Skilled Migration / France / Route
France · Skilled migration route
A multi-year French talent card for salaried professionals earning €59,373 or more, with family rights and EU portability.
Varies by consulate and prefecture
Last updated: 2026-10-01
Programme overviewنظرة عامة
Advising UAE residents on skilled migration from our Dubai office.
Overview
The EU Blue Card — carte de séjour "talent — carte bleue européenne" — is France's permit for senior salaried professionals. It asks for a contract of at least six months paying at least €59,373 gross per year, plus either a diploma covering three years of higher education or five years of professional experience at a comparable level.
What the card is worth
| France EU Blue Card | |
|---|---|
| Salary floor | €59,373 gross per year |
| Qualification | 3-year degree, or 5 years' comparable experience |
| Minimum contract | 6 months |
| Card length | Contract length, capped at 4 years |
| Short contract | Contract + 3 months, capped at 2 years |
| Family | Talent-famille, no reunification procedure |
| EU mobility | After 1 year on a Blue Card elsewhere |
| French required | Not for the card; B2 at naturalisation |
| Prefecture fees | €350 (€300 tax + €50 stamp duty) |
The threshold is the real test
At €59,373 this is a senior permit, and there is no younger-applicant discount of the kind some EU states operate. If an offer sits below the floor, the Blue Card is closed and the question becomes whether another talent route fits — the innovative-company salaried route, for instance, sets its floor at €39,582 where the employer is a jeune entreprise innovante or a company the economy ministry has recognised as innovative.
That is the sort of substitution worth checking before an offer is negotiated rather than after it is signed.
Fees and decision time
The prefecture charges €350 when the card is issued: a €300 residence card tax plus €50 stamp duty (droit de timbre). If the prefecture has not answered within 90 days, the silence counts as an implicit refusal; the period is 30 days if you already hold a Blue Card in another EU member state.
Family and citizenship
A spouse and minor children receive talent-famille cards through the accompanying-family route, without the ordinary family reunification procedure. Time on the card counts towards the five years of residence required for naturalisation, which also requires French at B2, a civics exam and stable, sufficient income. India does not permit dual citizenship: acquiring French citizenship would end Indian citizenship under Section 9(1) of the Citizenship Act 1955. French residence does not.
Talk to our France visa consultants in Dubai
XIPHIAS Immigration has advised families and businesses since 2009, and our Dubai team works with UAE residents. We were named Best Immigration Consultant by The Times of India in 2022. Our immigration consultants in Dubai will take you through the requirements, costs and timeline for your specific case.
Sources
What you getالمزايا
Card issued for the length of the contract, up to four years.
Spouse and minor children receive talent-famille cards without family reunification.
Right to work and reside in France, with visa-free travel in the Schengen area.
Portable within the EU after a year on a Blue Card in another member state.
Counts towards the five years of residence required for naturalisation.
Access to French public healthcare and education as a legal resident.
Investment & costsالتكاليف
Qualifying investment
Residence card tax
Payable at the prefecture on issuance.
Stamp duty
Droit de timbre.
Government & due-diligence fees
Figures are indicative and exclusive of professional fees. Your advisor confirms an exact, written cost breakdown for your family size.
Eligibilityالأهلية
Requirements
Gross annual pay of at least €59,373 — one and a half times the reference average gross annual salary.
A diploma covering at least three years of higher education, OR five years of professional experience at a comparable level relevant to the sector.
An employment contract of at least six months.
Non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationality.
Valid passport and clean criminal record.
Who cannot apply
Salary below the €59,373 threshold — there is no discounted rate and no age concession.
Contract shorter than six months.
Neither a three-year higher education qualification nor five years of comparable experience.
Serious criminal convictions.
Language requirementاللغة
Minimum level
No French required for the card; B2 applies only at naturalisation
Accepted tests
The processكيف نعمل
Secure a qualifying offer
The contract must run at least six months and pay at least €59,373 gross per year.
Document the qualification
Present a three-year higher education diploma, or evidence five years of comparable professional experience.
Employer files work authorisation
The French employer obtains authorisation before the consular stage.
Apply for the long-stay visa
File at the French consulate covering your place of residence.
Prefecture appointment
Give biometrics, pay the tax and stamp duty, and collect the talent card.
Bring the family
Apply for talent-famille cards for a spouse and minor children.
Document checklistالوثائق
Identity Documents
- ✦Valid passport with sufficient remaining validity
- ✦Passport photographs to French specification
- ✦Civil status documents for accompanying family
Employment
- ✦Signed employment contract of at least six months
- ✦Evidence that gross annual pay meets or exceeds €59,373
- ✦Employer work authorisation
Qualification or Experience
- ✦Diploma covering at least three years of higher education, with equivalence where available
- ✦Or evidence of five years of professional experience at a comparable level
- ✦CV and employment references
Health and Compliance
- ✦Health cover from the start of the contract
- ✦Criminal record certificate
Your XIPHIAS advisor prepares a personalised document list at onboarding. The checklist above is indicative and may vary by family size.
Risk notes
The salary floor is indexed to the reference average gross annual salary and moves; confirm the current figure before signing a contract.
A contract under two years produces a shorter card — contract length plus three months, capped at two years.
If you already hold a Blue Card elsewhere in the EU, the French application must be filed within one month of entering France.
Compliance
Prefecture silence for 90 days amounts to an implicit refusal — 30 days if you already hold a Blue Card in another member state.
Keep the employment relationship and the salary level in place throughout the card's validity.
Questionsأسئلة شائعة
This route, answered.
€59,373 gross per year, set at one and a half times the reference average gross annual salary. It is indexed, so confirm the figure applying on the day the contract is signed rather than relying on last year's number.
Start the France route.
A senior advisor will confirm the exact costs, timeline and documents for your case — privately, and entirely off the record.