France · Business & founder
Talent — Porteur d'un projet économique innovant (French Tech Visa for Founders)
This route falls under the CESEDA talent residence-permit regime, originally called the passeport talent, projet economique innovant (art. L421-16). It was restructured and renamed from passeport talent to talent by Loi n°2024-42 du 26 janvier 2024. The route, and the simplified French Tech Visa procedure that goes with it, remain open as of 2026.
This is one of the few founder tracks in a major EU economy with no capital-investment threshold. It prices access on the credibility of an innovative project, not the size of a bank balance.
Qualifying routes
There is no fixed capital investment threshold here. That is different from the separate business creator route, which requires €30,000. Instead, the applicant must show annual means of subsistence at least equal to the full-time gross SMIC, which is €22,404.20 as of 1 June 2026. The applicant also needs a project whose innovative character is officially recognised. The DRIEETS handles that assessment, typically through a French Tech partner incubator or accelerator, or through a letter of support from two recognised French Tech ecosystem stakeholders.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- This route involves government fees only. Expect roughly €449 at first issuance, made up of €300 administrative tax, €50 stamp duty and €99 for the long-stay visa. Renewal runs about €250. There is no investment threshold. The applicant covers their own living costs and funds the startup directly.
- Route type
- Business & founder
- Timeline
- 2–6 months (The DRIEETS reviews the innovative-project file, submitted online through démarches-simplifiées, in roughly 1–2 months. The long-stay visa and the multi-year permit follow after that. Timing varies by consulate and prefecture.)
- Physical presence
- There is no fixed minimum day-count attached to this card. But the holder must genuinely live in France and run the innovative project from there. The permit authorises that specific commercial activity. Continuous residence is required to build toward permanent residency after 5 years, and eventually toward naturalisation.
- Family
- SpouseChildren
- Permanent residency
- After 5 years of continuous legal residence, holders become eligible for a 10-year permanent resident card, known as the carte de résident. This is subject to integration and resource conditions.
- Citizenship
- Naturalisation by decree becomes possible after 5 years of habitual residence, with reduced periods available in limited cases. Applicants must also meet integration, stable resources and language requirements.
- Language test
- French language proficiency is required for naturalisation. Under the reforms taking effect from 1 January 2026, the bar rises to level B2, up from B1. A B1 level is also required for the long-term resident card.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Innovative economic project recognised by a public body, validated via the DRIEETS online procedure (French Tech incubator/accelerator support or two recognised ecosystem stakeholders)Non-EU/EEA/Swiss national developing the project in FranceProof of means of subsistence ≥ full-time annual gross SMIC (€22,404.20 as of 1 June 2026)Business plan and, where the sector is regulated, the relevant authorisations
- Approval hinges on a subjective DRIEETS assessment of whether the project is genuinely innovative. Recognition, not money, is the gate, and the application can be refused.
- The innovative project route is often confused with the separate business creator route. That one does require a €30,000 investment and a master's-level qualification or 5 years' experience. The two are different rules entirely.
- The 2024 immigration law and 2026 reforms have raised the naturalisation language bar to B2 and tightened integration conditions. Fees also rose in 2026, so verify current figures before applying.