How to Apply for the Passeport Talent Visa

5 min readMar 8, 2021

Americans have had the Profession Liberale and Long-term Stay Visitor statuses closed for application from the US for some time now due to Covid-19. Other countries do have these options available and Americans who have had legal residence in other countries have successfully applied for and received these statuses from the embassies/consulates in those countries and have subsequently entered France. One status has remained open to Americans applying from the US: Passeport Talent, a status I had helped clients with in a limited capacity in previous years. But a colleague of mine has watched many friends get it over the years and is now helping those who are stateside and do not want to wait for PL or Visitor to re-open (and who don’t fancy the student route) to get this visa. I had her write this brief look at three of the 11 classifications available within Passeport Talent for this article. I’ve added some editorial notes in italics but if you’d like help with this visa classification you can contact Molli at the link at the bottom of the article. — SH

For non-Europeans looking to come to France to live, your best bet has long been the student visa. Even for those who thought their student days were long behind them, traveling to France for some continued education is by far the easiest way. And, continued education doesn’t mean that you need to sign up to do another undergrad or Master’s degree. You can obtain a student visa if you take French classes or attend a cooking school, among other options.

But then 2020 arrived and our lives changed. Traveling wasn’t as easy as before (if it was even allowed) and moving to a foreign country became a distant memory of something that you may have considered. Even college students had to put their study abroad semesters on hold, and if you did manage to get a student visa for yourself, your spouse or children weren’t necessarily able to apply for their own visas through yours.

But there’s always another way, if you look hard enough. If you’re feeling frustrated and aren’t sure what to do, I’m glad you found this blog. Here’s how to apply for a different type of visa for France, the Passeport Talent.

What is it?

Passeport Talent is a fancy French way of saying that if you’ve got talent, come and share your skills in France! It is a multi-year residence permit that was created to bring talented foreigners to France in order to develop the county’s “attractiveness.” As if France wasn’t attractive enough, right? Well, if you’ve got a special skill that you want to bring over to the français, you can, thanks to the passeport talent .

Who can apply?

You can apply if you’re planning on working and living in France for more than three months. You’ll remember that people from many non-European countries are allowed to visit and live in Europe without a visa for 90 days. The passeport talent ensures that you’re allowed to stay for much, much longer. This long-term visa (otherwise known as a residence permit) is issued for up to 4 years and is renewable.

In order to apply, you must be from a non-European country.

How to do it

If you’re still in your home country, you’re required to apply at the nearest French consulate. IF you’re already in France and are interested in changing your visa status, you’ll need to go to the closest prefecture. To start, you’ll have to provide these documents:

Your passport
Your birth certificate (translated in French by an officially licensed translator)
Your wedding certificate, if you are married (translated)
Your children’s birth certificate, if you have any (translated)
Proof of address
Three ID photos
Application (different according to your activity)
Official documents related to your activity.

It will cost you 269€ to get the final card.

So, who can receive the passeport talent ? There are 11 different scenarios in which you could potentially get one, but for the sake of this article, I will briefly examine three of them. I encourage you to visit the official French website for this type of visa if you don’t see an option below that works for you.

You want to create a business in France, or are taking control of one

(this is ideal if you have some money set aside for yourself and is essentially a more financially muscular Prof Lib — SH)

You’ll apply for “ passeport talent — création d’entreprise. “
You must prove that you have a serious plan to open a business in France.
You’re required to invest at least 30,000€ in your project, have a degree that is equivalent to a Master’s degree (or are able to prove that you have five years of professional experience in your field)
You are also able to apply for the passeport talent — création d’entreprise if you are slated to take control of a French business.
You’ll need to show proof of the plans for your new business as well as proof of your investment, your diploma, that you’ll be earning at least the French minimum wage (roughly 1,500€ gross per month), and you must fill out this application.

You are an artist, a writer, or a performer

(this is perfect if you were already planning to come as a writer on Prof Lib — SH)

You’ll apply for “ passeport talent — profession artistique et culturelle. “
If you’re a singer, performer, author, or simply an artist, you must prove that you earn at least 1,064.85€ gross per month.
You’ll need to provide documents that prove that you are a professional artist, and if you are employed by a French company, you’ll need proof of that too. That being said, you can apply for this visa even if you are self-employed. You must fill out this application as well.

You are making a direct economic investment in France

(if you had dreams of opening a B&B or some other larger traditional business, this is a good route for you. Simply buying a property is insufficient in and of itself. The investment must create/save jobs. — SH)

You’ll apply for “ passeport talent — investissement économique — toutes activités commerciales. “
You must prove that you are investing at least 300,000€ in a French company that you own or through a company in which you hold at least a 30% share of the capital.
You must also prove that you will create or save jobs and you must have proof of your plans for your investment, and you must also be earning at least the French minimum wage (roughly 1,500€ gross per month).

These are just three of the possible situations which would allow you to apply for the passport talent. Like all things in the French administration, the application process is long and very involved. I offer private consultation services which range from help with visas, adjusting to life abroad, to Paris travel itineraries. Click here to learn more.

Photo courtesy of Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

Originally published at https://theamericaninparis.com on March 8, 2021.