Frequently asked questions.

Since Brexit, UK nationals need a long-stay visa to live and work in France for more than 90 days. For founders, the most relevant route is the Talent Passport — Business Creator, valid for up to 4 years and renewable. Family members get a "Talent — Family" permit with independent work rights.

If you don't need to live in France personally — for instance because you're setting up a French subsidiary while staying based in the UK — no visa is required, and a business-only setup is much simpler. You can be the director of a French company while resident in the UK.

You must demonstrate financial means equivalent to the French minimum wage (SMIC), which is €21,876.40 per year as of 1 January 2026. This is about personal living support, not business runway. Bank statements showing equivalent personal savings or income usually suffice.

The French Tech Visa is a fast-tracked pathway within the Talent Passport framework, specifically for tech founders, investors and employees of recognised startups. It requires endorsement from an accredited French Tech partner (Bpifrance, French Tech Méditerranée, an incubator, an accelerator).

The legal permit, rights and duration are identical to the standard Talent Passport — Business Creator. The advantage is administrative speed and ecosystem support.

For most international founders, the SASU (Société par Actions Simplifiée Unipersonnelle) is the standard choice. It is a single-shareholder company with limited liability, flexible governance, and acceptable to French banks. Capital can be as low as €1, although €1,000–€5,000 is more practical.

If you have two or more partners, the SAS is the same structure for multiple shareholders. The SARL is older, more rigid, and rarely chosen by international founders any more.

For a one-person service business with limited turnover, the micro-entrepreneur status (formerly auto-entrepreneur) is simpler still, but it caps turnover at €77,700/year for services or €188,700 for retail, and you cannot reclaim VAT.

Legally, €1 minimum for an SAS/SASU. In practice, deposit €1,000–€5,000. It signals seriousness to suppliers, banks and partners, and it gives you a small operating buffer at launch. The amount is freely usable from day one — it isn't locked.

Realistically, 2 to 4 weeks from the moment you have all your documents ready. The actual incorporation at the INPI Guichet Unique (the single online portal since January 2023) takes 5 to 15 working days once submitted. Most of the waiting is around gathering documents: domiciliation contract, articles of association, beneficial ownership declaration, deposited capital.

For founders not yet living in France, the bank account is the usual bottleneck.

French banks remain cautious about non-resident company directors. Anti-money-laundering rules require thorough due diligence, and many traditional banks defer the decision to a branch manager who needs to meet you in person. Expect a 4–8 week timeline if you go this route.

Neobanks (Qonto, Shine) can issue a business IBAN within a week and accept the deposit of share capital. They are widely accepted at the INPI Guichet Unique and by suppliers. Many international founders start with a neobank, then add a traditional bank once the company has trading history.

For neobanks: usually yes, once you have your incorporation documents in hand. They accept directors with UK or other EU residence.

For traditional banks: harder. Some will open the account but freeze it until you have a French address. Plan around this with your accountant.

The standard corporate tax (Impôt sur les Sociétés) rate is 25% on profits. For SMEs (turnover under €10M, at least 75% individual shareholders), the first €42,500 of profit is taxed at a reduced rate of 15%.

VAT (TVA) is generally 20%, with reduced rates of 10% and 5.5% for some sectors. Small businesses under certain thresholds can opt out of VAT (franchise en base de TVA) — useful for B2C, restrictive for B2B.

For a director paying themselves as an "assimilé-salarié" (the SASU default), employer + employee social charges total roughly 65–80% on top of net salary. This is high by international standards but covers healthcare, pension, unemployment (with limits), maternity, etc.

Many founders take dividends instead of salary, which are taxed at a flat 30% PFU (12.8% income tax + 17.2% social contributions). A typical optimisation is a small salary + dividends, designed with an accountant.

Yes, fully legal. The activity is regulated by the law of 4 August 2008 and ordinance n° 2009-104. Every domiciliation provider must hold a Préfecture-issued agrément, valid for 6 years and renewable, with the agrément number printed on every contract.

Yes, with conditions. The lease or the building's co-ownership regulations must not forbid it. The activity must not generate nuisances (passing trade, frequent deliveries). And your home must be your main residence.

You can also opt out of having your home address displayed publicly via the INPI's confidentiality service — but the address remains visible to the administration.

Significant. Article L123-11-1 of the French Code de commerce provides for up to €75,000 in fines and 1 year of imprisonment for false domiciliation: fictitious address, no right of occupation, or use of a third party's address without their written agreement.

Official filings are in French. Most accountants and lawyers will handle them on your behalf. Increasingly, banks and large suppliers can communicate in English. You can run a business here from day one with B1-level French — and improve from there.

However, B2-level French significantly opens what you can do directly — hiring locally, dealing with the URSSAF, talking to clients. Most founders find it worth investing.

Strongly recommended, even for an SASU with simple operations. Statutory accounts must be filed annually, VAT returns monthly or quarterly, and the rules change. Budget £150–£300 a month for a small SASU. Several Montpellier firms speak English.

Costs: about 40% lower for housing and office space. Talent: smaller pool overall but very competitive in healthtech, agritech, GreenTech and software. Ecosystem: tighter and more accessible — easier to meet relevant people. International access: good but not Paris-grade (direct flights to London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt; TGV to Paris 3h15). Quality of life: dramatically better.

If you need daily face-time with Tier-1 French institutional clients, Paris is unavoidable. For most international tech founders, Montpellier is a serious alternative — and the city the founders themselves prefer to live in.

Mediterranean. 300+ days of sun per year. Summers hot and dry (often 30–35°C in July–August), winters mild (rarely below 5°C). Two intense rainy windows around October and March/April; the rest of the year is largely dry. Occasional tramontane wind from the north-west.

The sea is swimmable from late May to early October. The Cévennes mountains, 45 minutes north, are walkable year-round and snowy from December to March.

Because it brings everything a founder needs into one place: two préfecture-approved centres (Millénaire and Garosud), registered-office domiciliation, free coworking in an on-site restaurant space, and meeting or seminar rooms bookable on site. That combination makes it one of the best places to base a new company in Montpellier.

Yes. Coworking desks are available free of charge in our on-site restaurant space — you settle in, grab a coffee and work the day. It is a genuine free coworking offer, not a trial, at both the Millénaire and Garosud centres.

Yes: there is an on-site restaurant space, which is also where the free coworking takes place. You can work, take a coffee and have lunch without leaving the premises.

Yes: seven equipped meeting and conference rooms span the two centres, with up to 40 seats in the Pic Saint-Loup room — ideal for seminars, workshops or training days, bookable by the hour, half-day or day.

Absolutely: you can register your company's head office (domiciliation) and, from the same place, use the free coworking, book meeting or seminar rooms and add virtual-office services — a single base that grows with your business.