French residence permit in 2026: every route, how to apply and permanent residence

France issues residence permits on roughly ten grounds, and choosing between them comes down to one question: will you work in France, and for whom? Employment needs a contract and a work authorisation, your own business needs money in the project and qualifications, and for the financially independent there is a status under which working is expressly forbidden. After five years almost any of these grounds leads to a 10-year resident card, France’s equivalent of permanent residence, and beyond that to citizenship. We help pick the category and build the file: see our French residence permit services.

The second thing to know before you choose: since 1 January 2026 the rules for moving from a first card to a long-term status have changed. A mandatory civic exam has been introduced and the language bar has gone up: A2 for the first multi-year card, B1 for the resident card. Some grounds are exempt from the first of these rules, and that noticeably changes the five-year calculation.

Below you will find every ground with its conditions and timescales, the application process step by step, the ladder of statuses up to permanent residence and citizenship, how to apply from abroad, the costs, and what does not exist in France even though people often ask about it. If you are still choosing between countries and routes, start with our overview of how to move to France.

Every French residence permit ground at a glance

Ground	Who it is for	Card validity	Work	Key requirement
Talent — porteur de projet	business founders and investors	up to 4 years	yes, in your own project	€30,000 in the project and a master’s degree or 5 years’ experience; investors €300,000
Talent — salarié qualifié	qualified employees	up to 4 years	yes	employment contract and salary threshold
Talent — carte bleue européenne	highly qualified professionals	up to 4 years	yes	degree and a higher salary threshold
Talent — chercheur	researchers	up to 4 years	yes	hosting agreement with a research organisation
Talent — other categories	medical professionals, company executives, artists, people of recognised international standing	up to 4 years	yes	each category has its own condition
Salarié / travailleur temporaire	employees	1 year; salarié then moves to a multi-year card	yes	employment contract and work authorisation
Entrepreneur / profession libérale	entrepreneurs without the €30,000 threshold	1 year, renewable	yes, in your own activity	a viable project and income of at least the minimum wage (SMIC)
Visiteur	the financially independent	1 year, renewable	no	at least €1,477.93 net a month from 1 June 2026 and a written undertaking not to work
Étudiant	university students	1 year or multi-year	limited	enrolment and at least €877.50 a month for 2026
Vie privée et familiale	spouses of French citizens, parents of a French child, family reunification	1 year, then multi-year	yes	a family relationship and proof of it
Talent — famille	spouse and children of a “talent” card holder	same as the main holder	yes, without separate authorisation	legal marriage and minor children
Carte de résident	people who have lived in France for five years	10 years	yes	continuous residence, income of at least the SMIC, B1 French, civic exam

The full list of “talent” card categories and the conditions for each is published on the service-public.gouv.fr portal; the French administration last reviewed the page on 1 June 2026.

How to get a French residence permit, step by step

The process is the same for almost every ground: first the file and a long-stay visa in the country where you live, then the formalities in France. You cannot skip the visa: for most grounds the card is only issued to people who entered on the right type of D visa.

1. Choose your ground. Working for a French employer — a salarié card or a “talent” card for qualified employees. Starting a business or investing — “talent” in the porteur de projet category, or an entrepreneur card. Living on your own money without working in France — visiteur. Studying — étudiant. Married to a French citizen or the parent of a French child — vie privée et familiale.
2. Prepare your file before the visa. For an employee, the employer applies online for the work authorisation, and you only apply for the visa once it has been approved. A business founder or the author of an innovative project first needs an opinion from the Ministry of the Economy confirming that the project is real and serious. Foreign documents need an apostille and a translation; for a first “talent” card on the business creation route you also need a criminal record certificate.
3. Apply for a long-stay D visa. The application form is filled in on the France-Visas portal, and the file is submitted to the French consulate or its visa centre in the country where you live. The standard consular fee for a long-stay visa is €99 for 2026.
4. Enter France and complete the formalities. If the visa was issued for up to a year as a visa that doubles as a residence permit (VLS-TS), you validate it online in your ANEF account within 3 months of arrival; the tax for this has been €300 since 1 May 2026. If the visa was issued for 3 months — as happens, for example, with “talent” for stays of a year or more — you must apply for a card through ANEF within 2 months of arrival.
5. Get your card. You apply online, then the prefecture invites you to collect the card. The first card has cost €350 since 1 May 2026. The “talent” card is issued straight away for the length of the contract or project, up to a maximum of 4 years; most other cards are issued for a year.
6. Renew on time. You apply no earlier than 4 months and no later than 2 months before the card expires, and you have to prove that your ground still applies. Renewal costs €250. From 2026, the first multi-year card requires A2 and the civic exam unless your ground is exempt.

Individual routes in detail: for entrepreneurs, the French talent passport for entrepreneurs; for those who do not plan to work, the French visiteur visa.

The status ladder: from visa to citizenship

Your ground decides which rung you start on, but from there everyone climbs the same ladder. The big change in 2026 is that two of its rungs now come with an exam. The top rung is French citizenship: five years of residence, B2 French and the civic exam.

What exactly changed on 1 January 2026

Law No. 2024-42 of 26 January 2024 raised the language requirements and added a test of knowledge about the Republic. Since 1 January 2026 the new rules apply to first applications for a multi-year card, a resident card and naturalisation.

• First multi-year card — French at A2 level and a passed civic exam.
• Ten-year resident card — B1 level and the same exam in its resident card version.
• Naturalisation — B2 level, spoken and written, and the exam. A TCF or TEF result is accepted if the test was taken no more than two years earlier.

The exam is neither a formality nor a language test. It checks your knowledge of the principles, values and institutions of the Republic: 40 multiple-choice questions in French, 28 on knowledge and 12 on real-life situations. You need 32 correct answers, or 80%, to pass, and you have up to 45 minutes. The exam is not required for renewals, and the pass certificate never expires. You can prepare for free on the Ministry of the Interior website, which publishes the syllabus and the official list of knowledge questions; only the situational questions are kept confidential.

Who it does not apply to. On the multi-year card, the exam and A2 are tied to the integration contract, so grounds that fall outside the contract are exempt. The list is set out in Article L413-5 of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners: the “talent” card and the holder’s family, students, seasonal workers and intra-company transferees. Visitors are also exempt from the contract, but they have no multi-year card at all: Article L433-5 of the same code keeps the visiteur card annual, and it is renewed every year until the resident card. People over 65, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and stateless persons are exempt too. The list of exemptions from the exam is published on the civic exam page.

The practical takeaway before you apply: the exemption works for the first multi-year card, but not for the resident card. There, your ground no longer exempts you: only being over 65 releases you from B1 and the exam, and a medical certificate stating you are unable to sit it releases you from the exam. A “talent” holder can live four years without a single exam and then, in year five, face B1 and the civic exam at once. Start on the language well before you need it.

Permanent residence in France: the 10-year resident card

French law has no status actually called “permanent residence”. Its role is played by the 10-year resident card (carte de résident), most often obtained as an EU long-term resident (carte de résident de longue durée-UE). The conditions for 2026 are published on the long-term resident card page, reviewed on 1 June 2026.

Resident card: what it is

The resident card (carte de résident) is a 10-year renewable French residence permit that lets you work without a work permit. It is granted after five years of lawful residence as an EU long-term resident (carte de résident de longue durée-UE) or on family grounds, such as a French citizen’s spouse after 3 years of marriage. The multi-year card (carte pluriannuelle) is shorter, usually 4 years, and tied to a specific ground that is rechecked at each renewal. A resident card may be refused at renewal if France is no longer your habitual residence: the centre of your private and family life, where you spend at least 6 months each calendar year (service-public).

EU long-term resident card conditions

Condition	What is required
Length of residence	5 years of lawful, continuous residence; EU Blue Card holders need 2 years in France after 3 years elsewhere in the EU
Absences	no more than 6 consecutive months and no more than 10 months in total over the 5 years; on the EU Blue Card route, no more than 12 consecutive months and 18 months in total
Which years count	the VLS-TS visa, the visiteur, vie privée et familiale, salarié, entrepreneur and “talent” cards, except the salarié en mission route (intra-group transfer) and the families of such employees, and the resident card. Years of study are not on the list
Income	stable, at least the SMIC — €1,867.02 gross a month from 1 June 2026; family and housing benefits do not count
Health insurance	mandatory
Integration	a commitment to respect the principles of the Republic, B1 French, the civic exam; the prefect asks for the mayor’s opinion
Over 65	no language requirement or exam
Fee	€350 for the first card, €250 for renewal, from 1 May 2026

When to apply. Either when your current card is due for renewal — through ANEF, no earlier than 4 months and no later than 2 months before it expires — or at any time once you meet the conditions, through the prefecture.

What the card gives you. The right to live and work in France for 10 years, renewable, and the right to move to another EU country for more than 3 months without a long-stay visa; there you apply for a local residence permit on the relevant ground.

When the card stops being valid. Once you have the card you can spend part of the year in another country, but that freedom has a limit. The EU long-term resident card lapses if you live outside the EU for more than three consecutive years, outside France for six consecutive years, or obtain the same status in another EU country. An ordinary resident card lapses if you live outside France for more than three consecutive years. On renewal you sign a declaration that you have not exceeded these periods. And for the card to be renewed, France must remain your habitual residence (résidence habituelle): the centre of your personal and family interests is here, and you live in France for at least six months in each calendar year — otherwise renewal can be refused (service-public). For a family that spends winters in Spain and summers in their home country, this means one thing: count the days for each card, rather than going by the general sense that “we are residents”.

A common planning mistake is counting the five years from your first day in France, study included. Years as a student do not count towards long-term resident status, so a graduate has to build up the residence period again on a work or other ground.

The resident card is also available on family grounds — to the spouse of a French citizen, the parent of a French child, or through family reunification. These cases have their own timescales, but the exam and B1 are mandatory for them as well. After two consecutive resident cards you can get a permanent resident card (carte de résident permanent), again with B1 and the exam.

Grounds for people who will work for themselves

There are three different statuses here, and mixing them up is costly.

The “talent” card, porteur de projet category, is the strongest option: up to four years from the outset and the right to work for the whole family. It contains three routes with different requirements:

• Création d’entreprise — an ordinary business: a master’s-level degree or five years of relevant experience, at least €30,000 for the project from your own or borrowed funds, and personal means of at least the annual SMIC, which the administration puts at €22,404.20 gross from 1 June 2026. You need an opinion from the Ministry of the Economy confirming that the project is real and serious. It is covered step by step in a separate article: the French talent passport for entrepreneurs.
• Projet économique innovant — an innovative project recognised by the Ministry of the Economy: there is no €30,000 threshold, and personal means are the same €22,404.20 a year. How to go through this route with an incubator or support letters is covered in the French Tech Visa for founders.
• Investissement économique direct — an investment of at least €300,000 in fixed assets in France; see the investment section below.

Entrepreneur or profession libérale is the second route for entrepreneurs. There is no €30,000 threshold, but the card is annual and has to be renewed every year, the integration contract is mandatory, and your spouse does not automatically get the right to work. It is a sensible choice when you do not have the budget for “talent”, and a poor one when you do. If you are taking over a running business rather than starting your own, the deal and the cards that fit are covered in the article on buying an existing business in France.

The talent passport in five points

The “talent” card (formerly passeport talent) is the main route for specialists, founders and investors. Five rules are worth knowing before you choose:

• Validity: the length of the contract or project, up to 4 years, with no annual card first.
• The employer of a “talent” employee does not apply for a work authorisation.
• The family — spouse and minor children — receive “talent — famille” cards for the same period, without going through family reunification, and with the right to work.
• No integration contract is required, so the first multi-year card comes with neither A2 nor the exam.
• Salary thresholds according to service-public.gouv.fr as of 1 June 2026: a qualified employee, including at an innovative company or on an intra-group transfer, needs at least €39,582 gross a year; an EU Blue Card holder at least €59,373 a year; an executive of a group company at least three times the SMIC, or €67,212.60 a year. The €39,582 and €59,373 thresholds were set by an order of 21 August 2025.

All categories with their conditions and documents are collected in our overview French talent passport: every category.

French residence permit through investment

France has no stand-alone investor residence programme. Its place is taken by the investment route within the “talent” card: officially talent — porteur de projet, parcours investissement économique, while the visa on France-Visas is called passeport talent — investisseur économique. The conditions for 2026 according to service-public.gouv.fr:

• invest at least €300,000 in tangible or intangible fixed assets in France — business assets, not your own home;
• invest personally or through a company that you run or in which you hold at least 30% of the capital;
• create or preserve jobs, or commit to doing so — with an investment plan and a letter on annual job creation for the 4 years after the investment.

The card is issued for up to 4 years, and the family receive “talent — famille” cards. This is an investment in a business, not the purchase of a flat, and it is scrutinised on substance: where the money came from, where it went and what jobs it created.

Residence for the financially independent: visiteur

Visiteur is for people who do not intend to work in France at all. According to the visiteur card page, reviewed on 1 June 2026, a single person needs at least €1,477.93 net a month, or €17,735.19 a year; family benefits do not count. If someone else supports you, you enclose documents on their income and their written undertaking. When applying, you write out by hand an undertaking not to work in France, and you need health insurance. The card is annual and renewable.

Years on a visiteur card count towards the five years for a resident card. The threshold, documents and typical refusals are covered in our article the French visiteur visa.

The Spanish counterparts of this ground are the digital nomad visa and the non-lucrative residence permit, except that Spanish thresholds are calculated from a different base and the status itself gives more freedom. How else the two countries compare for relocation is covered in Spain or France.

Grounds for people moving for a job

The salarié or travailleur temporaire card is issued on the basis of an employment contract, and the key element is not the card but the work authorisation: the employer applies for it online, and without it there is no card. A permanent contract leads to a salarié card, a fixed-term one to a travailleur temporaire card. The first card is annual; a salarié card holder then moves on to a multi-year card, and with it to the exam and A2.

The “talent” card in the salarié qualifié or carte bleue européenne category is the same employment, but for qualified professionals and with a salary threshold. The difference is fundamental: up to four years instead of one, family members with the right to work, and exemption from the integration contract.

Conditions and documents for the standard card are on the page about the salarié and travailleur temporaire card. If it is not one employee moving to France but a team or the business itself, the routes are set out in the article on relocating a business and employees to France.

How hiring a foreigner works, who obtains the work authorisation and where to look for an employer is covered in working in France.

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Family grounds

The vie privée et familiale card is not a single ground but a whole group: the spouse of a French citizen, the parent of a French child, a family member joining a foreign resident through reunification, a person with personal and family ties in France. It gives broad rights, including work without a separate authorisation, and each case has its own conditions. A breakdown by situation is on the vie privée et familiale card page.

The talent — famille card stands apart and works differently: the spouse and minor children of a “talent” holder receive their own cards for the same period, with the right to work and without family reunification. There is one hard limit: the category covers legal spouses only. An unregistered partner does not qualify, however many years you have lived together. How this plays out for a same-sex couple and what other routes exist for PACS partners is covered in LGBT life in France: rights, same-sex marriage and residence for couples.

A PACS — the civil partnership contract — does not by itself give a right to a card. On service-public.gouv.fr it is listed among the evidence for a vie privée et familiale card based on personal and family ties: the PACS partner of a French citizen or of a foreigner lawfully living here can apply for such a card, and the prefecture assesses how long-standing, close and stable your ties in France are, how integrated you are and what you live on. It is a decision at the prefect’s discretion, not a right as for a spouse. Family reunification and the talent — famille card are closed to PACS partners: both procedures name only a husband or wife. So a couple moving together who are not ready to marry needs a second ground for the partner — for example, visiteur on their own funds. What evidence of a shared life works is covered in our article on LGBT life in France.

Study

The étudiant card is issued on enrolment at a university or a higher vocational education institution and requires proof of living funds: at least €877.50 a month according to service-public.gouv.fr as of 1 August 2026. The threshold does not apply if you passed a competitive entrance exam for an institution that has an agreement with the state.

Students may work up to 964 hours a year, 60% of normal full-time hours. The student ground falls outside the integration contract, so no exam is needed for a multi-year card. But remember the flip side: years of study do not count towards the five years for long-term resident status.

How to get in, what studying costs and what residence a French degree leads to is covered in studying in France.

Applying from abroad: visa and documents

French card conditions are the same for any non-EU national. The practical differences lie in how you apply for the visa and prepare your documents.

• Where to apply. You apply to the French consulate in your country of residence, not your country of citizenship — for example in Serbia, Armenia or Kazakhstan, if you have legal status there.

Apostilled documents. According to the French Foreign Ministry table, updated on 11 September 2026, shows for each country which documents — birth and marriage certificates, court and notarial acts, diplomas, criminal record certificates — are accepted with an apostille or need legalisation. A document in a foreign language must be accompanied by a French translation by a qualified translator; French consulates publish lists of translators abroad, as explained on service-public.gouv.fr.

The whole journey from decision to move, including housing and banking, is covered in how to move to France.

If you need a trip of up to 90 days rather than a life in France, that is a Schengen visa, not a D visa.

What France does not offer

There is no residence permit for buying property. People regularly search for a French residence permit through property, and the answer is simple: France has no such programme. A foreigner is free to buy a home, but it does not give a right to live in the country.

The closest thing to an investment route is the investment track within the “talent” card: €300,000 in fixed assets in France plus jobs. This is an investment in a business, not the purchase of a flat.

For comparison: Spain did have a golden visa for property, but it stopped accepting applications on 3 April 2025. So in neither France nor Spain does “buy a home, get a status” work today.

There is no digital nomad visa either. A remote worker with a foreign employer either takes one of the “talent” routes or lives on a visiteur card, which does not allow work in France. In an answer to a question from an MP, published in the Journal officiel on 23 June 2026, the French Ministry of the Interior placed remote work for a foreign employer, with salary and taxes in another country, squarely under the visiteur card.

A foreigner can buy a home without restrictions, but it does not give residence. How the deal works and what the notary and taxes cost is covered in buying property in France.

How much a French residence permit costs

Payment	Amount for 2026
Consular fee for a long-stay D visa	€99 per person
VLS-TS visa validation, from 1 May 2026	€300 (previously €200)
First card, including the resident card, from 1 May 2026	€350 — €300 tax and €50 stamp duty (previously €225)
Card renewal, from 1 May 2026	€250 (previously €225)
Late application without a valid reason	an extra €180
Naturalisation, from 1 May 2026	€255 (previously €55)

An important detail of the transition: the new rate depends on the date the card is issued, not the date you applied. Apply in March, receive the card in June — you pay the new rate. All amounts and the previous rates are in a service-public.gouv.fr news item on the 2026 Finance Act. Your budget should also cover your own costs: translations, apostilles, health insurance and French lessons.

How applications and renewals work

1. The long-stay D visa is requested from the consulate for your country of residence via the France-Visas portal. The file is accepted by the consulate or its visa centre, and the consulate takes the decision.
2. Entry and first formalities. A VLS-TS visa replaces a residence permit in the first year and only needs to be validated online within 3 months; with a 3-month visa, as with “talent” for stays of a year or more, you must apply for a card within 2 months.
3. The card is applied for online in your ANEF account. You receive an electronic acknowledgement as soon as you apply, then the prefecture tells you the card is ready and invites you to collect it. What this acknowledgement gives you, how it differs from a récépissé and whether you can travel on it are covered in our article on what to do after entering France on a D visa.
4. Renewal is applied for in advance, no earlier than 4 months and no later than 2 months before the card expires, and you must prove that your ground still applies.

Which ground suits you

The same goal — living in France and getting a passport after five years — can be reached on different cards, and the difference between them is measured in years and thousands of euros. “Talent” gives up to four years from the outset, a family with the right to work and no exams until the resident card, but it demands qualifications, money in the project and a ministry opinion. If you are choosing between France and Spain, or already live in France and are thinking of moving to Spain, the conditions are set out in moving to Spain from France. If you are not sure whether you meet the thresholds or which route is shorter in your situation, describe it in a request — we will review it free of charge and tell you which rung to start on.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a French residence permit?

Choose a ground that matches why you are moving, prepare your file, apply for a long-stay D visa at the consulate for your country of residence, then after arrival validate the visa or apply for a card through your ANEF account, and renew the card 4 to 2 months before it expires. The first card has cost €350 since 1 May 2026.

How do I get permanent residence in France?

The 10-year resident card plays the role of permanent residence. For the EU long-term resident card you need 5 years of lawful, continuous residence in France, income of at least the SMIC — €1,867.02 gross a month from 1 June 2026 — health insurance, B1 French and a passed civic exam. Years of study do not count.

What is a resident card in France?

It is a 10-year renewable French residence permit: it plays the role of permanent residence and lets you work without separate authorisation. Most often it is the EU long-term resident card after 5 years of lawful residence, with income of at least the SMIC, B1 French and the civic exam. A multi-year card is shorter — usually 4 years — and tied to its ground.

Is there a French residence permit for the financially independent?

Yes, the visiteur card. From 1 June 2026 you need at least €1,477.93 net a month per person, health insurance and a written undertaking not to work in France. The card is issued for a year and renewed every year: visitors do not get a multi-year card. These years count towards the five years for a resident card.

Can I get a French residence permit through investment?

Yes, through the investment route of the “talent” card: at least €300,000 in tangible or intangible fixed assets in France, personally or through a company in which you hold at least 30% of the capital, plus creating or preserving jobs. The card is issued for up to 4 years, and your family receive their own cards.

Can I get a French residence permit by buying property?

No. France has no such programme. You are free to buy property, but it does not give you a status.

Do I need French for a French residence permit?

Not for the first card. From 2026 the first multi-year card requires A2 and the civic exam, but only if your ground falls under the integration contract; “talent” holders and students are exempt, and visitors have no multi-year card at all — their card is annual. The resident card requires B1 and citizenship requires B2, and there are no exemptions by ground at those stages.

Which French residence permit ground is the easiest to get?

None is easy; some simply fit better. If you have money and qualifications — “talent”, which gives up to four years and the right to work for your family. If you have passive income and no plans to work — visiteur. If you have an employer — the salarié card, but it is the employer, not you, who applies for the work authorisation.

What happens if my residence permit ground no longer applies?

The card is issued for a specific ground, and at renewal the state checks whether it still applies. The business closed, the job ended, the marriage broke down — the standard answer is the same: change your status before the renewal deadline, not after a refusal.

Does a PACS give a right to a French residence permit?

No, a PACS gives no automatic right. The PACS partner of a French citizen or of a lawfully resident foreigner can apply for a vie privée et familiale card based on personal and family ties, but the prefect decides. Family reunification and the talent — famille card are open only to spouses.

Can I lose a French resident card by living abroad for a long time?

Yes. The EU long-term resident card lapses after more than three consecutive years outside the EU or six consecutive years outside France. An ordinary resident card lapses after more than three consecutive years outside France.

Official sources

• “Talent” card — all categories, conditions and amounts, including investment
• France-Visas: “talent” visas — types of visa
• Visiteur card — funds requirements and the undertaking not to work
• Salarié and travailleur temporaire card
• Vie privée et familiale card
• Étudiant card
• EU long-term resident card
• 10-year resident card: rights, renewal, habitual residence
• Civic exam — who takes it and who is exempt
• French language level for the multi-year card and the resident card
• Article L413-5 CESEDA — exemptions from the integration contract
• Fees from 1 May 2026
• Legalisation of foreign documents and the country-by-country table
• ANEF — card applications and renewals
• Family reunification — who can be brought over

This article is for information only and does not replace legal advice. The rules on French residence permits have changed several times in two years: card names, fees and language requirements have all been revised. Check thresholds and fees as of the date you apply.