Entering France for long-term purposes is possible for creating a business or for engaging in economic activity. For those individuals for whom starting a business is a viable option, obtaining France residency by investment can be a convenient route to obtain the right to remain in the country for long periods or indefinitely, as chosen.
When applying for the entrepreneur/self-employed visa, the applicant needs to provide adequate documentation to support his position as an investor, either currently owning a business or planning to set up a company that will meet the criteria.
Important conditions regarding the minimum project investment amount apply for France residency by investment. In this article, we briefly outline the conditions for the residence permit in France for entrepreneurs, however, for more in-depth information, as well as assistance according to nationality, please feel free to reach out to our French immigration specialists.
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France residency by investment for entrepreneurs and self-employed persons
There are several manners in which a foreign national may obtain a residence permit in France and while one of the common ones is through employment, some may choose to start their own enterprise.
An entrepreneur who plans to open a business in France can be awarded the right to reside in the country. For this purpose, he obtains a long-stay visa with the specification skilled residence permit or business creator (“passeport talent”or “créateur d’entreprise”).
The main conditions that apply to those who are interested in obtaining France residency by investment are the following:
- the business project: the applicant must be able to show that the project is a viable one; in some cases, the acquisition of a stake in an undertaking can also be considered a business creation project, however, conditions apply to the nature of the business;
- the type of company: the business can be commercial, industrial or artisanal; each of these complies with specific regulations as set forth by the French law and must be registered accordingly with the Trade and Companies Register.
- the minimum investment: the business project needs to have a minimum investment of 30,000 EUR.
- experience: the applicant who intends to create a business needs to have a master’s degree or at least its equivalent or must show that he has at least five years of professional experience comparable to this degree.
The visa application is submitted together with the documents that can attest to the aforementioned four important points; the applicant will need to provide proof of the amount of his or her personal investment in the business.
Once a foreign investor has lived in the country long enough, he can apply for French citizenship, provided that he complies with the remaining requirements. We offer immigration services also for persons who want to immigrate to France from UK or other countries, such as Oman or Kuwait.
Alternatives to starting a business for obtaining France residency by investment
Entrepreneurs also have other options for investment, apart from the possibility to open a business under the conditions mentioned above. These include making a direct economic investment in a recipient company:
- social capital investment: this needs to be an equity investment of over 10%, real estate investment and capital increase;
- reinvested earnings: the undistributed share of the subsidiaries’ operating income as well as other investments;
- inter-affiliate loans.
Our team can give you more details about each of these conditions as well as more information on the supporting documentation, the overall visa application process and what one may expect during the application.
According to data presented by the French National Institute for Population Studies, the 2017 population census on foreign immigrants revealed that a large percentage was born in Portugal. Data for immigrants by country of birth in 2017 shows the following:
- 617,804 Portuguese immigrants lived in metropolitan France and 618,214 in the rest of the country;
- Italians were the second-largest group of immigrants by country of birth, with 285,890 immigrants in metropolitan France;
- 747,456 immigrants from other countries of the European Union and 312,668 immigrants from other countries of Europe lived in the metropolitan area;
- 935,351 immigrants in metropolitan France and 1,040,738 immigrants in the rest of the country.
When you choose to work with our team you can rest assured that the documentation will be prepared accordingly and that you will follow through with all the current legal requirements for obtaining the visa.
For more information on obtaining France residency by investment, we invite you to contact us. We can also provide details on how to apply for French citizenship. We can also help you if you want to immigrate to France from USA. If you want to get the citizenship for St. Kitts and Nevis or other countries, we can put you in touch with our local partners.
