Student loan in Mayotte: paying for studies on the island or abroad

A student loan in Mayotte: what the term really covers

A student loan in Mayotte is borrowed money that a young Mahoran, or the family behind them, uses to pay for higher education, either at the island's own university or far away on the mainland. In practice the money often goes to the first rent and deposit, a laptop, travel and the weeks before the first grant payment.

Distance shapes everything here. Just over 10,000 Mahorans are in higher education, yet the University of Mayotte takes in fewer than 2,000 of them. The rest study in La Réunion or in mainland France, more than 8,000 km from home, so borrowing is usually tied to leaving the island.

Studying at home: the University of Mayotte in Dembéni

From a university centre to a university

For years the institution was the Centre universitaire de formation et de recherche, known as the CUFR. It took the name University of Mayotte on 1 January 2024 and sits on a campus in Dembéni. In August 2026 it welcomed 640 new students and opened a new vocational degree in business administration with 25 places in the first year.

Diplomas are still delivered with the support of five partner institutions while the university works toward its own accreditations. A teacher-training institute is planned for 2027. A family can therefore cover much of an undergraduate path locally, but some master's programmes and specialist fields still mean leaving.

What studying locally still costs

Staying put is not free. Students from the north of the island sometimes board a bus as early as 4 a.m. to reach the campus, and there is no university residence on the Dembéni site. Add the student life and campus contribution, computer equipment and a room within reach, and the budget grows quickly.

Cyclone Chido, which struck on 14 December 2024, also left marks. Late in 2025 the main lecture hall was still damaged, the library had been badly hit and several prefabricated buildings were destroyed. Many households had repairs of their own to fund before education could come first.

Leaving for La Réunion or the mainland: the largest bill

The flight and the Passeport Mobilité Études

LADOM, the State agency for overseas mobility, runs the Passeport Mobilité Études for departures from Mayotte. It pays for one return flight per year throughout the course, plus a second return in the first year for new school-leavers. Three conditions apply: the chosen course is full or not offered in the home territory, the student normally lives overseas, and household taxable income stays at or below 26,631 euros per tax share.

More than 4,000 tickets were funded for Mahoran students in 2025. Late applications can leave families waiting just before term starts, which is why starting early matters.

Settling-in costs the ticket does not cover

Student associations put a first installation at between 2,500 and 5,000 euros depending on the city: a deposit, sometimes several months of rent in advance, furniture, home insurance, a computer, warmer clothes and food for the first weeks. The first grant payment often lands several weeks after arrival, and that gap is exactly when many families take out a loan.

Grants and social support from the Crous

Since 1 January 2023 the regional student services body has been the Crous de La Réunion et de Mayotte, with a counter on the Dembéni campus. It now processes the grants that used to go through the education authority, runs the university catering and provides a social worker for students.

Distance works in a Mahoran student's favour. Under the rules for student scholarships based on social criteria, a study place 3,500 to 12,999 km from home earns three extra charge points, which raises the income ceilings. An official example shows a student from La Réunion whose household declares 25,000 euros: with those points, the scale moves from 0 bis to 2 and the grant rises from 1,454 to 3,071 euros a year.

• A Parcoursup mobility payment of 500 euros applies when a student accepts a place outside the home academic region.
• A master's mobility payment of 1,000 euros exists for changing region between the third year of a bachelor's degree and the first year of a master's.
• In 2025 the Crous paid an exceptional 300 euros to students on the island.
• The one-euro meal, first meant for grant holders, has also been opened to students without a grant.

The State-guaranteed student loan, seen from Mayotte

The national scheme applies on the island exactly as elsewhere, and it matters most when parents cannot act as guarantors. Borrowing is capped at 20,000 euros in total. The student must be under 28 (or an emancipated minor), hold French or EU/EEA nationality, and be enrolled in a French higher-education course. The State covers 70 percent of the principal and the bank carries the other 30 percent, with no income test and no parental or third-party guarantee. The general principle of the government-guaranteed student loan is the same as on the mainland.

The process starts with a pre-eligibility certificate from the Bpifrance online platform, which the student takes to a partner bank. Repayment must run for at least two years, and it may be deferred but not beyond ten years after signing. Only a limited number of guaranteed loans are granted each year, and the bank has the final word. Students from outside the EU and EEA do not meet the nationality condition.

Which banks operate locally

Options are narrower than on the mainland. Credit institutions with a branch in Mayotte include Banque Française Commerciale Océan Indien, La Banque Postale, BRED Banque Populaire, Caisse d'Épargne Provence-Alpes-Corse and Crédit Agricole de La Réunion. Among the partner banks of the guaranteed loan, BFCOI is described as active mainly in La Réunion and Mayotte, and La Banque Postale has several post offices in Mamoudzou, Kaweni and Koungou.

Being an existing customer is not required, although some banks turn away outsiders. Opening a youth account before departure is sensible, as the same account will receive the grant.

A worked example of the monthly effort

The table shows how repayment length changes the monthly amount on a 6,000-euro loan, a sum near the top of the installation range above. Assumptions: no interest and no insurance, equal monthly instalments; a real rate would raise every line.

For someone with no salary, 100 euros a month is far easier than 250, but the total cost rises with length once interest is added. A deferral until the end of the course delays repayments while interest keeps accruing.

Housing pressure behind many loans

There is no student residence at Dembéni today. The Crous plans about 200 homes nearby, mostly studios of 15 to 16 square metres with utilities and Wi-Fi included: 150 by 2029 and 50 more in 2030-2031. Priority would go to grant holders on the highest levels, with distance taken into account for students from Koungou, Majicavo, the north and Petite-Terre. A second campus project in Ouangani and Coconi could add another 200.

Until then, students who leave rent privately at mainland prices. In 2026 the Unef union puts average private rent in France at 627.11 euros a month, against 426.36 euros in a Crous residence. Housing support such as the APL student housing aid eases the bill once a lease is signed.

Putting the financing together in the right order

1. File the student social file for the grant as soon as the portal opens.
2. Apply early to LADOM for the Passeport Mobilité Études.
3. Price the move: deposit, first month, furniture and computer.
4. Request the pre-eligibility certificate for the guaranteed loan and compare at least two banks.
5. Keep a cash reserve for the weeks before the first grant transfer.

To see how Mayotte compares with other places, browse student loans by country.

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