The Talent Passport (Passeport Talent, formerly Carte Talent) can be obtained by setting up a company in France and filing the application from a third country, such as the UAE — with no Schengen visa, through a separate procedure built around a D visa.
In short
- The Talent Passport is only obtained through a D visa issued outside France — there’s no path onto it from a Schengen visa.
- The program’s minimum threshold is €30,000 in personal investment deposited into a lawyer’s Carpa account.
- The entire process takes anywhere from 2–3 months to a year, depending on the D visa type and the ministry’s workload.
- The applicant’s parents aren’t covered by the program — they require a separate, longer visitor visa procedure.
- For the first 5 years, foreign property isn’t subject to French wealth tax, and the timing of asset sales can be planned around the date tax residency begins.
What the Talent Passport Is — and Why It Isn’t a Schengen Visa
The Talent Passport (the program was previously called Passeport Talent) is a route to French residency through setting up your own company, not through a tourist visa. The applicant tells France about an intention to launch a business in the country — for example, in a field they’re already genuinely working in — and submits a project, articles of association, and a business plan to support it.
A Schengen visa isn’t needed for the Talent Passport at all: it’s a separate program with its own filing procedure, done entirely from outside France, from the applicant’s place of residence — for instance, from Abu Dhabi. Refusals are common under the Schengen visa and ordinary tourist (visitor) visa, whereas for the Talent Passport filed from Abu Dhabi, according to practicing immigration lawyers, refusals are rare.
After approval from the Ministry of Economy, the applicant doesn’t get a Schengen visa but a D visa — valid for 3–4 months or for a year, with the applicant able to choose the term. It’s this D visa, regardless of its length, that can later be converted into a residence card. There’s no path from an ordinary Schengen visa to the Talent Passport — these are entirely different legal grounds for entry.
There’s no path from an ordinary Schengen visa to the Talent Passport — these are entirely different legal grounds for entry.
The Talent Passport isn’t about tourism. It’s a separate program for setting up a business in France, filed from abroad, and it can only be obtained through a D visa — never through a Schengen visa.
Requirements and Approval Stages for Setting Up the Company
€30,000 in personal investment must be deposited into a special Carpa escrow account held by a lawyer — this is the program’s minimum requirement. The lawyer drafts the company’s articles of association and business plan and handles every stage of the approval process.
The process runs through four bodies: the consulate in Abu Dhabi, the French Ministry of Economy itself, and the local prefecture. All documents are filed from outside France — in this case, from Abu Dhabi — and the process starts with an online submission.
Filing order
- Online filing of documents to open the special Carpa account and transfer of the investment funds.
- Remote preparation and submission of the application to the Ministry of Economy.
- After approval from the Ministry of Economy — an in-person visit to the French consulate.
- An in-person visit to the prefecture upon arrival — not on a Schengen visa, but on the special D visa.
Stages of the Talent Passport Application
The entire process is remote until the consulate and prefecture visits.
- Online filing to open the Carpa account and transfer the investment
- Remote preparation and submission of documents to the Ministry of Economy
- In-person visit to the French consulate after ministry approval
- In-person visit to the prefecture on the D visa
Without depositing €30,000 in personal investment into the Carpa account, the program doesn’t start — this is the minimum requirement, and without it the documents won’t be accepted.
Filing Order for the Talent Passport
How Long It Takes to Get the French Talent Passport
Drafting the articles of association and business plan, and depositing funds into the Carpa account, take about a month — these two processes run in parallel. The timeline can stretch if the money is transferred from CIS countries: payments from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan often get stuck at correspondent banks, and tracing them takes around two weeks. A transfer from the UAE, by contrast, usually arrives quickly without delays.
Next, the Ministry of Economy reviews the document package — budget around a month for this, though during peak season or the holiday period it can stretch to two months. If the decision is favorable, the answer arrives within a month. If the ministry has questions or issues a refusal, additional materials are prepared and an appeal is filed: refusals are rare, and the ministry typically comes around after additional arguments are submitted. By this point, roughly two months have passed since the start of the process.
Once approved, the consulate in Abu Dhabi schedules an appointment quickly, and the passport is held for visa processing for about 10 business days. Factoring in possible queues during peak season, budget a month for this stage. The window to enter France is 3 to 6 months depending on the visa type, but it’s possible to ask the consulate to set specific dates.
What happens next depends on which D visa was issued — the 3–4 month one or the one-year one. The card itself is typically printed 3 to 5 months after the document package is filed with the prefecture. If the D visa is the one-year version, it has to be validated, and the card is only issued after a full year — the applicant lives on that visa alone for the entire first year. If the visa is the 3-month version, the card is printed roughly three months after the documents are filed.
Timelines can also differ between family members: the main applicant often gets their card faster, while the spouse’s arrives up to 2 months later. There’s no clear explanation for the gap, but in practice this situation comes up often.
How Long the Path to the Talent Passport Takes
The overall timeline from document preparation to receiving the card ranges from a few months to a year.
- Drafting articles of association, business plan, and depositing fundsabout 1 month
- Review by the Ministry of Economy1–2 months
- Visa processing at the consulateabout 10 business days, up to a month with queues
- Card printing after filing with the prefecture (3–4 month visa)3–5 months
- Card printing with a one-year D visaabout 1 yearrequires visa validation
What to Do if the D Visa Expires Before the Card Is Printed
If the 3-month D visa expires before the card has been printed, the applicant remains in France legally — provided the documents have been accepted and the administrative process has formally started, with paperwork in hand confirming that. It’s precisely because of frequent delays in printing the card that the D visa started being issued for a full year instead of 3 months.
The problem is that this interim status is only understood by France. Other countries don’t recognize it and may refuse re-entry to someone who left French territory during this period. In practice, then, it’s safer not to leave the country before receiving the card unless a parallel Schengen visa is in hand.
Other countries don’t recognize it and may refuse re-entry to someone who left French territory during this period.
The workaround is a parallel Schengen visa: with one, it’s possible to fly in and out freely without waiting for the French card.
If you need to leave France before receiving the residence card, arrange a parallel Schengen visa first — otherwise you risk not being let back in.
Which Family Members Can Come Along Under the Talent Passport
The Talent Passport program automatically covers only the applicant, the spouse, and minor children — this is a closed list of eligible relatives. A child who arrives in France with their parents is required to attend school regardless of their stay status — in France this is a legal obligation regardless of residency status, even if the family is staying in the country without legal status.
Parents don’t fall into this category. They can’t be brought in under the main program — a separate visitor visa application has to be filed for them, going through the full procedure independently, outside the Talent Passport framework.
That procedure is entirely separate, with its own timeline, and it’s more complex and longer than getting the Talent Passport. The standard visitor visa package requires justifying a connection to France — for example, the need to care for a relative living there — and proving independent income, including passive income, such as from property.
Taxes on Foreign Property, Crypto, and Securities After Moving
For the first 5 years, foreign real estate isn’t subject to additional French wealth taxes. Income from it arises only in two cases: if the property is rented out, or if it’s sold at a gain. On sale, tax applies not to the entire transaction amount but only to the difference between the purchase price and the sale price — and that tax is owed in France if the applicant has already become a French tax resident by the time of the sale.
The logic is the same for cryptocurrency and securities, but stricter. A capital gain on an asset counts as income and falls under tax in the country of tax residency — regardless of where the asset was held or for how long. A telling example: if a bitcoin was bought for 1 cent and sold for $100,000, tax is assessed on the entire difference, even if the asset was held for 25 years before the move to France.
if a bitcoin was bought for 1 cent and sold for $100,000, tax is assessed on the entire difference, even if the asset was held for 25 years before the move to France
The key factor is the moment the gain is realized. If the gain is realized before someone becomes a French tax resident, French tax law doesn’t apply to it — France has no grounds to claim tax on that transaction. And tax resident status doesn’t kick in automatically on the day of arrival — there’s a period during which the applicant is formally not yet a resident, which gives a degree of flexibility in choosing when to sell assets. That’s why it’s worth deciding in advance, before the move, whether to exit a position before or after acquiring resident status: there are many nuances here, and each case requires its own calculation.
French tax resident status doesn’t begin on arrival day. That creates a window during which property, crypto, or securities can be sold without triggering French capital gains tax.
Why France Is Worth Considering Right Now
The program runs reliably, but the terms of migration programs can change over time, so it’s worth assessing in advance whether this path fits right now. Among European countries, France is the only one that hasn’t announced plans to make the path to citizenship harder or longer. Against that backdrop, there are already examples of people successfully obtaining French citizenship through this program.
There’s also extra flexibility for people relocating: the applicant doesn’t become a French tax resident immediately upon arrival — matters tied to that status are handled procedurally and addressed separately after filing.
Frequently asked questions
Can you apply for the Talent Passport while already in France on a tourist visa or visa-free?
No, the entire Talent Passport procedure is built around filing from outside France, from the applicant’s place of residence — the consulate, the Ministry of Economy, and every approval stage are completed before entering the country. Being in France on a tourist visa doesn’t allow initiating this program from inside the country: documents must be filed from the current address of residence abroad.
What happens if the Ministry of Economy refuses to approve the business plan?
Refusals are rare, and if questions arise or a refusal is issued, the applicant prepares additional materials and files an appeal — the ministry typically comes around after additional arguments are submitted. This adds extra time to the process but doesn’t close off the path permanently.
Does a spouse who arrives under the program need to separately prove income?
A spouse falls under the closed list of family members automatically covered by the program — unlike the applicant’s parents, they don’t need to separately justify income or a connection to France.
How long can someone remain formally not a French tax resident after moving?
There’s no fixed period: tax resident status doesn’t arise automatically on the day of arrival, and the applicant has a window during which they’re formally not yet a resident. These matters are handled procedurally and addressed separately after filing the Talent Passport documents.
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