France talent — EU Blue Card residence card
France's talent — EU Blue Card residence card lets the holder live in France and work there, with the employer needing no work authorisation and exempt from the tax on employing a foreign national. It requires a diploma certifying at least three years of higher education or five years of comparable relevant professional experience — reduced to three years acquired in the seven years before the application for professions set by ministerial order — a work contract of at least six months, and gross annual pay of at least 1.5 times the reference average gross annual salary, that is EUR 59,373.00. The card's length follows the contract: for a contract of at least two years it equals the contract up to four years; for a shorter one, the contract plus three months up to two years.
Core requirements
The talent — EU Blue Card residence card authorises its holder to stay in France and carry on a professional activity. The employer does not have to apply for a work authorisation and is exempt from the tax on employing a foreign national.
The applicant must hold a diploma certifying at least three years of higher education, or have five years of professional experience at a level comparable to a higher education diploma and relevant to the sector or profession they intend to work in. That experience requirement drops to three years acquired in the seven years preceding the application for those professions set by order of the minister responsible for immigration.
A work contract of at least six months is required.
Gross annual pay must be at least 1.5 times the reference average gross annual salary, namely EUR 59,373.00 gross per year.
The card's duration depends on the work contract: where the contract runs at least two years, the card is issued for the contract's length up to a maximum of four years; where it runs less than two years, for the contract's length plus three months, up to a maximum of two years. On issue the card is valid for the same period as the work contract, capped at four years.
The card is also granted to someone who has stayed at least one year in another EU country on an EU Blue Card, but the application must be made within one month of entering France. From the second mobility between EU member states onwards, that minimum stay drops to six months.
Someone living abroad applies for the visa at the French consular authorities in their country of residence. For a stay of less than 12 months the consulate issues a long-stay visa serving as a residence permit marked "talent", which must be validated online through ANEF within three months of arrival in France. For a stay of one year or more the consulate issues a three-month long-stay visa marked "talent", and the residence card application is then made online through ANEF.
Someone living in France on a long-stay visa must submit the residence card application online within two months of entering France. A holder of a long-stay visa serving as a residence permit (VLS-TS) or of a residence card must apply online no earlier than four months and no later than two months before their current document expires. An electronic receipt of filing is issued immediately on submission.
The application requires a valid long-stay visa or residence card, or the EU Blue Card issued by another EU country where the applicant resided for one year (or six months); a passport showing civil status, validity dates, entry stamps and visas, or a consular attestation, identity card, consular card with photo, or a certificate of nationality less than six months old with photo; proof of address less than six months old; the e-photo code supplied by the photographer or approved booth; an employer's attestation, for which a template can be downloaded online; a Bac +3 level diploma or any document evidencing at least five, or three, years of comparable professional experience such as a CV or work certificates; where the activity is regulated, proof of compliance with the regulatory conditions for practising the profession — practising authorisation, diploma, title, certification, accreditation, declaration or registration; and a signed copy of the undertaking to respect the principles of the Republic.
If the card is granted, EUR 350 is payable in fiscal stamps — a EUR 50 stamp duty plus a EUR 300 tax — and proof of payment is required when the card is handed over. Stamps can be bought online or at a tobacconist equipped to issue them; online payment accepts Carte bleue and e-carte bleue, Visa and Mastercard, but not Paypal or American Express. The electronic stamp comes either as a PDF with a 2D code or as an SMS containing the stamp's 16-digit identifier. Care is needed not to buy a fine stamp (timbre amende) by mistake.
The préfecture confirms that the card is available and states the amount of tax due. The card is handed over by the préfecture or sous-préfecture of the holder's place of residence; most require an appointment, so their website is worth checking.
Family members can use the simplified "accompanying family" procedure to obtain a talent-famille residence card without going through family reunification. The accompanying family comprises the spouse and minor children, and the simplified procedure lets them come to France for the duration of the holder's stay. They receive a multi-year talent-famille residence card.
Where the prefect notifies an explicit refusal by reasoned letter, that refusal is, save in exceptional cases, accompanied by an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) naming the country of removal, and can be challenged before the administrative court. If the préfecture has not replied after 90 days the refusal is implicit; that period is 30 days for an applicant who already holds an EU Blue Card in another EU member state. An administrative appeal — to the prefect and/or hierarchically to the Minister of the Interior — and/or a contentious appeal to the administrative court may then be brought within two months of that refusal.
Official sources
- Multi-year talent residence card (verified 1 June 2026)Service-Public.fr — Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Prime Minister), France · Reviewed 2026-09-06
How immigration works in France — the process in order, the current figures with their dates, and what commonly blocks an application.
General educational information only, not personalized immigration or legal advice. Requirements can change; confirm them with the responsible government authority before acting. Next scheduled review: 2026-12-06.