How to Get PR in France for Indian Citizens: Step by Step

Many Indian families who contact France IDEA, in India and in Dubai, open with the same question. Is there a PR visa for France? Not one you can apply for from abroad. As a rule, France keeps long-term residence for people who have already lived here legally for several years. So you plan in two stages, a first permit that lets you move and then the long-term card. Below we cover both, with the €300,000 investor route that France IDEA manages at the centre, plus the passport and OCI questions that general guides tend to skip.

Can I get PR in France as an Indian?

Yes, but not as a first step. “PR” in France means one of two 10-year cards. One is the ‘carte de résident de longue durée-UE’, open to any non-EU national after 5 years of legal residence. The other, the general ‘carte de résident’, is for people with family ties in France, those who have served France and holders of international protection (Service-Public). For an Indian investor, professional or entrepreneur, the long-term EU card is the realistic target.

For most Indian applicants neither is available from India or the UAE; you first move on another permit and build up 5 years. The table shows what each status gives an Indian national, and whether the Indian passport survives it.

Sources: long-term EU card, 10-year card, naturalisation, Embassy of India.

France PR requirements for Indian citizens

Being Indian adds no condition, but it changes how you prove some of them. Service-Public sets four for the long-term EU card:

• 5 years of legal, unbroken residence on one or more listed permits: the long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit (VLS-TS), the visitor card, the ‘vie privée et familiale’ card, the employee and entrepreneur cards, the multi-year ‘talent’ card and the resident card.
• Stable, sufficient and regular income of at least the minimum wage (Smic), stated as €1,867.02 gross a month. Family benefits and allowances such as housing aid don’t count.
• Health insurance.
• Republican integration, meaning a signed commitment to the principles of the Republic, French at B1, and a pass in the civic exam for the ‘carte de résident’. The prefect also asks the mayor of your town for an opinion.

If you are 65 or over, the B1 level and the civic exam don’t apply; the commitment to the Republic’s principles still does. Income is checked over the last 5 years, so keep payslips, French tax notices and company accounts.

How many years to get PR in France?

Five years of legal residence in France is the general rule (Service-Public), and time on a talent card counts. The student residence card is not on that list, so in the general case years on that card don’t count.

Trips abroad are allowed within limits. Service-Public counts absences of up to 6 consecutive months, with a total of 10 months over the 5 years. A family that spends every summer and Diwali in India can stay within that, but it needs a written record of each trip. Two long stays of 6 months each would already break the 10-month cap. Our France permanent residency requirements page explains how France IDEA reviews a residence history before the 10-year card file is prepared.

France permanent residence by investment

France has no investor “PR”. What it has is a first permit for investors that starts the 5-year count. The card is called ‘talent-porteur de projet’, in its direct economic investment version (CESEDA art. L421-16). Service-Public sets three conditions:

• you put the money in yourself, or through a company you manage or hold a 30% stake or more in;
• the investment creates or protects jobs in France, or you commit in writing that it will;
• you invest at least €300,000 in tangible or intangible fixed assets in France.

In our France residency by investment programme, the €300,000 is placed in a French operating company that takes on job commitments, and it stays there for 5 years. Buying a flat doesn’t qualify; that is a passive property purchase. The card lasts up to 4 years and is renewable, subject to continued eligibility. There is no French test for it, because talent cards sit outside the integration contract (Service-Public). Processing usually takes 2 to 5 months*, and France IDEA prepares and manages the application with you.

France IDEA works with Indian families living in India and in the UAE alike. One timing point is new: since 30 October 2026, the prefecture must decide on a residence card within 90 days of a complete application, or 120 for complex files (decree no. 2026-1001).

How to get PR in France for Indian citizens, step by step

On the investor route, France IDEA prepares and manages the application with you. These are the milestones on the way to the 10-year card. Your spouse and children come with you on family cards (see our guide to the talent passport family permit).

1. Free preliminary eligibility assessment. France IDEA checks your profile and the source of funds. Bank records from India or the UAE must trace the €300,000 clearly.
2. The investment. The €300,000 goes into a French operating company with job commitments, backed by a business plan with yearly job creation, as Service-Public expects.
3. The residence permit application. France IDEA prepares and manages the application with you. Processing usually takes 2 to 5 months*.
4. Settling in France. The talent card runs for up to 4 years and is renewable, subject to continued eligibility. Your 5-year count starts here.
5. Start French early. You need B1 and the civic exam for the 10-year card, so begin lessons in year 1.
6. Renewals and records. France IDEA tracks the renewal dates with you. Keep tax notices, payslips or dividend records, and a log of trips abroad.
7. The long-term EU card after 5 years. The file must show your residence history, income, health insurance, B1 and the civic exam pass; France IDEA prepares it with you.

France PR language requirements

For a first long-term EU card, you must prove French at B1 if you are under 65 (Service-Public). At B1 you follow the main points of a clear conversation on familiar subjects and can talk simply about your work and interests. Many Indian applicants start with little or no French, which makes this the condition with the longest lead time.

• The Interior Ministry recognises two tests only, the TCF and the TEF, and a certificate stays valid for 2 years.
• The DELF, DALF and certain other French diplomas at the right level are accepted, as are French national diplomas such as the CAP, BEP or brevet.
• Diplomas issued by a foreign authority abroad are not accepted, even from a French-speaking country. So a school or university French certificate issued in India won’t do.

The civic exam for the resident card is 40 multiple-choice questions in French, and you need 32 correct answers (Service-Public). Service-Public lists talent card holders after more than 5 years, and their families, among the people concerned.

10 year residence card France documents required

Your long-term EU card file must prove the points below, as listed by Service-Public. France IDEA prepares it with you; the Indian documents we usually add are in brackets.

• proof of civil status and nationality (your Indian passport; birth and marriage certificates);
• an address proof under 6 months old;
• proof of 5 years of legal, unbroken residence: residence cards, renewal receipts, tax notices;
• proof of stable and sufficient income over the last 5 years: payslips, tax notices, pension statements or contracts;
• proof of health insurance;
• your signed undertaking to respect the principles of the Republic;
• proof of B1 French and your civic exam certificate for the resident card.

Apostille and translation of Indian documents

India has been a member of the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention since 2005, and the Ministry of External Affairs apostilles personal documents such as birth and marriage certificates (MEA). Service-Public adds that a foreign public document must be translated into French by a qualified translator, and that the translation comes before any legalisation step (Service-Public). France IDEA lines them up early, because they are often the slowest part of the file.

Does France allow dual citizenship with India?

France does. Service-Public confirms that a foreigner who becomes French need not give up their original nationality. India is the obstacle. According to the Embassy of India in Paris, the Citizenship Act, 1955 does not let anyone of Indian origin keep two nationalities. Take another nationality by choice and you stop being Indian; the Indian passport then has to be handed in for a surrender certificate (Embassy of India, Paris).

That is why many Indian families stop at the long-term EU card: 10 years of residence and the right to work in France, while staying fully Indian. The card also lets you stay more than 3 months in another EU country without a long-stay visa, although you then apply for a permit there (Service-Public).

What happens if you naturalise later

• Surrender the passport promptly. The Paris embassy issues a ‘revocation certificate’ instead of a surrender certificate to anyone who obtained an Indian passport after acquiring French nationality, and a revocation certificate is not accepted for an OCI card.
• OCI status. Former Indian citizens can register as Overseas Citizens of India. OCI gives a multiple-entry, lifelong visa for India, and holding it does not make you lose your other citizenship (OCI FAQ).
• Know the limits. An OCI cardholder cannot vote, hold certain public posts or buy agricultural land, farmhouses or plantation property, and cannot hold an Indian passport (OCI FAQ).

France permanent residence to citizenship

After generally 5 years of residence you may apply for French naturalisation (Service-Public). It is never automatic, and the decree is discretionary. Since 1 January 2026 you need B2 French, spoken and written, a step up from the B1 asked for the resident card (Service-Public).

For an Indian the choice is personal. The long-term EU card leaves your Indian citizenship and property rights in India untouched. Naturalisation brings a French passport and EU citizenship, with OCI status in place of Indian nationality. We set out the full naturalisation route in our guide on how to get French citizenship through investment, and the wider picture on our permanent residence and citizenship pathway page.

Is it hard to get PR in France? Common mistakes

Not if the 5 years are planned from day one. These five mistakes cost Indian applicants the most time.

• Counting student years. The student residence card isn’t listed for the general 5-year count. Plan for a qualifying permit.
• Long summers in India. More than 6 consecutive months away, or more than 10 months in total, breaks the residence.
• Leaving French until year 5. B1 takes time, and a language-school certificate is not proof. You need the TCF, the TEF or a listed diploma.
• Leaving civil documents to the last minute. Indian certificates need an apostille and a French translation by a qualified translator, and they take the longest to obtain.
• Getting a new Indian passport after naturalising. It leads to a revocation certificate, which blocks the OCI card.

France PR rules: frequently asked questions

PR agencies in France: how France IDEA helps

France IDEA advises Indian families from Paris and Dubai, and every case opens with a free preliminary eligibility assessment. If the route fits, France IDEA prepares and manages your application from start to finish, built around a qualifying €300,000 direct economic investment in a French operating company with job commitments, held for 5 years; processing takes 2 to 5 months*. Then we track renewals, trips abroad and income records, so the 10-year card file is ready in year 5. The French authorities decide every application, and we never promise an outcome. Our guide to residency in France covers the other routes. Contact France IDEA and our team will handle the process for you: book your free preliminary eligibility assessment.

*Subject to individual eligibility and decisions by the competent French authorities.

Last updated: 6 November 2026. General information only, not legal advice. French and Indian rules change; check the official pages above before you apply.