Many founders ask me the same question before committing: what does your Talent Passport support actually consist of? The question is a fair one. The French Talent Passport — Business Creation scheme unfolds over several months, each stage conditions the next, and it involves several French administrations together with one consular post abroad.
This article answers without generalities: it retraces an actual Talent Passport support engagement, from our first exchange to the fully operational company in France. It dwells in particular on the point that raises the most questions — the €30,000 share capital deposit and the role of the CARPA of the Paris Bar.
Step 1 — Initial diagnosis and strategic scoping
It all begins with an initial thirty-minute consultation, offered free of charge, which you book online.
During this exchange, I listen to your project in detail, verify that you qualify under the Talent Passport scheme, and identify the appropriate route among the available options: creation of a new company, investment in an existing French company, or acquisition of a going concern. I also share my view on the corporate form suited to your project, on how to structure the financing, and a first assessment of the feasibility of your file in light of the DRIEETS requirements.
This initial diagnosis is delivered orally. A written preliminary legal opinion, structured in question-and-answer form, is available as an option for those who wish to size up their project in advance, secure their legal analysis, or obtain a detailed deliverable before engaging the file-constitution mandate.
Step 2 — Legal formation of the company
Once the mandate is confirmed, I initiate the legal formation of your future company. In most cases, the retained form is the single-shareholder simplified joint-stock company (SASU), suited to sole founders and to individual investors. I have covered this in a dedicated article on setting up a company in France as a foreign national.
I draft the full set of constitutive documents: draft articles of association tailored to the specificities of the Talent Passport, list of subscribers and statement of payments, power of attorney to the firm for the filings before the INPI single desk, and declaration of non-conviction and filiation. I apply the lawyer’s countersignature to the articles as an « acte d’avocat », which gives them a certain date, guarantees their integrity and reinforces their evidentiary weight.
In parallel, I introduce you to a commercial domiciliation provider approved by the Prefecture, with which I negotiate a domiciliation contract in your name. I obtain the attestation that allows the opening of the CARPA file and, later, the registration of the company.
Commercial domiciliation attestation issued by an approved provider (anonymised document).
Step 3 — Securing the €30,000 through the CARPA escrow account
This is the most sensitive point of the file, and the one that generates the greatest apprehension among my clients. It deserves a clear explanation.
Why a French bank is not an option
French law requires proof of an effective deposit of €30,000 on a French account dedicated to the economic project. However, no French bank will open an account for a foreign director before they hold a residence permit. This deadlock is a classic one: it blocks the file before it even starts.
The escrow account of the CARPA of the Paris Bar
The deadlock is resolved through the escrow account of the CARPA — the Caisse autonome des règlements pécuniaires des avocats, an institution of the Bar Order, independent and strictly supervised. In practical terms, I open an escrow account in your name, dedicated to your file. You transfer the €30,000 to it from your personal account in your home country.
Exchange with the restricted funds department of the CARPA of the Paris Bar, at the opening of the file (anonymised document).
Who owns the funds
The funds remain at all times your exclusive property. They are ring-fenced, separated from the firm’s assets, and fully refundable in the event of a DRIEETS or consular refusal, the only possible costs being those of the return bank transfer.
The official attestation of deposit
Upon receipt of the funds, the CARPA of the Paris Bar issues, in its own name, the official attestation of deposit of the share capital. It is this attestation, and not a document from the firm, that has probative value vis-à-vis the French administration. It is then attached to the DRIEETS file and, later, to the consular file.
Attestation of deposit of funds issued by the CARPA of Paris for a €30,000 share capital (anonymised document).
Step 4 — Economic file and DRIEETS submission
In parallel with the legal formation and the CARPA deposit, I build the economic core of the file — precisely what the DRIEETS will scrutinise to recognise the real and serious nature of your project.
This involves the drafting of a complete and structured business plan, including market analysis, competitive positioning, description of the offering, commercial strategy and operational organisation, together with a three-year financial forecast comprising profit-and-loss statement, twelve-month monthly cash-flow plan, initial financing plan and sensitivity analysis. I also draft the presentation note on plain paper, personally signed by you, setting out your background and your project.
I then draft the submission letter to the DRIEETS of Île-de-France, documenting each requirement of the scheme piece by piece, and I compile the entire file into a single PDF organised in reading blocks for the case officer, with a navigable table of contents. I follow the exchanges with the administration through to the delivery of the attestation recognising the real and serious nature of the project — the document that unlocks every subsequent step.
DRIEETS opinion recognising the real and serious nature of a business creation project (anonymised document).
Step 5 — Consular formalities and installation in France
Once the DRIEETS opinion is obtained, I guide and coordinate the constitution of your consular file with the French post in your country of residence. I prepare the list of expected documents, I assist you in constituting the family file where there is an accompanying spouse or accompanying children, and I draft the letters or attestations required for your Talent Passport long-stay visa application.
Upon your effective arrival on French territory, I initiate the second phase of formalities: filing the definitive company registration with the INPI single desk, obtaining the Kbis, opening the company’s professional bank account, transferring the CARPA funds to that account, and filing your residence permit application with the Prefecture.
Before any transfer of funds to the company’s bank account, I carry out an oral verification of the bank details directly with the recipient of the transfer, in accordance with CARPA requirements. This step secures the execution of the transfer and evidences compliance with the operating rules governing restricted funds.
For persons already residing in France under a long-stay title, an in-country change of status is possible in most cases, without any return to the country of origin being necessary. This lightens both the timetable and the overall budget of the project.
Step 6 — Economic completion of the project
Talent Passport support ends when your project becomes economically autonomous. You are then in possession of the receipt for your Talent Passport residence permit, of the Kbis of your company, of the professional bank account opened in its name, and of the €30,000 of capital transferred from the CARPA to that final account.
Your company is operational and you are legally authorised to carry out your business activity. What was only a project when we first spoke has become an active company, a valid residence permit, available cash and a concrete economic installation in France.
Actual timelines of a Talent Passport support engagement
Three blocks of timelines pace your journey.
- My part of the work: I finalise the entire file — articles of association, business plan, financial forecast, DRIEETS submission and the compiled PDF — within two weeks from the signing of the engagement letter, provided you have transmitted all the requested documents and made the CARPA transfer.
- The French administration’s part: the DRIEETS issues its opinion within an average timeframe of ten days to three weeks from the filing of the file.
- The consulate’s part: the long-stay visa processing time depends on the French consular post in your country of residence. It varies with the post, the time of year and the workload of the services.
Frequently asked questions
Why go through the CARPA rather than a bank?
Because a French bank will not open an account for a foreign director without a residence permit, while the residence permit itself presupposes proof of the deposit. The CARPA escrow account lifts that deadlock, under the supervision of the Bar Order.
Is the €30,000 recoverable if the application is refused?
Yes. The funds remain your property and are separated from the firm’s assets. In the event of a DRIEETS or consular refusal, they are returned to you, the only possible costs being those of the return bank transfer.
Do I have to return to my home country to file the application?
Not necessarily. If you already reside in France under a long-stay title, an in-country change of status can be considered in most cases.
What happens if my file is incomplete?
The administration may request additional documents, which lengthens the processing time. This is precisely why the file is compiled into a single PDF, documented requirement by requirement.
Discuss your Talent Passport support
I offer an initial thirty-minute consultation, free of charge, to be booked directly online. We use it to scope the Talent Passport support suited to your situation. We review your eligibility, the route suited to your situation and the broad outline of the timetable.
Ethical notice: the illustrations reproduced in this article are drawn from actual files of the firm, anonymised and reproduced with the consent of the clients concerned, in compliance with professional secrecy. The firm is subject to a duty of best efforts; the decision to issue the attestation, the visa or the residence permit lies with the competent administrative and consular authorities.