Galatasaray University Student Denied Erasmus Visa to Sorbonne Over Headscarf

A student at Galatasaray University says French authorities rejected or returned her long-stay visa applications three times after objecting to a biometric photo showing her in a headscarf. She had secured an Erasmus exchange at Sorbonne University. She will not apply again.

The student, who has not been named, was pursuing a double major in Istanbul and had received exchange funding, arranged accommodation and secured admission to the Paris university. The visa was needed for her planned studies in France.

She filed all three applications through VFS Global, France’s authorized visa-application provider in Türkiye. The file went to the French Consulate General in Istanbul.

The first refusal cited concerns about whether she would stay in France as planned, she said, despite documents covering her housing and studies. Her second application was refused while a friend who applied at the same time received a visa.

The returned file named the photograph

She made a third application partly to get a written explanation. Instead, the consulate returned the file with a signed document dated September 14, 2026, titled “Attestation de retour d’un dossier.”

The student said the form required a photograph with her “tête nue,” or head uncovered. She described the document as confirmation that the photograph, rather than missing study or accommodation paperwork, was at issue.

“I followed up on the process through correspondence and other means, and eventually they had to give me a signed document stating that they wanted a photograph with my head uncovered.”

She said friends wearing headscarves had received French visas during the same period. Their approvals left her questioning why her own photograph was rejected.

“I have friends who received visas during the same period. They submitted photographs wearing headscarves. I was told that my photograph was not accepted because of my headscarf. There is a contradiction.”

The student said she considers wearing a headscarf part of her religious practice and would not remove it for the photograph. She does not intend to make a fourth application.

French photo guidance allows religious coverings if faces stay visible

France’s official France-Visas photo instructions permit religious head coverings when the face remains clearly identifiable, according to descriptions of the guidance in Turkish reporting. The face must be visible from forehead to chin and along both sides.

Those instructions generally restrict head coverings but make an exception for religious practice, as described in the reports. The student’s account has not established a general French ban on headscarves in student-visa photographs.

Turkish coverage also raised International Civil Aviation Organization biometric standards, arguing that a religious covering can be worn if it does not obscure the face’s outline, forehead, chin or cheeks. The published accounts do not identify the legal provision the consulate relied on in this case.

That leaves the reported instruction in tension with the photo guidance as it has been described. The consular document, as recounted by the student, required her head to be uncovered; the available account does not name the official who signed it.

A separate account attributes a direct warning to staff

A separate report attributed a more explicit statement to the student, who said visa staff told her:

“Başörtünü açıp poz vermezsen vize vermeyiz”

“If you do not uncover your head and pose, we will not issue you a visa.”

That alleged exchange differs from the wording she described in the signed return document. The written instruction, as she recounted it, specified “tête nue.”

She said she made the incident public to alert other students and draw it to the attention of authorities, rather than chiefly to seek support online. Some people responded with comments including, “If you wear a headscarf, you should not have applied” and “You should not have gone.” She considered those remarks discriminatory.

The student said the refusal cost her an academic opportunity she had earned and could affect her exchange term and grant. She had imagined the Paris placement opening other opportunities.

“I was very excited that Sorbonne would be on my CV. I thought it would open other doors for me as well. It felt terrible to have an opportunity I had earned taken away from me like this. I was very upset.”

The student wants the procedure clarified for future applicants

Reports said she sought, or was expected to seek, assistance from the home university’s rectorate, its International Relations Office and relevant units of Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry. No named administrator or ministry official was identified as having publicly responded.

As of October 9, 2026, no public response had been reported from the French consulate, VFS Global, either university or a named French government official. The visa-service provider handled the application channel, while the consulate returned the file.

The student called for clearer instructions for applicants and visa-center staff. She also objected to what she described as the “arbitrary attitude of an individual employee.”

“If there is a rule, the authorities should explain it clearly. Everyone should know what they will face.”