Trust us when we say that dealing with the French bureaucracy can be complicated–we’ve dealt with this both personally when we moved to France and every day for our clients’ cases. What may seem crystal clear in principal is just not so straight forward in practice. Obtaining your visa or titre de séjour will be complex, but that is why we are here to offer you guidance and confidence in this big step! You can also look at this process as just another fascinating glimpse into French culture!
So, if you are planning on moving to France to start your own business, (and your business is not a “startup” because that’s a whole different matter), you will come across two types of business creation visas. These are either the “entrepreneur/profession libérale” visa or a “passeport talent création d’entreprise” visa. In this article, we will give you a detailed comparison of the twos, the pros and cons of each, and our own expert advice.
Carte de séjour temporaire : Entrepreneur/Profession libérale and Carte de séjour pluriannuelle : Passeport talent Création d’entreprise
If you are planning to carry out commercial, industrial, artisanal, or other self-employed activities in France, you must have a visa or residence permit which will allow you to exercise a professional activity. The two different visas you can apply for in order to create or take over a business in France are:
The Entrepreneur/Profession libérale visa is tailored to single entrepreneurs and freelance professionals while the Passeport talent Création d’entreprise visa is tailored to someone looking to start a larger business with employees and thus has different features.
Each visa comes with its pros and cons. Thankfully, we’ve created a easy-to-understand comparison which highlights the most important features of both visas!
Table of Contents
Authorized length of stay
You shouldn’t underestimate the importance of length of stay when considering a French visa. You may be thinking, “but can’t I just renew my visa over and over?” Sure, but only up to certain point. Additionally, while the idea of renewing each year may seem infrequent and manageable, in practice it can be a nightmare. Right when you receive your year-long carte de séjour, it seems you need to begin the process of renewing it again. We recommend considering your options carefully with an expert, especially if you feel you qualify for either business creation visa.
Simply put, a Carte de séjour temporaire : Entrepreneur/Profession libérale lasts one year, while a Carte de séjour pluriannuelle : Passeport talent Création d’entreprise is, as the name states, pluriannual, and valid for up to 4 years.
Eligibility
For each visa type, there are many boxes to tick in order to be eligible–never underestimate the nuances of the French bureaucracy.
However, the greatest difference in eligibility between a passeport talent and an entrepreneur visa is the amount of money you will need to invest. For the Passeport talent Création d’entreprise visa, you must prove you will invest at least €30,000 in the “entreprise” project in France. To do this, you will have to go through different steps which can prove challenging, especially when moving across the world. For example, you will likely have to open a French bank account prior to your arrival to France.
The Passeport talent Création d’entreprise eligibility criteria also includes that you can prove:
1. That the activity is compatible with safety, health and public peace,
2. That your project is real and economically viable (with a certificate for proof. This is given by the Interior Ministry of the French Government)
3. That you have €20,147.40 in resources for yourself on top of what is needed for the project
4. Prove an investment of at least €30,000 in the business project
5. That you have a degree corresponding to at least Master’s level or equivalent, or at least 5 years’ commensurate professional experience, typically in the field in which you want to start your business.
The Entrepreneur/Profession libérale eligibility criteria includes that you can prove :
1. That the activity is compatible with safety, health and public peace
2. The existence of a real and serious project to create an economically viable business
3. That you have €20,147.40 in resources for your project and sufficient remuneration
It is also possible you will need a certificate of proof that your project is real and economically feasible for the Entrepreneur/Profession libérale visa, but you will be able to obtain this after your visa application process.
Is one visa more expensive than the other?
Surprisingly, the visa costs are the exact same!
First in your home country, you must pay the €99 long-stay visa processing fee along with VFS/TLS appointment fees which will be €250+.
Once in France, there are administrative costs of €225. This includes the €200 tax to the French Immigration and Citizenship Office (Office français de l’immigration et de l’intégration – OFII) and the €25 stamp duty charged on residence permits.
Pros and Cons of the Passeport talent Création d’entreprise visa
The main pros of the Passeport Talent visa over the Entrepreneur/Profession Libérale visa:
1.One application counts for the whole family. If you are applying for a passeport talent, your family is eligible for the Carte de séjour “talent famille. ” This means that your spouse will automatically be able to work thanks to your visa–note that same sex marriages are 100% recognized in France. Your children, aged 21 and below, will also be able to apply for residency. After 21, you will need to analyze your specific case to see if they are still covered by your own visa.
In contrast, the Entrepreneur/Profession Libérale visa only supports the holder unless the spouse is also going to be a part of the business. Otherwise, the spouse and any kids will have to come on a visitor’s visa which does not grant eligibility to work.
2.The passeport talent is a multi-year visa. You will probably (but not always) start by having a Visa de Long Séjour Valent Titre de Séjour (or VLS-TS) for the first year, and then you can obtain a 4-year carte de séjour (residency card). For the most part, the carte de séjour : Passeport talent Création d’entreprise is pluriannual. However, with the French bureaucracy, there are always exceptions.
As mentioned before, the Entrepreneur/Profession Libérale will generally require yearly trips to the immigration office to apply for a residency card after your first year and then to renew said card every year. This in itself may be worth the 30k investment!
The main con of the Passeport Talent visa:
1. You are going to go through a complicated process to prove you will invest €30,000 in France for your business project. Just having this money sitting in a bank account in your name and in your home country is not enough. It’s a lengthy process, including but not limited to your home country bank, a French bank, a French notary, and the French Ministry of Economy and Finances, in order to ensure the money is in the correct account in the correct country.
FAQs
What if I can’t meet the investment requirements for the Passeport Talent?
Unfortunately, this visa is not for you. Luckily, the entrepreneurial visa does not have these investment requirements and may be a better fit.
How can I set up my French back account before arriving in France?
You can contact us! Click here to make an appointment with one of our experts and get a free quote.
We hope this article has helped you understand business creation visas and how eligibility changes depending on the visa type. For more information, feel free to contact us and schedule a free call with our experts to learn more about our services!
Check out our other blogs about immigration:
https://yourfriendinparis.com/how-to-apply-for-brexit-visa-with-warp-procedure/
https://yourfriendinparis.com/attestation-daccueil-for-british-non-eu-guests-is-it-really-necessary/