France is one of the exciting countries to live, study and do business for UHNW individuals.  France aims to become technology capital in Europe and brexit also contributed a number of businesses moving from London to Paris. The South of France also attracts large number of wealthy foreigners

France received some €169 million euros from investors under economic activity.

Between 2008 to 2016, France received 16 applications, each with €10 million investment for economic residency.  From 2016, some 30 applications were received for Talent passport scheme according to the draft report published by EU in consultation with the french authorities.

Economic Residence Permit

Between 2008 and 2016, France operated a golden visa scheme offering Economic Residence Card  for investors having made an exceptional economic contribution of €10 million euros. In 2016, this scheme was revoked and new Talent passport scheme was introduced came into effect on 1 November 2016.

France currently has two golden visa schemes for investors and tech startups

• Talent Passport Permit (€300,000 to €10 million)
• French Tech Visa (€20,000)

Talent Passport

France opened a investor visa scheme in 1 November 2016 known as ‘Talent Passport’ scheme to facilitate the immigration of certain categories of third-country nationals.  The multi-annual stay permit includes the mention ‘Talent Passport’ (Passeport Talent) (and is hereinafter referred to as Talent Passport residence permit).

The Talent Passport residence permit covers ten categories, including employees of young innovative companies, highly qualified workers, recent graduates, company creators, leaders of innovative project and investors. The aim of this reform was to make France more attractive for these categories and simplify the immigration procedures.

• The investment threshold was lowered from EUR 300,000 to EUR 10 million;
• The condition to create or maintain or commit at least 50 jobs within the four years following the investment in France (i.e. no specific targets for the amount of jobs created);
• The investor and his/her family are granted a four-year residency card
• The Talent Passport residence permit allows third-country nationals having obtained a long-stay visa to enter France to request the residence permit directly upon their arrival in France.
• Family can be accompanied by investor

The prefecture is the competent authority for receiving the application for the Talent Passport residence permit France.

There is no cap for the Talent Passport residence permit

French Tech Visa

In 2017 France launched the ‘French Tech Visa’ aimed at facilitating the arrival and integration of qualified tech talent, including entrepreneurs, employees and investors.  On 15 July 2017, the French President Emmanuel Macron presented the French Tech Visa at a technology fair (Viva Salon Technology). He expressed the will to make France the centre of innovation and entrepreneurialism

Since 2017, the ‘French Tech Visa’ scheme provides for an ‘accelerated procedure’ to access the Talent Passport residence permit for the following tech profiles:

• Foreign investors recruited by a venture capital firm based in France;
• Foreign venture capital firms opening an office in France;
• Successful entrepreneurs (referred to as ‘Business Angels’) moving to France.

French Citizenship

Investors are not given to preferential treatment for french citizenship and have to follow the normal naturalization law in France which requires ten years of living without interruption, no criminal record, integration to language and society and culture.

French Passport

The French passport is one of the powerful passports in the world. In 2019 Henley rankings, the France had the third powerful passport in the world with visa free travel to 188 countries out of 195 countries in the world.