a highly skilled migrant, start-up or self-employed permit instead.

Official sources: IND — student residence permit · IND — orientation year.

Ireland: the best post-study length on this page, with conditions

Ireland sits outside Schengen but is the European destination Punjabi students ask about most, because it is English-speaking and its graduate permission is long. A Level 9 or higher award gives twenty-four months on Stamp 1G — granted as twelve months, renewable for another twelve on evidence that you are actively seeking graduate-level work. A Level 8 award gives twelve months.

• Funds required: €10,000 (approx. ₹10.43 lakh) for a one-year course, with the same amount available for each later year
• Term-time work is 20 hours a week — a weekly maximum, not an average, and combined across all your employers
• Forty hours a week is permitted only in June, July, August and September, and from 15 December to 15 January
• You must apply for Stamp 1G within six months of being notified of your award, and you may use the programme no more than twice
• Stamp 1G holders may work full time with no employment permit, but may not run a business or be self-employed
• Total residence is capped at seven years for Level 8 and eight years for Level 9 and above, counting student and graduate time together

Official sources: Irish Immigration Service — student finance requirements · Workplace Relations Commission — Stamp 2 employment · Third Level Graduate Programme.

Studying in English

Here we will be more restrained than most pages you will read. Official counts of English-taught programmes barely exist, and the large round numbers circulating online come from commercial portals rather than governments.

What is officially published: Campus France states that there are now over 1,600 degree programmes in France taught in English — more than 115 undergraduate, more than 1,300 master’s, and a number of short and summer courses, all searchable in its own catalogue. Ireland is an English-speaking country and the question does not arise. For the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Spain and Poland we found no official figure, and we would rather tell you that than repeat somebody’s estimate. Each country runs an official programme search, and that is where to look.

Starting your European application from Jalandhar

The European file is a choice problem before it is a paperwork problem. Which country, which language of instruction, which money requirement, which post-study length — and those four questions interact. A student who comes in wanting “Europe” usually leaves with a shortlist of two countries and a reason for each.

Jalandhar has a great many immigration offices and the quality varies. Whoever you work with, ask them to show you the official page behind any rule they quote. If they tell you a Schengen visa will cover your degree, or that you need to buy an ETIAS, you have your answer.

How Sandhu Overseas helps

We are an immigration and visa consultancy in Jalandhar. We are not part of any European government or EU institution, and no consultancy can guarantee a visa. What we can do is make sure your file is complete, current and consistent, and that you understand each requirement before you spend money against it.

Other services from our Jalandhar office

Frequently asked questions