Europe

Startup Visa

France

What are the benefits?

  • Family-friendly. Your visa automatically extends to your spouse and minor dependent children. After all, no (wo)man is an island.
  • Valid for four years — and renewable.
  • Diploma agnostic. Almost every startup visa scheme in the world has diploma requirements. Ours does not.

WHO IS IT FOR ?

✅ For Employees
✅ For Founders 
✅ For Investors 

✌️For Employees

To be eligible for the French Tech Visa as an employee, you must have:

Apply for your long-stay visa and residence permit:

If you live outside of France: Apply for a long-stay visa and residence permit marked “Passeport Talent” from the French Consulate nearest your official residence no earlier than 3 months before the date of your arrival in France. You will need to provide several documents as part of your application. Once in France, you will present your long-stay visa at your local Préfecture (French government administrative office) which will then issue your residence permit.
If you already live in France under a different type of residence permit : Apply for a change of status at your local Prefecture. You must apply at least two months before the previous residence permit expires.

On top of the official letter attesting that your employer’s company is eligible to recruit via the French Tech Visa, you will need to provide several documents as part of a standard application. Contact the French Prefecture or French Consulate nearest you to obtain this list.
*To give you an idea of the type of documents you will need, you can download this list of documents that must be submitted with an application for a ‘Talent Passport’ residence permit for an employee. Please note that this list is provided for informational purposes only. Make sure you contact the consular, diplomatic or prefectural authority that will be handling your application to obtain a list of required documents appropriate to your personal circumstances.

🚀 For Founders 

To be eligible for the French Tech Visa for Founders, you must first have:
  • Financial resources or a gross annual salary amounting to the French minimum wage (19,237 € as of January 1, 2022 ).
  • one of these 3 conditions:
  • official admission to one of the partner incubators, gas pedals, or other French Tech visa partners, through their own regular selection processes(see list below).
  • admission to an incubator or accelerator supported by one of the 13 French Tech Capitals
  • obtaining support from an actor in the French Tech ecosystem (research organizations, laboratories, qualified personalities, companies)

After checking the eligibility criteria, you can directly fill out this online form (in French only) to request a certificate certifying the innovative nature of their company. Keep it carefully, you will need it for the third step. 

With this letter, you are now ready to apply for your long-stay visa and residence permit.
The procedure depends on whether or not you already live in France (see below). In either case, you will need to provide several documents as part of your application.
If you live outside France:
Step a – At the Embassy or Consulate closest to your official residence, apply for a long-stay visa no earlier than 3 months before the date of your arrival in France. This visa, granted at the consulate and attached to your passport, grants you entry.
Find the relevant diplomatic or consular authority closest to where you live
Step b – Once in France, you will present your long-stay visa at your local préfecture (French government administrative office) which will then issue your residence permit allowing you to live and work in France for 4 years, renewable.
Find the relevant Préfecture (based on where you will live in France).
If you already live in France under a different type of residence permit:
Simply apply at the Préfecture in your place of residence for a change of status. This procedure will convert your previous residence permit into a “Passeport Talent” residence permit, allowing you to live and work in France for 4 years.

🤑 For Investors 

✅ To be eligible for the French Tech Visa for Investors, you must:
  • be investing at least €300,000 in fixed tangible or intangible assets.
  • be investing either directly or via a company in which you have at least a 30% shareholding.
  • own at least 10% of the company in which you are investing.
  • be creating or protecting (or committing to create or protect) jobs within the four years following the investment.
For more detailed information, see the Welcome to France website.
✅ Your application will be handled on a privileged one-to-one basis. After reviewing your profile and investment history, the French Tech Mission will send you an official acceptance letter stating that you are qualified for the French Tech Visa for Investors.
<Read this page and fill this form to initiate the process.>
✅ You are now ready to apply for your long-stay visa and residence permit.
The procedure depends on whether or not you already live in France (see below). In either case, you will need to provide several documents as part of your application.

If you live outside France:
Step a – At the Embassy or Consulate closest to your official residence, apply for a long-stay visa no earlier than 3 months before the date of your arrival in France. This visa, granted at the consulate and attached to your passport, grants you entry.
Find the relevant diplomatic or consular authority closest to where you live
Step b – Once in France, you will present your long-stay visa at your local préfecture (French government administrative office) which will then issue your residence permit allowing you to stay and work in France for 4 years.
Find the relevant Préfecture (based on where you will live in France).

If you already live in France under a different type of residence permit:
Simply apply at the Préfecture in your place of residence for a change of status. This procedure will convert your previous residence permit into a “Passeport Talent” residence permit, allowing you to live and work in France.

Tip: You must apply for the change of status at least two months before the previous residence permit expires. You must meet the same eligibility criteria for the “passeport talent” (talent passport) as founders applying from outside France.