French talent card for doctors and pharmacists: EVC, hospital post, card for up to 4 years

A doctor, dentist, midwife or pharmacist with a non-EU degree gets a French «talent – profession médicale et de la pharmacie» card for the length of the contract, up to four years. It requires the right to practise, usually a hospital posting after the EVC exams, and at least €41,386.48 gross a year. The family gets talent-famille cards.

This is a new category: it was created by Law No. 2024-42, and Decree No. 2025-539 set the salary threshold. The hard part is not the visa but what comes before it: competitive exams in French, choosing a hospital post and two years of supervised practice before full authorisation. Below are the 2026 conditions, timelines, fees, family rules and what the card leads to after five years.

Who the card for doctors and pharmacists is for

The card is issued under Article L421-13-1 of CESEDA to four professions from the public health code: doctors (médecin), dentists (chirurgien-dentiste), midwives (sage-femme) and pharmacists (pharmacien). In France those with a non-EU degree are called PADHUE, praticiens à diplôme hors Union européenne. The employer needs no work permit and pays no tax for hiring a foreign national (service-public).

The card does not replace recognition of the degree; it follows it. Without the right to practise, a doctor can only be hired in France for a non-medical role, and that means other routes: salaried work (the talent passport for skilled employees), the researcher card or study, covered in working in France and studying in France. If you are going to do clinical research in a laboratory rather than practise, see the talent passport for researchers and the overview of all talent passport categories.

Conditions: what you need to show

The threshold is tied to the praticiens associés pay scale and rises with it: in 2025, when the decree came out, it was €40,774.86; on the service-public page checked on 1 June 2026 it is €41,386.48. Check the amount in the contract against the figure in force on the date you apply, not the one in force when you signed.

The right to practise: the EVC exams and consolidation

The PADHUE route is set out in Articles L4111-2 and L4221-12 of the public health code. The exams are run by the national centre CNG, and the 2026 session was opened by the order of 12 June 2026:

• Registration ran from 17 June to 16 July 2026, online only on the CNG site and as a single application: registering twice, with different ARS or for both routes, leads to rejection.
• The exams start in November 2026 in Rungis near Paris. The external route has two written papers of 2 hours each, one practical and one on fundamentals. A mark of 6 out of 20 or less on either one eliminates the candidate (CNG).
• Places are few and set by specialty. In 2026 the external route is open to doctors only: 1,003 places in 13 specialties, most of them in internal medicine (213), psychiatry (198) and geriatrics (110). For pharmacists, dentists and midwives there are places only on the internal route, for those who have already worked in France for two years.
• There are four attempts, counted from the 2021 session.
• Language. A certificate of at least B2 goes with the registration, and without it the file is incomplete. Degrees are translated by a traducteur agréé or a translator recognised by the French consulate.

Successful candidates then choose a post: under the order, in the first quarter of 2027. Hospitals hold interviews and the CNG makes the posting. With no posting within six months of the results, the exam success is lost. Then comes the skills consolidation period, hospital practice as a praticien associé: two years for doctors, one year for dentists. After it a national commission reviews the file, the minister grants authorisation to practise, and the doctor registers with the Ordre. The PADHUE rules were updated by Decree No. 2025-467.

The procedure: visa D, prefecture and card

1. The right-to-practise document. Usually the CNG posting decision after the EVC. Together with the contract, the hospital completes the attestation employeur form published by the Interior Ministry.
2. The «talent» visa D. You apply at the consulate of the country where you legally reside. If the contract is shorter than a year, you get a VLS-TS, validated online within 3 months. If longer, a 3-month visa on which you then apply for the card. Where to apply from Russia is covered in the talent passport overview.
3. The card application goes to the prefecture where you live, within 2 months of arrival. One key point: according to the Interior Ministry, this card is handled outside the ANEF portal, under the rules of each département. Check your prefecture’s website for how it takes the file.
4. The card is collected in person at the prefecture and issued for the length of the contract, up to 4 years. What you can do with the documents issued while you wait is covered in after entering France on a visa D.

Talent card holders do not sign the OFII integration contract, and the first multi-year talent card requires no language test. A salaried doctor’s health cover comes through work; how PUMa and mutuelle work is covered in healthcare in France.

Timelines and fees in 2026

Fees follow service-public for 2026; they rose on 1 May 2026. Taxes and stamps are paid with electronic timbres fiscaux. The law promises no overall timeline from EVC registration to the card: the exams and choosing a post alone take about nine months.

A doctor’s family: talent-famille and DCEM

The spouse and minor children come under a simplified procedure, without family reunification (service-public). The spouse gets a talent-famille card for the remaining term of the doctor’s card, with the right to work as an employee or self-employed, for €350. The condition is a registered marriage. Children under 18 need no card: to leave and return they get a DCEM; the procedure and the €50 stamp are in the DCEM section. Who applies first and what to do on a 3-month visa is in the section on the talent card holder’s family.

Renewal, resident card and citizenship

The card is renewed as long as the conditions still hold: the right to practise and a salary at or above the threshold. During consolidation the posting is the basis; after the minister’s authorisation it is the full right to practise, shown again at renewal. The card covers only the activity it was issued for.

After five years of legal residence two further steps open up. The EU long-term resident card for 10 years needs French at B1, the civic exam and income of at least the SMIC; years on the talent card count. Naturalisation needs five years of living in France, spoken and written B2, the exam, an interview and a €255 fee, with an answer within 18 months. The B2 level already required for the EVC matches the level for citizenship, though each procedure accepts its own certificates. Details are in French citizenship, and all routes in the overview of French residence permits.

Common reasons for refusal

• No right-to-practise document. A clinic contract without a CNG posting or authorisation to practise does not lead to the card.
• A salary below the threshold, or stated net: the annual gross amount is compared with €41,386.48.
• A lapsed exam result. With no posting within six months of the results, the EVC success is lost.
• An incomplete EVC file: no B2 certificate, translations not by a recognised translator, a provisional degree instead of a final one; such a registration is not accepted.
• A consular visa refusal, appealed to the CRRV within 30 days; see French visa D refused.
• Applying late for the card after a 3-month visa, or for renewal.

An express refusal by the prefecture usually comes with an order to leave France (OQTF); an implicit refusal can be challenged within 2 months (service-public).

Example: a psychiatrist with a family of four

A psychiatrist with a Russian degree and a TCF B2 certificate registered for the EVC in July 2026, passed the exams and in February 2027 was posted to a hospital near Lyon. The praticien associé contract pays €44,000 gross a year, above the threshold. His wife is an architect, and they have two children aged 8 and 12. The family sold a flat in Moscow and is bringing €600,000 in savings.

Fees are a small part of the budget. Translating the degrees, the first year on a praticien associé salary and the question of capital weigh more: the €600,000 from the flat sale is best arranged before the move; which accounts to declare and when tax residence begins is covered in taxes in France. With a talent-famille card the wife can work from day one, and after five years the whole family can aim for citizenship, with B2 and the exam. A similar route in Spain, with degree homologation and Spanish at C1, is covered in working as a doctor in Spain.

If you are a doctor or pharmacist and want to know where to start, with the EVC, with finding a post or with another route while you prepare, describe your situation and we will look at your route and timeline.

Frequently asked questions

How can a doctor from Russia get a residence permit in France?

Through the «talent – profession médicale et de la pharmacie» card. First comes the right to practise: the EVC exams, a hospital posting and a contract of at least €41,386.48 gross a year. Then a visa D at the consulate and the card at the prefecture for the length of the contract, up to four years.

What are PADHUE and the EVC?

PADHUE are doctors, dentists, midwives and pharmacists with a non-EU degree. The EVC are the CNG’s competitive knowledge exams, after which a successful candidate chooses a post and completes the skills consolidation period: two years for a doctor. Registration for the 2026 session ran from 17 June to 16 July.

What salary does a doctor need for the talent card?

At least the second step of the praticiens associés pay scale: €41,386.48 gross a year according to service-public in June 2026. The threshold rises with the scale, so the amount in the contract is checked against the figure in force on the date of application.

Does a doctor need French to work in France?

Yes. EVC registration requires a certificate of at least B2, such as TCF, TEF or DELF B2; nationals of French-speaking countries are exempt. The talent card itself has no separate language test, while the resident card after five years requires B1.

Can a pharmacist or dentist apply for the EVC from abroad in 2026?

Under the order of 12 June 2026 the external route is open to doctors only: 1,003 places in 13 specialties. For pharmacists, dentists and midwives there are places only on the internal route, for those who have already worked in France for two years. The list of places changes every session.

How long is the talent card issued to a doctor for?

For the length of the employment contract, but no more than four years. The card is renewed as long as the right to practise and a salary at or above the threshold remain; renewal costs €250. After five years you can ask for a ten-year EU resident card.

Can a doctor’s spouse work in France?

Yes. The spouse gets a talent-famille card for the remaining term of the doctor’s card and can work as an employee or self-employed without a separate permit. The condition is a registered marriage. Children under 18 need no card; they get a DCEM.

Is the card for doctors applied for through ANEF?

No. According to the French Interior Ministry, this card is handled outside the ANEF portal, at the prefecture under the rules of each département. The employer’s attestation employeur form goes with the application. On a 3-month visa you must apply within two months of arrival.

How many times can the EVC be taken?

Four times, counted from the 2021 session. A mark of 6 out of 20 or less on either exam eliminates the candidate. If no posting follows within six months of passing, the result is lost.

Official sources

• service-public: talent card — profession médicale et de la pharmacie, conditions, documents, fees; service-public: talent-famille card
• French Interior Ministry (DGEF): talent card for doctors and pharmacists, employer form, filing outside ANEF
• CESEDA, Article L421-13-1; Public health code, Articles L4111-2 and L4221-12
• Order of 12 June 2026 opening the 2026 EVC session; Decree No. 2025-467 on PADHUE; CNG: EVC exams — attempts, language, marks
• service-public: EU long-term resident card; service-public: naturalisation