Visa
Investor visa in France
France has no golden visa, but its talent card has an investor track for people who invest in French business assets and create or keep jobs. The investment must be about €300,000 or more; to be safe, plan for more than €310,000. You invest personally or through a company you manage or hold at least 30% of.
- Official names
- Carte de séjour pluriannuelle "talent", investissement économique direct (investor track); Visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour (VLS-TS) "talent"
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Who it’s for
- The investor track of the talent card is for someone who invests personally, or through a company they manage or in which they hold at least 30% of the capital, and who creates or preserves jobs, or commits to doing so.
- It is one of the project-holder tracks of the talent card, a multi-year residence card for non-EU nationals who want to stay in France and work for more than 3 months.
- The talent card applies when the planned stay is at least 1 year. For a shorter stay, a long-stay visa marked "talent" is enough.
- The sources describe a business investment with job creation, not a purchase of property or bonds in return for residence.
- Talent card holders do not need a work authorisation from an employer.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Money tests
- The investment in tangible or intangible assets in France must be about €300,000 or more. To be safe, plan for more than €310,000.
- The talent page lists no minimum personal income (Smic) requirement for this track, and it does not say that a ministry opinion is needed here; that step applies only to the company-creation and innovative-project tracks.
- Proof of the investment, or a commitment to make it, is part of the file.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Documents
- You document your management role or your 30% stake in the company, or the fact that you invest personally.
- You give proof of job creation or preservation, or a commitment to it, within 4 years of the investment, and a letter committing to annual job creation together with a business plan.
- You also give proof of the investment, or of your commitment to make it.
- Your passport must be valid at least 3 months beyond the end of the visa, have at least 2 blank pages and have been issued less than 10 years ago.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Timing
- You apply for the long-stay visa marked "talent" at the French consular authority in your country of residence, through France-Visas, no more than 3 months before you leave.
- A visa that serves as a residence permit (VLS-TS), which covers talent card holders, must be validated online within 3 months of arrival, with a tax on top of the visa fee.
- After a visa refusal, a gracious appeal goes to the consulate, and the appeal to the visa review commission (CRRV) must be filed within 30 days of the written refusal or the silence after 2 months.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Fees
- The talent card costs €350 in total (€50 stamp duty plus €300 tax), paid with tax stamps online or at a tobacconist. Online payment accepts CB, Visa and Mastercard, not PayPal or American Express.
- The long-stay visa application fee is €99 at the full rate.
- Validating a VLS-TS means paying a tax on top of the visa fee; the Service-Public page we opened does not show the amount.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service), France-Visas (official French visa portal). Checked 16 October 2026.
How long it lasts and renewal
- The talent page does not state a validity for the investor track. It gives a maximum of 4 years for the employee and executive tracks, so ask the consulate for this track's term.
- In general a multi-year card lasts 4 years after a first year of stay, and a first multi-year card asks for A2 French (unless over 65), the civic exam and a signed commitment to the principles of the Republic.
- A long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit is valid for 4 to 12 months.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Path to permanent residence
- Years on a talent card count towards the five continuous years needed for the EU long-term resident card, which lasts 10 years.
- That card also asks for resources, health cover and integration. Absences of up to 6 months in a row, 10 in total, are allowed.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
Tax
- Having your main economic interests in France is one of the three tests for French tax residence, alongside your home or main place of stay and working there other than incidentally.
- For 2025 income, the scale per share reaches 41% from €84,578 and 45% above €181,917. Shares depend on your household.
- If the tax office has not written to you, you can ask your local tax office (SIP) for access to your online account with your civil status, a postal address and a copy of an ID.
Sources: BOFiP-Impôts (official French tax doctrine), Service-Public.fr (French government information service), impots.gouv.fr (French tax authority). Checked 15 October 2026.
Your passport
If you hold a US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand passport
What differs for each passport, from the same sources. A line that says there is no difference means the sources we read name none.
United States passport
- US citizens abroad generally file US returns on worldwide income, and foreign accounts totalling more than $10,000 at any point in the year are reportable on an FBAR.
- Under the US–France treaty, the US can tax its citizens as if the treaty did not exist, with listed exceptions.
- The French embassy in the United States says you can submit a visa application up to six months before departure, while Service-Public says no more than 3 months; check which applies when you book.
Sources: Internal Revenue Service, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Embassy of France in the United States, Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Canada passport
- When you leave Canada you are treated as having sold most property at fair market value, and Form T1161 applies if everything you owned was worth more than CA$25,000.
- The French embassy in Canada says visa applications can be filed up to six months before departure, and that processing and appointment waits vary by location and time of year.
Sources: Canada Revenue Agency, Embassy of France in Canada. Checked 16 October 2026.
Australia passport
- When you stop being an Australian resident, assets such as listed shares are treated as sold at market value unless you choose otherwise.
- Australia and France signed a tax treaty on 20 June 2006, in force since 1 June 2009.
- The Consulate General of France in Sydney lists visa applications among its tasks and works mostly by appointment.
Sources: Australian Taxation Office, Australian Treasury, Parliament of Australia, Embassy of France in Australia. Checked 16 October 2026.
New Zealand passport
- The New Zealand–France tax agreement, signed in 1979, decides residence by permanent home, then closer ties, if both countries count you as resident.
- New Zealand treats you as non-resident only if you are away more than 325 days in a 12-month period and have no permanent place of abode there.
Sources: Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 10 October 2026.
Other visas
Other visas in France.
The country
More on France.
Questions about Investor visa in France.
Does France have a golden visa for investors?
Not in the usual sense. France's talent card has an investor track for investing about €300,000 or more in business assets in France, directly or through a company you manage or hold at least 30% of, and creating or keeping jobs. To be safe, plan for more than €310,000.
What documents does France's investor talent card ask for?
You show your management role or 30% stake, proof of the investment or a commitment to make it, proof of job creation or preservation within 4 years, and a letter committing to annual job creation with a business plan.
What does France's investor talent card cost in government fees?
The card costs €350 (€50 stamp duty plus €300 tax), paid with tax stamps. The long-stay visa application fee is €99 at the full rate. Validating a VLS-TS adds a tax on top; the Service-Public page we opened does not show the amount.
Does France's investor talent card need an employer's work authorisation?
No. Talent card holders do not need a work authorisation. The investor track also needs no ministry opinion, which applies only to the company-creation and innovative-project tracks, and the talent page lists no minimum personal income requirement for it.
How long does France's investor talent card last, and where does it lead?
The talent page gives no term for the investor track; employee and executive tracks are capped at 4 years. Years on a talent card count towards the five continuous years for the EU long-term resident card, which lasts 10 years.
Sources
Official sources we used.
Government and official pages only, each with the date we checked it.
- US citizens abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Checked 10 October 2026.
- US–France income tax treaty (1994), text, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Applying for a visa, Embassy of France in the United States. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 9 March 2026; the page does not list the long-stay fee or documents.
- Long-stay visa (more than 3 months to 1 year), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 9 October 2026.
- Leaving Canada (emigrants), Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Dispositions of property when you leave Canada, Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Demander un visa pour la France (applying for a visa), Embassy of France in Canada. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 6 March 2026.
- Your tax residency (archived copy), Australian Taxation Office, Internet Archive copy of 3 June 2026. Checked 10 October 2026.
- How changing residency affects CGT (archived copy), Australian Taxation Office, Internet Archive copy of 6 September 2026. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Income tax treaties: treaties in force, Australian Treasury. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Australia–France tax convention (2006), text, Parliament of Australia, Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Consulate General of France in Sydney, Embassy of France in Australia. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 25 August 2026; lists visa applications among its tasks and says most procedures are by appointment.
- New Zealand–France tax treaty, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Tax Policy. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Tax residency status for individuals, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Leaving New Zealand, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Carte de séjour "talent", Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 1 June 2026; investor track read in full, the last part of the page was not read.
- Authorisation to work for a foreign employee in France, Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 18 June 2026; machine-translated, the French version governs; the last part of the page was not read.
- Validate a VLS-TS and pay the tax (online procedure), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 31 July 2026; the page does not show the tax amount.
- Visa fees (long-stay visa, full and reduced rates), France-Visas (official French visa portal), Internet Archive copy of 5 October 2025. Checked 16 October 2026. Archived copy. Long-stay visa 99 euros at the full rate; the foreign spouse of a French national is free of charge.
- Multi-year residence card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 1 May 2026; machine-translated, the French version governs.
- Carte de résident de longue durée-UE (étranger en France depuis 5 ans), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Income tax: taxable persons and tax domicile (BOI-IR-CHAMP-10), BOFiP-Impôts (official French tax doctrine). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Income tax scale (barème) for 2025 income, Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
- How your tax band and rate are worked out, impots.gouv.fr (French tax authority). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Income tax: first return (getting access with a tax number), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 10 October 2026. Page verified 5 June 2026; written mainly for young adults, but describes how someone without a letter from the tax office gets access.