France: Changes to Talent Permit Scheme, Processing Timeframes, and Minimum Salary Levels

Talent permit regime changes.

• Medical talent category. The ‘Talent- Medical and Pharmacy Professions’ permit is now effective. The permit – which provides a four-year (renewable) working residence for non-EU doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and midwives – was formally established in legislation in early 2024, but additional implementation steps (including releasing minimum salary level details) had not yet been taken.
• Talent - Qualified Employee category. The ‘Young Graduate - Qualified employee’, ‘Employee on Assignment’, ‘Employee of a Young Innovative Company’ permit types have been merged into a single category called the ‘Talent – Qualified Employee’ category. 
• Talent - Project Holder category. Similarly, the ‘New Business’, ‘French Tech Visa’ Founder’, and ‘Investor’ permits were merged   into a single category called the ‘Talent - Project Holder category’.

• ‘Talent- Medical and Pharmacy Professions’ permit. This change addresses the labor shortage in the health sector. Foreign nationals will benefit from a new, simplified multi-year residence permit pathway which will not require a separate work permit.
• Consolidating various talent permit types. This merger aims to streamline the process for qualified foreign employees (including those with young innovative company positions and those on temporary assignments) and for self-employed categories (business founders and investors) as part of a more comprehensive simplification reform by the French government. 

EU Blue Card processing times.

• Reduced processing times. While the standard government processing time for EU Blue Card applications remains 90 days, this timeframe has been lowered to 30 days if the applicant already holds an EU Blue Card from another EU Member State (unless circumstances require the processing time to be extended to 60 days).
• Extends to family members. This reduced time limit also applies to any applicant’s family member who files their residence permit applications simultaneously. In that case, decisions must be notified together, and residence permits issued at the same time.
• Remedy for applicants. These time limits are set by law. Silence from the administration within these timeframes amounts to an implicit rejection that can be challenged in administrative courts. 

These changes aim to speed up processing times for highly qualified talents and their family when applying for EU Blue Cards in France. Lower timeframes applicable to those who hold an EU Blue card from another EU Member State ensure greater intra-EU mobility, thus making this scheme more attractive for foreign nationals and employers. 

‘Reasonable timeframe’ requirement. A ‘reasonable timeframe’ requirement now applies with respect to additional information requests for incomplete immigration applications. This applies both to authorities (when requesting additional information) and applicants (who must provide missing or incomplete information to authorities). Previously, applicants were often requested to provide complementary information within 15-30 days through the online platform (ANEF), but nothing was set by law. 

Whereas the practical impact is limited in the absence of clear legal timeframes, this provision paves the way for faster immigration processes from both applicants and authorities when complementary documents or information are requested. It remains to be seen how a ‘reasonable timeframe’ is interpreted in practice, on a case-by-case basis. 

Minimum salary level changes.

• The minimum salary level for the new ‘Talent- Medical and Pharmacy Professions’ permit has been set at EUR 41,386.48.
• The minimum salary level for the ‘Talent – Qualified Employee’ permit (which resulted from the merger of various other talent permits) has been set at EUR 35,891.
• More information about French minimum salary levels can be found here. 

• ‘Talent – Medical and Pharmacy Professions’ permit. The introduction of a minimum salary level for the ‘Talent- Medical and Pharmacy Professions’ permit (lower than the one required for the EU Blue Card) was one of the practical steps necessary for the permit to be implemented. 
• ‘Talent – Qualified Employee’ permit. Lower salary levels make this pathway more attractive for employees and businesses. These figures are currently tied to 2016 metrics and it is expected that the government will shortly release a new decree with minimum salary thresholds which better align with the current economic situation.