Talent - Porteur de Projet (Projet Économique Innovant) / French Tech Visa for Founders

The Talent – Porteur de Projet (Innovative Economic Project) card, marketed as the French Tech Visa for Founders, is a multi-year residence permit for non-EU/EEA/Swiss startup founders who want to develop an innovative project in Mayotte. Mayotte is a French overseas department, so French immigration law applies, with some local adaptations. There is no diploma requirement and no minimum investment. Instead, a public body must recognise the project as innovative. The card is issued by the Préfecture de Mayotte, is valid for up to 4 years, and family members get their own permits. Until 1 January 2030, the card only lets you live in Mayotte.

• An innovative economic project to develop in Mayotte. Innovation is understood broadly: technology, product, service, process, organisation or social innovation
• Recognition of the project's innovative character by the Ministry of the Economy, issued through DRIEETS Île-de-France. There is no Mayotte-specific recognition body
• Selection by a French Tech Visa partner incubator or accelerator, or letters of support from ecosystem actors such as research organisations, laboratories, companies or qualified individuals
• 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
• An activity compatible with public security, health and order
• No diploma, experience or minimum investment required

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.

For the DRIEETS innovation recognition:

• Passport copy
• Proof of incubator or accelerator affiliation, if applicable
• A support letter if your incubator isn't listed by French Tech, if applicable
• Optional extra support letters

For the residence card:

• Long-stay visa or current residence document
• Passport
• Proof of address in Mayotte (less than 6 months old)
• Digital photo code (e-photo)
• DRIEETS recognition of the innovative project
• Proof of resources at least equal to the SMIC (for example bank statements, funding agreements or income records)
• 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 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 project is real and making progress, and that you still have resources 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.

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. Endorsement. Get selected by a French Tech Visa partner incubator or accelerator, or obtain letters of support from ecosystem actors.
2. Innovation recognition. Apply on the Démarches Simplifiées "French Tech Visa for Founders" procedure. DRIEETS Île-de-France reviews applications for all of France, including Mayotte. It takes about 10 days in the best case, about 19 days in standard cases, and about 2 months for incomplete or complex files.
3. 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.
4. On arrival. Validate your VLS-TS long-stay visa online within 3 months, pay the €300 VLS-TS tax and register your startup 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, the card 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 recognised project. Salaried work is not allowed, and startup employees need the separate route for employees.
• Algerian nationals are not eligible for this route.
• Overstay. Overstaying can lead to an order to leave French territory (OQTF), administrative detention and a fine of up to €3,750.

The Business Creation route requires a Master's-level profile or 5 years' experience and at least €30,000 in financing. This route requires neither, but your project must be recognised as innovative. Compared with the 1-year Entrepreneur/Profession Libérale card, this card lasts up to 4 years, doesn't require the CIR, A2 French or the civic exam, and gives your family talent-famille cards. All three cards are limited to Mayotte until 2030. "French Tech Visa for Founders" is a brand name for this legal route, not a separate visa.