Business plan for the French talent passport: structure, model and DRIEETS

A business plan is required for the talent passport on the création d’entreprise route: it is attached to the DRIEETS application as the business model, together with a market study, and the form separately asks for three years of investment and turnover for years N, N+1 and N+2. The French Tech Visa needs no separate plan, only a detailed form.

Below: how to build the document around the form’s questions, what to calculate in the financial model, where it is checked, and how the plan differs for a café, a consultancy and an IT studio. The whole route from approval to card is covered in the article on the talent passport for entrepreneurs; this one is only about the plan.

Which route needs a business plan

The «talent – porteur de projet» card is issued on two routes, and on both the approval comes from DRIEETS Île-de-France through demarches-simplifiees.fr. But the documents differ. The other card categories are in the overview of all talent passport categories.

The sources are the forms themselves: business creation and French Tech Visa for Founders. In practice, French Tech applicants in relocation chats have said the same since 2024: there is nowhere to upload a financial model, so metrics and the revenue forecast go into the «model», «market» and «project stage» fields as text. How the innovative route works as a whole is in the article on the French Tech Visa for founders.

For the création route the document list is set by Annex B of the order of 28 October 2016: «a presentation of the project, the business plan and a multi-year forecast budget», proof of funding of at least €30,000 and, for a regulated activity, proof of the right to carry it out. That is how prefectures quote the list for a change of status inside France.

Nine sections: what to write in each

The case officer reads the plan with the form fields in front of them. So the best order of sections is the form’s order. Write the plan first, then copy the answers into the fields, so the figures and wording never drift apart.

1. Project summary, half a page: what the business is, where, for whom, how much money and how many people. It answers the «Contexte, origine du projet» field: where the idea came from and why now.
2. Founder and team, 1–2 pages. The link between the degree or five years of experience and the project, and each person’s role in the company. With several co-founders, each files their own application and meets every condition personally.
3. Product and business model, 2–4 pages: what you sell, at what price, how the client pays, where the margin comes from.
4. Market in France, 3–5 pages. A specific segment in a city or region, not the world market, with linked sources.
5. Competitors, 1–2 pages. The form asks you to list those already on the market: name them and explain how you differ.
6. Sales and first clients, 2–3 pages: channels, funnel, the first ten clients, a six-month plan. It answers the «project stage and next steps» field.
7. Partners and why France, 1–2 pages. A separate field asks about partnerships with French companies, universities and researchers; letters are not required on this route, but the field is better not left empty.
8. Hiring and benefits for France, one page: how many jobs and when, added value, taxes. The «retombées économiques» field names job creation directly.
9. Funding and financial model, 3–6 pages with tables: sources and uses of money, a three-year forecast, the break-even point.

That makes 20–40 pages plus appendices. Length is not assessed as such: in practice, both eight-page plans and plans of more than a hundred pages have been approved when the figures matched the text. Section and financial table templates are available from Bpifrance Création, the state resource for business founders.

The three-year financial model

The form sets the skeleton: «the total investment needed to launch the activity, over three years» and turnover for years N, N+1 and N+2 (DRIEETS form). You build the rest yourself, and the case officer checks that these fields match the tables.

• Funding plan. On one side, where the money goes: fit-out, equipment, website, launch marketing, working capital. On the other, where it comes from: own funds and loans. The €30,000 can come «from own or borrowed resources» and is proven with bank statements and investment documents. In practice the money is most often held in a lawyer’s CARPA account, sometimes with a notary.
• Revenue forecast. Derived from the funnel: number of clients, average ticket, purchase frequency. The figure in the form field must equal the table total.
• Costs line by line. Rent at local prices, salaries with employer contributions, an accountant, insurance, marketing.
• The founder’s pay. On filing you need personal resources of at least the annual SMIC, €22,404 gross (service-public), and these can be savings. But at renewal the prefecture asks for proof of pay over the last three months and of the project’s progress (prefecture list). So in the model the founder reaches at least the SMIC, about €1,867 gross a month.
• Break-even point. Fixed costs divided by the margin rate: the turnover at which the business stops losing money. Add the year in which the result turns positive, and check that cumulative losses are covered by the funding.

Model figures must match the bank statements, and the forecast must match the market in section 4. Zero contributions or Paris rent at provincial prices stand out at once. Company and founder taxes are in the article on taxes in France.

Example: a consultancy, a café and an IT studio

Three illustrative plans for 2026. The example assumes the full cost of pay to the company is 1.4 times gross. An accountant calculates the exact contributions.

Consultancy. A founder with 12 years in procurement opens a SASU in Lyon. €35,000 of own money; the first year brings €48,000 of turnover and a result of −€3,766 with pay at SMIC level. Profit arrives in year N+1: break-even is about €67,000 of turnover a year. The easiest plan for DRIEETS: little capital, but it needs signed letters of intent from clients. Whether you can start as a micro-enterprise instead of a SASU is covered in the article on the micro-entrepreneur in France.

Café. €160,000 of investment: €40,000 of own funds and a €120,000 bank loan, which the form counts. The first year loses €13,366, profit comes from year N+1 and break-even is about €309,000 of turnover a year: the plan shows where the customers will come from and that the loan and the reserve cover the first year. Separately, a lease or a promise of lease for the premises and compliance with sector rules: the prefecture asks for these alongside the plan.

IT studio. Two founders mean two applications and at least €30,000 each, €70,000 in total. The first year shows −€27,732 with two salaries at SMIC level; by year N+2 three developers are hired at €135,000 gross, so profit in N+2 is lower than in N+1, which is fine if revenue growth explains the hiring. If the product is new rather than custom development, compare with the French Tech route: it has no investment threshold.

What the DRIEETS case officer really checks

Officially, one thing: the genuine and serious nature of the project (Article R421-33 of CESEDA, the form). There is no public scoring grid. But the form fields show what the conclusion is built on:

• Founder–project fit: a degree or experience in the same sector and a clear role in the company.
• Market and competitors in France: named, not abstract.
• Project stage: what is already done, such as clients, contracts, negotiations.
• Money: the €30,000 proven, three-year investment and turnover plausible and matching the plan.
• Benefits for France: jobs, added value, the region.
• Motive: why France in particular.

The plan is then read twice more. At the visa D stage the consulate may ask for the business plan and the financial model; in practice applicants have described such follow-up calls since 2023. At renewal four years later the plan is not checked line by line, but you are asked what has been done and what comes next, as several people in the chats report. Explain any gap between promise and result in advance.

Language, timing and validity

Language. The création form’s fields are labelled in two languages, and the French Tech form expressly allows French or English. File in French: such files are read faster, which matches chat participants’ experience. Foreign-language documents for the prefecture are translated by a sworn translator. If the plan is written in English, budget for a professional translation, not a machine one.

Timing. According to the form’s statistics on 18 October 2026: 20 days for a complete file, about a month with follow-up questions and about four months for an incomplete one. Each request for more documents costs weeks. Preparing an honest plan takes three to six weeks.

Validity. The approval is valid for 12 months, within which you need to obtain the visa D. If the plan later changes substantially, expect to have to prove the new project again at renewal.

Common mistakes

• Writing the plan for an investor: the world market and a «unicorn» instead of an operation in France.
• The turnover in the form field does not match the table in the plan.
• No salaries with contributions, or rent at another city’s prices.
• The €30,000 is in the plan, but statements show a top-up the day before filing with no explanation of its source.
• Empty «Partnerships» and «Why France» fields.
• The project does not match the degree and experience, and team roles do not explain the gap.
• One plan for two co-founders instead of two applications.
• A regulated activity with no path to the permit or licence.

If you are unsure which route fits and whether the plan will pass, describe the project and we will look free of charge at where it is weakest. If you are buying an existing business rather than starting one, begin with the article on buying a business in France; if the visa was refused after approval, see French visa refusal.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a business plan for the French talent passport?

Yes, on the création d’entreprise route. In the DRIEETS form on demarches-simplifiees.fr the plan is attached as the business model, the market study separately if the plan lacks one, and the fields take investment over three years and turnover for years N, N+1 and N+2. The approval is valid for 12 months.

Do I need a business plan for the French Tech Visa?

There is no separate file: the French Tech Visa for Founders form consists of fields on the market, model, technology, partnerships, project stage and type of innovation. Metrics and the revenue forecast are described as text in those fields. The key document is the incubator confirmation or letters of support.

How many pages should a business plan for DRIEETS be?

There is no official length. A guide is 20–40 pages plus appendices. In practice both short eight-page plans and documents of more than a hundred pages have been approved: what matters is whether the figures match the text and the bank statements, not the length.

What language should a talent passport business plan be in?

Preferably French. The French Tech form expressly allows English and the création form is labelled in two languages, but files in French are read faster. Foreign-language documents for the prefecture are translated by a sworn translator.

What turnover should I enter in the DRIEETS form?

The same as in the financial model: the forecast for years N, N+1 and N+2 after launch. It should follow from the funnel, meaning number of clients, average ticket and purchase frequency, and match the table in the plan. A mismatch between the form field and the plan invites a request for clarification.

Do I have to pay myself the SMIC from the first year?

No. On filing you need personal resources of at least the annual SMIC, €22,404 gross, and these can be savings. But at renewal the prefecture asks for proof of pay over the last three months, so in the model the founder reaches at least the SMIC by the fourth year.

What does DRIEETS check in a business plan?

The genuine and serious nature of the project. There is no public grid, but the form asks about the fit between experience and project, the market and competitors in France, the project stage, proof of the €30,000, three-year investment and turnover, jobs and why France was chosen.

How long does DRIEETS take to review an application with a business plan?

According to the form’s statistics on 18 October 2026: 20 days for a complete file, about a month with follow-up questions and about four months for an incomplete one. Each request for more documents costs weeks, so it pays to finish the plan before filing.

Is the business plan checked at card renewal?

Not line by line. The prefecture asks for proof of pay over three months and documents on the project’s progress. In practice you are asked what has been done in four years and what lies ahead; a company with no activity reads as a discontinued project.

Official sources

• demarches-simplifiees.fr: DRIEETS «création d’entreprise» approval — conditions, 12-month validity, processing times; blank form with every field
• demarches-simplifiees.fr: French Tech Visa for Founders; blank form — fields and language
• service-public: the «talent» card — conditions, SMIC, documents
• Val-de-Marne prefecture: documents under Annex B of the order of 28.10.2016; Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture: first card, renewal, translations
• Bpifrance Création: business plan and financial forecast templates