The French government says it will suspend the expulsion of foreign students fleeing the war in Ukraine, and a sensitive issue that has led to European countries accused of racism.
"We have introduced a student suspension program until September," a government source said on Monday.
This means that "there is no need to leave the French territory or the new ones will be decided until the new university year," Joseph Zimet, a senior Ukrainian refugee official, told Le Monde daily.
Newcomers will have to comply with the "same procedure as students applying for a visa in France" for their study programs and financial services, he added.
About 3,500 third-party citizens who fled Ukraine, including students, are currently under temporary protection in France.
European Union rules that were agreed upon at the beginning of the conflict require that they return to their homeland if it is deemed safe.
Paris believes less than 200 students could end up living in France after re-applying in September.
'Inadequate' treatment
A large number of people began fleeing Ukraine following the Russian invasion on February 24. The number outside its borders was estimated at more than five million by the United Nations last month.
But from the beginning of the migration, some Africans and others from outside Europe living in Ukraine reported unfair treatment when trying to cross the EU, often turning their backs on border posts or being sent behind long lines.
France welcomes African students fleeing Ukraine, giving them the opportunity to study
African students in Ukraine face discrimination as they try to escape the fighting
Congolese chemist Jean-Jacques Kabeya told French news agency AFP in March that he had tried to leave Ukraine but was stopped by border guards from crossing into Poland.
“They told me you would stay here to escape the war, stay here and fight us. You blacks are not moving at all, ”said Kabeya.
The African Union has condemned the "racist" treatment of foreign students who tried to leave - although Ukrainian and Polish officials insisted there was no inequality.
Ukraine's ambassador to South Africa said in March that there were 16,000 African students in the country before the conflict broke out.
Speaking to Le Monde, Zimet also said that French families who host about 10,000 Ukrainian refugees in their homes will receive financial support of up to 200 euros in a few months.