The French « talent — porteur de projet » permit, widely known as the Talent Passport, allows a founder to incorporate a company in France and live there with their family. I prepare, assemble and file the complete application as your lawyer.
30 minutes by video, in English. No documents required for this first call.
Sintes Dingamgoto — Lawyer, member of the Paris and Chad Bars.
Founders usually discover the same deadlock:
The residence permit requires a company, funded with at least €30,000.
Funding the company requires a French bank account.
Opening that account generally requires you to already be established in France.
There is a legal way around it. As a lawyer of the Paris Bar, I hold a CARPA account — the escrow system operated by the Bar for client funds, under its supervision.
Your €30,000 is wired directly from your own bank, in your own country, to that escrow account. The CARPA then issues a certificate of deposit, which serves both to incorporate the company and to support the file submitted to the French administration.
No French bank account. No trip to France. No third party holding your money.
Four conditions are set by French law. The call is useful if you meet, or are close to meeting, all four.
Articles L. 421-16 1°, R. 421-33-1 and R. 421-33-2 of the French Immigration Code (CESEDA).
Each stage produces a document you keep. You commit only to the stage you decide to launch.
A written analysis of your situation: qualification, experience, resources, funding, planned head office. You know where you stand before committing to anything further.
Choice of company form (SASU, SAS, EURL, SARL), articles of association drafted for this specific route, list of subscribers, power of attorney for the INPI filing, lawyer's countersignature and electronic signature.
Sector research, business plan, three-year forecast with monthly cash-flow projection and break-even analysis, and a presentation note signed by you.
Identity and civil status, diplomas and equivalence, five years of employment records, proof of the lawful origin of the funds, head office documents. Everything normalised into a single indexed PDF.
Opening of the escrow account, transfer instructions sent to your bank, then filing with the competent DRIEETS with a reasoned submission letter.
Responses to any request for additional documents, and, where a decision is unfavourable, analysis of the ground retained and an administrative appeal where appropriate.
Lawyer, member of the Paris and Chad Bars. My practice covers business law and the establishment of foreign founders in France. I work in French and in English, and I handle each file personally.
Everything you send me is covered by professional secrecy under French law — a duty that binds lawyers and that consultancies and agencies are not subject to.
No. The company can be incorporated and the file prepared while you are abroad. You apply for the long-stay visa at the French consulate in your country of residence once the file has been examined.
Coming to France remains part of the plan, though. The funds held in escrow must eventually be transferred to the company's own bank account, and that account can only be opened once you have arrived in France.
Not to begin. The €30,000 is wired from your own bank to the CARPA escrow account of the Paris Bar. You open a French account once the company exists and you are established in France.
The permit is designed to allow the spouse and minor children to accompany the holder. Their situation is reviewed with you during the call.
Timelines depend on the DRIEETS office concerned and on the consulate handling your visa, and neither is under my control. What I can do is give you a realistic calendar for your specific situation during the first call, and tell you which stages you can accelerate yourself.
A degree at master's level obtained abroad can be recognised, generally through an equivalence certificate. Where no degree applies, five years of comparable professional experience may be relied on instead.
English throughout, including written advice and correspondence explaining each step. Documents filed with the French administration are, of course, in French.
Yes. Thirty minutes, with no obligation. If your situation does not fit this route, I will tell you on the call.
Fees for the full engagement start at €5,000, excluding VAT — from the written eligibility opinion through to the filing and the follow-up with the administration.
The work is billed by stage. You commit only to the stage you decide to launch, and you know the amount before each one begins. The final figure depends on the complexity of your file, the number of shareholders and the company structure chosen.
Third-party costs are not included and are paid by you directly: company registration and court fees, legal notice, commercial domiciliation, sworn translations and apostilles, consular visa fees, and an accountant's review of the business plan if you want one.
The first 30-minute call is free and carries no obligation.
Two questions first. French law sets strict conditions for this permit, and they tell us both — in under a minute — whether a call is worth your time.
Do you have at least €30,000 available to invest in the project?
The funds stay yours. They are placed in the Bar's escrow account, not paid to anyone.
Which of these applies to you?
One of the two is required by law. Experience must be comparable in level to the qualification.
French law requires either a degree at master's level or at least five years of professional experience comparable in level. On what you have told me, neither condition appears to be met today, and a call about this particular permit would not be useful to you.
Other routes exist for setting up a business in France. Write to contact@sd-avocat.fr describing your situation, and I will tell you honestly whether I can help.
The €30,000 funding condition is set by law and is checked when the file is examined. Since the funds are not yet available, the sensible order is to secure them first — the rest of the file can be prepared in parallel once they are in sight.
When the funding is in place, come back and book the call. If you would like to discuss the timing before then, write to contact@sd-avocat.fr.
Based on your answers, a call makes sense.
Your two answers are carried over — you will not be asked them again.
If none of the times work for you, write to contact@sd-avocat.fr with your time zone.