French residence permit: all grounds in 2026

A French residence permit is issued on roughly ten grounds, and the choice between them comes down to one question: do you intend to work in France, and for whom? Employment requires a contract and a work authorisation, your own business requires money in the project and qualifications, and financially independent people have access to a status under which working is expressly prohibited.

The second thing to know before choosing: since 1 January 2026 the conditions for moving from the first card to a longer status have changed. A mandatory civic exam has been introduced, and the French language requirements have gone up a level. Some grounds are exempt from this rule, which noticeably changes the five-year calculation.

Below are all the grounds with their conditions and timescales, the ladder of statuses from visa to citizenship, the costs, and what does not exist in France even though people often ask about it.

All grounds for a French residence permit: table

Ground	For whom	Card validity	Work	Key requirement
Talent — porteur de projet	business founders	up to 4 years	yes, in your own project	€30,000 in the project, a master’s degree or 5 years’ experience
Talent — salarié qualifié	qualified employees	up to 4 years	yes	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, corporate officers, artists, people of recognised renown	up to 4 years	yes	each category has its own condition
Salarié / travailleur temporaire	employees	1 year, then multi-year	yes	employment contract and work authorisation
Entrepreneur / profession libérale	entrepreneurs without the €30,000 threshold	1 year, renewable	yes, in your own activity	viability of the project
Visiteur	financially independent people	1 year, renewable	no	funds of at least the annual SMIC and a written undertaking not to work
Étudiant	students at an accredited institution	1 year, renewable	limited	enrolment and proof of funds
Vie privée et familiale	spouses of French citizens, parents of a French child, family reunification	1 year, then multi-year	yes	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	those who have lived in the country for five years	10 years	yes	continuous residence, B1 language, civic exam

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

The ladder of statuses: from visa to citizenship

Your ground determines which step you enter on, but from there everyone climbs the same ladder. The main change in 2026 is that an exam has appeared on two of its steps. The top step of this ladder is French citizenship: five years of residence, French at B2 level and the civic exam.

What exactly changed on 1 January 2026

The law of 26 January 2024 raised the language requirements and added a test of knowledge about the Republic. The decree of 15 July 2025 set the date: the new rules apply to applications filed from 1 January 2026.

• First multi-year card — French at A2 level and a passed civic exam.
• Ten-year resident card — B1 level and the same exam.
• Naturalisation — B2 level and the exam. B1 certificates are no longer accepted, even if they are formally still valid.

The exam is neither a formality nor a language test. It tests knowledge of the principles, values and institutions of the Republic; the syllabus is part of the integration contract and is taught by the state agency OFII. The Ministry of the Interior has published 222 topic cards and an open list of possible questions; only the situational tasks remain undisclosed.

Who it does not apply to. The exam and the A2 level are tied to the integration contract, so grounds that fall outside the contract are exempt from the rule: the “talent” card and the holder’s family, visitors, students, seasonal workers and intra-company transferees. People over 65, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and stateless persons are also exempt. The list of exemptions is published on the page about the exam, with reference to Articles L413-7 and L433-1 of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners.

A practical conclusion to draw before applying: the exemption applies to the first multi-year card, but not to the resident card. A “talent” holder can live four years without a single exam, but in the fifth year will hit B1 and the civic exam at once. It is better to start on the language before you need it.

Grounds for those going to work for themselves

There are three different statuses here, and confusing them is expensive.

The “talent” card, porteur de projet category — the strongest option: four years straight away and working status for the whole family. Within it there are three different situations, and their requirements differ:

• Création d’entreprise — an ordinary business: a master’s-level degree or five years of relevant experience, €30,000 in the project and personal funds of at least the annual SMIC, which the administration calculates as €22,404.20. 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, but you need a letter from an accredited incubator. This is the French Tech Visa route.
• Investissement économique direct — an investment of at least €300,000 in a company’s fixed assets, personally or through a legal entity.

Entrepreneur or profession libérale — the second route for an entrepreneur. There is no €30,000 threshold, but the card is annual and has to be renewed every year, the integration contract is mandatory, and the 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.

Visiteur — for those who do not intend to work in France at all. You need funds of at least the annual SMIC or a pension of the same amount, and if a third party supports you, twice as much. When applying you sign an undertaking not to carry on any professional activity in France. The card is annual and renewable; the conditions are published on the page about the visiteur card.

The Spanish equivalents of the last 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.

Grounds for those going to work as employees

The salarié or travailleur temporaire card is issued on the basis of an employment contract, and the key element here is not the card but the work authorisation: the employer applies for it, and without it there will be no card. A permanent contract gives a salarié card, a fixed-term one a travailleur temporaire card. The first card is annual, then comes the multi-year card, and with it the exam and the A2 level.

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

Conditions and documents for both options are on the page about the salarié and travailleur temporaire card.

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 through reunification, a person with personal and family ties in France. It gives broad rights, including work without separate authorisation, and each case has its own conditions. A breakdown by situation is on the page about the vie privée et familiale card.

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 and with full right to work, with no waiting and no separate authorisation. There is one strict limitation: the category covers only legal spouses. An unregistered partner does not qualify, no matter how many years you have lived together.

Study

The étudiant card is issued on enrolment at an accredited educational institution and requires proof of living funds. The threshold is rising: for applications filed from 1 August 2026 you must prove at least €877.50 a month — as the official France-Visas portal warns.

Students may work, but only to a limited extent, and the student ground falls outside the integration contract — which means no exam is required at this step.

What France does not have

There is no residence permit for buying property. People regularly search for “French residence permit through property”, and the answer is simple: France has never had such a programme and does not have one now. A foreigner can buy a home freely, but it does not give a right of residence.

The closest ground to investment is the “investment” category within the “talent” card: €300,000 in a company’s fixed assets. This is an investment in a business, not the purchase of a flat, and it is assessed on its merits.

For comparison: the Spanish golden visa for property did exist, but applications stopped being accepted on 3 April 2025. So neither in France nor in Spain does the “buy a home, get a status” route work today.

How much it costs

Payment	Amount
Consular fee for a long-stay visa D	€99 per person
First card, from 1 May 2026	€350 — €300 tax and €50 stamp duty
Card renewal	€250
Before 1 May 2026	€225

An important detail of the transition period: the new rate applies to all cards for which the decision to issue was taken after 1 May 2026, not only to applications filed after that date. You applied in March and the decision came in June — you pay the new rate.

How the application works

1. The long-stay visa D is requested at the consulate for your country of residence via the France-Visas portal. Long-stay visas are processed directly by the consular section rather than a visa centre, and it takes noticeably longer than a Schengen visa.
2. Entry and first formalities. Some visas serve as a residence permit in the first year and only require validation on arrival; others require an application for a card.
3. The card is applied for online in your ANEF account, followed by a prefecture appointment and collection in person.
4. Renewal is applied for in advance, two to four months before the card expires, and you must prove that your ground still applies.

Processing times vary between prefectures, and the spread is wide: large city prefectures have dedicated teams and high volumes, while at small regional ones a decision can take months. When choosing a city this is worth weighing alongside the cost of rent.

Frequently asked questions

Which ground is the easiest to obtain?

There is no easy one, only a suitable one. If you have money and qualifications — “talent”, which gives four years and working status for the family. If you have passive income and no plans to work — visiteur. If you have an employer — the salarié card, but the authorisation application is filed by the employer, not you.

Do you need French for a residence permit?

For the first card — no. For the first multi-year card, from 2026 you need A2 and the civic exam, but only if your ground falls under the integration contract. “Talent” holders, visitors and students are exempt. The resident card requires B1 and citizenship B2, and here there are no longer any exemptions by ground.

Can you get a French residence permit by buying property?

No. France has no such programme and never has. You can buy property freely, but it does not give you a status.

How long from the decision to having the card in hand?

From the first draft of the file to the plastic card on the entrepreneur route it takes five to nine months, and most of that time goes not on the prefecture but on preparation and the consulate. A stage-by-stage breakdown of timescales is in our article on the Talent Passport.

What happens if your 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 up — there is one standard scenario: change your status before the renewal deadline, not after a refusal.

Official sources

• “Talent” card — all categories, conditions and amounts
• Visiteur card — funds requirements and the undertaking not to work
• Salarié and travailleur temporaire card
• Vie privée et familiale card
• EU long-term resident
• Civic exam — who takes it and who is exempt
• France-Visas — visa procedure and funds thresholds
• ANEF — card applications and renewals

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