VISAHJELP

Talent Passport (Passeport Talent / Carte talent)

Multi-year residence pathway for highly skilled, qualifying foreign nationals — for stays of 1 year or more. Issued either as a long-stay visa (VLS or VLS-TS Talent) before arrival or as a carte de séjour pluriannuelle « Talent » at the préfecture, valid up to 4 years and renewable. Per the canonical fiche service-public.gouv.fr F16922, the Talent regime bundles eight distinct sub-tracks under one umbrella, each with its own eligibility test and salary or qualification thresholds: Salarié qualifié (qualified employee, €39,582 gross annual reference), Carte bleue européenne (EU Blue Card, €59,373 gross annual = 1.5× reference), Professions médicales et de la pharmacie, Chercheur (researcher, €2,200 gross monthly minimum under a convention de séjour de recherche), Porteur de projet (innovative-project / business creator), Mandataire social (corporate appointee), Profession artistique et culturelle, and Personne de renommée nationale ou internationale. Strongly preferred for Vietnamese applicants with a master's-level qualification, a French employment offer at the qualified-employee threshold, or a researcher convention with a French institution.

LAST VERIFIED · 2026-05-12 SOURCE: France-Visas · Independent · not affiliated

From the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“Decisions by the Embassy of France in Hanoi or the Consulate-General in HCMC. Per F16922, the talent passport's distinctive feature is that the EMPLOYER does NOT have to apply for a work permit and there is no opposition test on the labour market — the regime is designed to attract skilled foreign workers directly. Standard talent-passport validity: 4 years if first issued in France (or for the duration of the supporting contract / convention if shorter); 1 year on the VLS-TS Talent before validation, then upgraded to the multi-year card at the préfecture on validation. Talent-famille card (F35792) accompanies the principal holder's spouse and dependent children with equivalent validity. EES does NOT apply to talent-passport holders — long-stay regime uses VIS + national residence-permit databases. Post-arrival: ANEF validation within 3 months + OFII validation tax (verify current amount on F2231 and the OFII portal).”
— French Ministry of Foreign Affairs · French consulates

What you need

  • Track-dependent. Common to all: passport with adequate validity, biometric photos, Cerfa form (15614-02 for talent — passeport talent; equivalent for sub-tracks), proof of accommodation, health insurance bridge until enrolment in Sécurité sociale, supporting Vietnamese documents notarised and sworn-translated into French or English. Track-specific: (Salarié qualifié) gross annual salary ≥ €39,582 + master's-level diploma or 5 years comparable experience + employment contract ≥ 3 months; (Carte bleue européenne) gross annual salary ≥ €59,373 + CDI or CDD ≥ 6 months + 3+ years of higher-education diploma OR 5 years of comparable senior-level experience; (Chercheur) convention de séjour de recherche signed with a public or accredited research organisation + €2,200 gross monthly minimum; (Porteur de projet) project recognised by a public body + viable business plan + sufficient funds; (Mandataire social) appointment as legal representative of a French entity + corporate documents; (Profession artistique et culturelle) employment contract ≥ 3 months OR independent activity contracts + earnings test; (Renommée) recognised national or international reputation in their field. The work permit (autorisation de travail) is NOT required for talent passport holders — that is the key practical advantage over the standard salarié track.

Checklist

23
  • Long-stay visa application form — sub-track-specific Cerfa, online + signed *
  • Two recent identical biometric photos (35mm × 45mm, ICAO standard) *
  • Original passport (validity covering the multi-year card period + 3 months; 2+ blank visa pages; issued ≤ 10 years ago) *
  • Passport copies — bio-data page + all pages with previous visas, stamps, or residence permits *
  • Vietnamese documents — notarised translation into English or French *
02

Sub-track: Salarié qualifié

  • Employment contract ≥ 3 months — Salarié qualifié track
03

Sub-track: Carte bleue européenne (EU Blue Card)

  • Employment contract (CDI or CDD ≥ 6 months) — EU Blue Card track
04

Sub-track: Chercheur (researcher)

  • Convention de séjour de recherche signed with a public or accredited research institution — Chercheur track
05

Sub-track: Porteur de projet — création d'entreprise

  • Project + financing evidence — Porteur de projet (création d'entreprise variant)
06

Sub-track: Salarié en mission (group transfer)

  • Group-internal transfer evidence — Salarié en mission (intra-corporate transfer)
07

Sub-track: Porteur de projet — investissement économique

  • Direct economic investment ≥ EUR 300,000 — Porteur de projet (investissement variant)
08

Sub-track: Mandataire social (corporate appointee)

  • Legal-representative appointment + 3-month group seniority + salary ≥ 3× SMIC = EUR 65,629.20 — Mandataire social
09

Sub-track: Professions médicales et de la pharmacie

  • Medical/pharmacy contract — salary ≥ EUR 41,386.48 (2nd échelon, praticiens associés grid)
10

Qualifications + experience

  • Diplomas + professional qualifications (notarised + sworn-translated) *
  • Detailed CV + work-experience evidence *
11

Accommodation

  • Accommodation evidence — lease, hotel/Airbnb (first weeks), employer/institution-arranged housing, or attestation *
12

Health insurance

  • Health insurance covering arrival until enrolment in Sécurité sociale *
13

Identity supplements

  • Birth certificate (with notarised translation) *
  • Marriage certificate (if accompanied by spouse — see also carte talent-famille F35792)
14

Fees

  • Visa fee — EUR 99 (standard long-stay) *
  • Préfecture card-issuance fee — EUR 350 (EUR 50 droit de timbre + EUR 300 taxe), paid by timbres fiscaux *
  • TLS Contact service fee — EUR 25 per application *
  • TLS Contact appointment confirmation *

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