Your arrival at INSA Lyon

Academic information

• For students taking part in the Summer School

French courses start on August 21st, 2025. The Mobility and the Housing Offices will be welcoming you on campus starting from August 19th, 2025.

• For students not taking part in the Summer School

First semester courses begin on September 15th, 2025 and end on January 30th, 2026. The Mobility and the Housing Offices will welcome students on campus starting from September 10th, 2025.

• Formalities to be completed upon your arrival at INSA Lyon

Step 1: Complete your administrative registration (MANDATORY step)

For students arriving between the 10th and the 12th of September 2025 :

When you arrive on campus, you must attend the welcome meeting for which you have registered. More information and registration link coming soon.

Your incoming mobility advisor will be able to

• Finalise your registration as an INSA Lyon student: you will receive your student card (a necessary step before moving into your accommodation).
• Find out about registering for French social security, validating your VLS-TS visa, etc.

For students arriving between the 13th and the 15th of September 2025 :

You must go to DAFORAE (8 Allée du Rhône, Building Camille Claudel, 1st floor) on Monday, September 15th in order to collect your student card and key information.

Both the Mobility and the Housing offices are closed during the weekend, so you will need to arrange alternative accommodation (hotel, Airbnb, etc.).

Step 2: Contact your exchange department

Once your administrative enrolment has been finalised, you need to contact your exchange department to find out all the educational information (courses, study contracts, timetables, information meetings, etc.).

You will find their contact on this page.

In addition, it is compulsory to take out civil liability insurance and to provide a copy within 15 days of your arrival at your exchange department, as well as rental civil liability insurance, which must be provided to the Residences Department no later than 15 days after signing the lease.

For those wishing to take free French courses (excluding summer and winter school) during the exchange semester at INSA, please contact the secretariat of the French as a Foreign Language (FLE) service (Humanités building, 3rd floor) at the following address: servfran@insa-lyon.fr.

Please note that French classes will take place every Thursday afternoon, with groups organised according to your level of French on arrival. A placement test will be organised for this purpose (information available from the FLE department).

These courses are strongly recommended for exchange or double-degree students, to enable you to learn/improve your level of French.

We would like to remind you that students on exchange at INSA Lyon are obliged to respect and apply the common study regulations as well as the specific regulations of the host department.

Moving into university accomodation

For students taking part in the Summer School, the Housing Office will be welcoming you on campus from August 19th, 2025. The Residence managers will send you an e-mail to let you know in which building you will be housed. Students who are not enrolled in the Summer school will be welcomed from September 10th, 2025.

Here is some practical information about accommodation on campus:

• All flats have kitchenettes, bathrooms and toilets.
• All rooms are furnished with a bed, desk, chair, wardrobe or cupboard.
• Internet connection is available. For more information, please consult the following document: "Internet connection in the Residences".
• Sheets and blankets are provided for international students and can be changed free of charge every fortnight at the INSA laundry (building B).
• No cooking utensils are provided.
• Room cleaning is the responsibility of the resident.
• You can wash your clothes in the laundries on campus (tokens can be purchased from the BDE). For more information, consult Résidences INSA.

For public transport in Lyon, please consult the Transports en Commun Lyonnais (TCL) website. If you are coming from Lyon airport, you can use the Rhône Express.

Eating on campus

At the restaurants: It is not compulsory for students on exchange to take out a meal plan. However, if you would like to take out a meal plan, you can register via the Inkk Restaurants INSA Lyon link after collecting your INSA Lyon ID from the DAFOR.

Students coming as part of the ISEP programme benefit from a package allowing them to eat 3 times a day free of charge in INSA Lyon restaurants.

Help and Support services

At INSA Lyon, several support services are available for our students:

• The Student Health Center offers preventive consultations and healthcare services.
• The Disability Unit provides personalized assistance to students with disabilities.
• The Welfare Unit is available to assist students facing difficulties (financial, material, etc.).
• The CAP Service, consisting of psychologist-advisors, is available to provide guidance and support throughout your stay at INSA Lyon to promote your academic success.