The talent card (formerly talent passport) for skilled professionals

Employees

• Qualified employee: a master's-level degree or equivalent, and an employment contract of more than three months paying at least €39,582 gross a year.
• Employee of an innovative company: recruited by a company recognised as innovative for a role linked to research and development, with the same salary floor of €39,582.
• Employee on assignment (intra-group mobility): at least three months' seniority in the group and the same salary floor.
• EU Blue Card (carte bleue européenne): three years of higher education or five years of comparable professional experience (three years for certain professions), a contract of at least six months and a salary of at least €59,373 gross a year. If the contract is shorter than two years, the card covers the contract plus three months.
• Medical and pharmacy professions (doctor, dentist, midwife, pharmacist): authorisation to practise under the Public Health Code and a salary of at least €41,386.48 gross a year.
• Researcher: a master's-level degree and a hosting agreement with a research or higher education organisation.

Founders, investors and executives

• Company creation: a master's degree or five years of professional experience, an investment of at least €30,000, and the means to pay yourself at least the minimum wage (€22,404.20 gross a year in 2026).
• Innovative economic project recognised by a public body, with the same minimum income.
• Direct economic investment of at least €300,000 in tangible or intangible assets, with jobs created or preserved within four years.
• Corporate officer (mandataire social) of a group company, with at least three months' seniority in the group and a salary of at least €67,212.60 gross a year (three times the minimum wage).

Culture and renown

• Artist or cultural professional: income of at least €1,306.91 a month (70% of the minimum wage), at least half of it from artistic activity.
• National or international renown in a scientific, literary, artistic, intellectual, educational or sporting field, with resources of at least the minimum wage.

You apply for a long-stay visa marked "talent" at the French embassy or consulate through France-Visas. According to Service-Public:

• If your stay is less than 12 months, you receive a long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit (VLS-TS), which you validate online within three months of arrival.
• If your stay is one year or longer, you receive a three-month long-stay visa, and you then apply online for the talent card within two months of entering France.

Your employer or host organisation usually prepares the contract, salary details and any certificate you need. The consular visa fee depends on the country; check France-Visas.

Applications in France are filed online on ANEF, the digital platform for foreigners. You receive a dematerialised certificate of deposit immediately, which you keep as proof that you applied. If you already hold another residence document, for example a student card, you can usually apply for a change of status to a talent card; apply between four and two months before your current document expires.

In Paris, the préfecture de police directs talent applications to ANEF, except the medical and pharmacy category, which requires an appointment.

The talent card costs €350: a €300 tax plus €50 stamp duty, paid with electronic tax stamps (timbres fiscaux) bought online or at a tobacconist, by bank card. Validating a VLS-TS costs €300 at the normal rate since 1 May 2026. Applying late for a renewal adds a €180 regularisation fee.

Service-Public indicates that silence from the administration for four months amounts to an implicit refusal in most categories. The period is 60 days for researchers and 30 days for EU Blue Card holders who already held a Blue Card in another EU country. In practice, keep your deposit certificate and any later certificate extending the processing period, because they prove you applied on time.

Your spouse and minor children can receive a talent-family card (passeport talent – famille) through a simplified procedure, without going through family reunification and its residence, income and housing checks. According to Business France, the spouse's talent-family card authorises them to live and work in France for the duration of your own permit. The consulate or ANEF tells each family member which documents to provide.

Talent card holders are not required to sign the republican integration contract (CIR) with OFII. If you later want a ten-year resident card or French nationality, the conditions introduced in 2026 apply: French at level B1 and a passed civic exam for a first resident card, and B2 plus the civic exam for naturalisation. Starting French early keeps these options open. See renewing a residence permit in France and naturalisation in France.