Authorities in France have announced that non-Europeans will need to make a request before applying for a visa or a residency within the “Talent Passport – New business” (Passeport talent – Créateur d’entreprise).

According to SchengenVisaInfo, any requests need to be submitted to the Ministry of Economy to affirm the nature of the business and its project creation.

“Prior to applying for a visa and/or a residence permit marked ‘Talent Passport – New business’ non-European citizens will soon have to submit a request to the Ministry of the Economy for an opinion on the real and serious nature of their business creation project,” the French authorities said.

As soon as the measure comes into effect, applications for the talent passport must be made through the platform that has specifically been set up for this purpose.

In addition, the “Talent Passport for Company founders” is a residency permit specifically for overseas company founders from outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland looking to set up a business in France.

In order to be eligible for this permit, company founders must present a serious plan to create an economically viable business in the country.

Furthermore, they need to prove they have a minimum €30,000 investment in the planned business as well as sufficient financial means corresponding to the national minimum wage which stands at €19,074 as of 1 October this year.

Applicants are also required to pay a tax of €200 to the French Immigration and Citizenship Office on issuance of the permit. As well as the tax, a €25 stamp duty charge is added to the permit as well as the €99 long-stay visa authorisation.