Talent - Porteur de Projet (Création d'Entreprise)

The Talent – Porteur de Projet (Business Creation) card is a multi-year residence permit for non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who want to set up a new company in Mayotte. Mayotte is a French overseas department, so French immigration law applies, with some local adaptations. The card used to be called "Passeport Talent – Création d'Entreprise". It is issued by the Préfecture de Mayotte and is valid for up to 4 years from the start. Family members get their own permits. It is aimed at qualified founders who want a longer, family-friendly alternative to the 1-year Entrepreneur/Profession Libérale card. Until 1 January 2030, the card only lets you live in Mayotte.

• A Master's-level degree, or at least 5 years of professional experience at a comparable level
• A real and serious business creation project, confirmed by an opinion from the Ministry of the Economy
• Financing of at least €30,000 for the project (own funds or borrowed capital)
• Annual resources at least equal to the full-time gross SMIC (minimum wage), enough to cover you and your family. National guidance quotes €22,404.20/year (mainland). The Mayotte SMIC is lower (€1,449.93/month), but official sources don't say which figure the Préfecture applies, so be ready to meet the mainland amount
• An activity compatible with public security, health and order

Talent card holders don't have to sign the Republican Integration Contract (CIR). That means the A2 French and civic-exam conditions introduced on 1 January 2026 for first multi-year cards don't apply to this card.

• Long-stay visa or current residence document
• Passport
• Proof of address in Mayotte (less than 6 months old)
• Digital photo code (e-photo)
• Master's diploma or proof of 5 years' professional experience
• Ministry of the Economy attestation on the business project
• Proof of at least €30,000 in financing (bank statements, loan agreements or investor commitments)
• Proof of resources at least equal to the SMIC
• Business registration documents
• Criminal record extract (first application)
• Signed commitment to respect the principles of the French Republic

The card is valid for up to 4 years from first issuance and can be renewed as long as you still meet the conditions. Apply through ANEF between 4 and 2 months before it expires. To renew, you need to show that the company is active and that the income it gives you is at least equal to the SMIC. The renewal fee is €250.

After 5 years of regular, uninterrupted residence you can apply for a 10-year EU long-term resident card. That requires SMIC-level resources, French at level B1 and a pass in the resident-card civic exam. Absences can't exceed 6 months in a row or 10 months in total over the 5 years. The fee is €350. Resident cards are not limited to Mayotte.

Your spouse and minor children receive "talent-famille" cards valid for the rest of your card's validity. They can work, and you don't have to go through family reunification. This matters in Mayotte, where ordinary family reunification requires 3 years' residence with a title valid for at least 5 years. Children who arrived as minors can get the card within a year of turning 18. Each family member pays the standard €350 card fee. Talent-famille cards are exempt from Mayotte's territorial limitation, so your family members can live elsewhere in France.

Residents of Mayotte pay French income tax with a 40% reduction, capped at €4,050 a year. Under a temporary "zone franche globale", businesses in almost all sectors get a 100% abatement on profits for the 2025–2029 tax years and 100% relief from business property tax (CFE) and property tax on built property for 2026–2030. The scheme ends on 1 January 2031. VAT does not currently apply in Mayotte. As a self-employed person you pay social contributions to the Caisse de Sécurité Sociale de Mayotte (CSSM).

1. Business plan attestation. Apply on the Démarches Simplifiées platform. Your file is reviewed by DRIEETS Île-de-France, which handles these requests for all of France. You need to submit your passport, business model, market study, proof of diploma or experience, and proof of €30,000 in financing. It takes about 19 days in the best case, about 25 days if there are follow-up questions, and about 2 months for complex files. The attestation is valid for 12 months.
2. Visa or permit. If you are abroad, apply for a long-stay visa on France-Visas and at the consulate (€99). If you already live in France, apply online through ANEF.
3. On arrival. Validate your VLS-TS long-stay visa online within 3 months, pay the €300 VLS-TS tax and register your company through the single business-formalities portal.

Fees (since 1 May 2026): €350 for the first card (€300 tax + €50 stamp duty), €250 for a renewal, €99 for the long-stay visa.

Processing: The Préfecture de Mayotte has 4 months to decide. No reply within that time counts as a refusal, which you can appeal within 2 months. The Préfecture's foreigners' service can be reached at [email protected].

• Territorial limitation. Until 1 January 2030, a talent-porteur de projet card issued in Mayotte only lets you live in Mayotte. If you are from a visa-required country, you need a special visa from the Préfet de Mayotte, valid for up to 3 months, to travel to mainland France or other French territories. Your family members' talent-famille cards are not limited in this way.
• Not Schengen. Mayotte is outside the Schengen Area. A Schengen visa doesn't let you enter Mayotte, and a Mayotte visa doesn't let you enter the Schengen Area.
• Work restrictions. The card only covers commercial activity linked to your business project. Salaried work is not allowed.
• Algerian nationals are covered by the 1968 Franco-Algerian agreement, not by these talent rules.
• Overstay. Overstaying can lead to an order to leave French territory (OQTF), administrative detention and a fine of up to €3,750.

The 1-year Entrepreneur/Profession Libérale card has no diploma or €30,000 requirement. This card, by contrast, lasts up to 4 years from the start, doesn't require the CIR, A2 French or the civic exam, and gives your family talent-famille cards. The Innovative Economic Project route (French Tech Visa for Founders) needs no diploma and no minimum financing, but your project must be recognised as innovative. The investment route requires €300,000.