France: French Tech Visa (Startup Visa)
The French Tech Visa lets tech startup founders and their family move to France.
French Tech Visas also exist for employees with a tech job offer and investors in tech startups.
Benefits
- Renewable after 4 years
- Includes family
- No diploma/degree required
- Includes right to work
- Access to EU
- Path to Permanent Residence
Introduction
France’s tech community is growing, with support from the government and from driven, creative founders and dedicated investors. This makes France an ideal place to launch a new startup. (French Tech visas are available for your employees, too.)
Your startup must be accepted into an approved incubator or accelerator in France.
Internet Speed
Fixed broadband: 192.25 Mbps download/137.82 Mbps upload
Mobile: 70.24 Mbps download/11.33 Mbps upload
Cost of living
No. 15 globally
Requirements
Startup accepted into an approved French accelerator or incubator
$22,234 annual income or bank balance
Fees
- Visa application fee: $118
- Residence permit fee: $270+
Application Process
First, get accepted into an approved French accelerator or incubator. They will send you a letter certifying that your startup is an “innovative tech company.”
Take this letter and all other documentation to the French embassy or consulate in the country where you live and apply for a long-stay visa. Apply 3 months before you plan to go to France, but no earlier. (More information about applying for a long-stay visa).
Use the long-stay visa to enter France. Then take your documents to the préfecture (government administration office) local to where you live. They will issue you a 4-year residence permit.
If you already live in France, you can apply for the residence permit directly at your local prefecture.
Documents Required
- Passport, valid at least 3 months after your visa would expire
- Letter from an approved accelerator certifying that your startup is an “innovative tech company”
- Completed and signed application form
- 3 35mm x 40mm passport photos
You may also need:
- Proof of income or bank balance
- Documents proving family relationships to all dependents (such as marriage license and birth certificate)
- Police clearance from your home country and your country of residence
- Proof of current residence
Other documents may be required.
