[maarij]

Hi

I think my scenario is bit different. That's why posting as new thread.

One of my friend, who is French national and currently living in France, wants to start a small business there. He wants me to act as partner (hopefully 50 - 50 or perhaps 75% investment from my side).

My questions are:

1- Does French Government accept such kind of partnership?
2- Based on this, would I be able to get long-term resident card (Carte de sejour) to live, work and settle there permanently?

Your prompt feedback would highly be appreciated.

Thanks

Note: "I lived and studied there in France for around 5 years. The business that he wants to start is completely different from my field but is purely related to his field" (thought, this info will be useful in devising your answers) : - )

 

[Bellthorpe]

Yes.

No.

 

[maarij]

Yes.

No.

Thanks for the quick response.
What should I do then to live, work and settle there? i.e. how investing in friend's business can help me in this?

Or, in addition to investment, should I ask him to hire me as employee or what?

 

[Bevdeforges]

As with many things in France, the answers aren't normally "easy."

There is a procedure for an employer to hire a non-EU person - and it involves getting approval to hire outside the EU. Most start-ups aren't in a position to justify a foreign hire like that - among other things the employer has to be able to show that they have tried and failed to find a similarly qualified candidate within France and within the EU. Just providing the financing usually isn't enough.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[maarij]

As with many things in France, the answers aren't normally "easy."

There is a procedure for an employer to hire a non-EU person - and it involves getting approval to hire outside the EU. Most start-ups aren't in a position to justify a foreign hire like that - among other things the employer has to be able to show that they have tried and failed to find a similarly qualified candidate within France and within the EU. Just providing the financing usually isn't enough.
Cheers,
Bev

Thanks

Looks like a tough situation.

- What if I support my friend 100% in his business OR
- If I start my own business OR
- buy an established business (and create many jobs there)??

Would this help me to work and settle there? What would be the conditions for this?

 

[Bellthorpe]

You can't start your own business until you move there.

You can't move there until you get an appropriate visa.

When you did your research on the website of the French Embassy in Pakistan, did you take note of this type of visa, and consider whether you would fit the requirements?

 

[MovingOUTofFrance]

All wrong answers here...i know the french visa process very well..if u buy a business in france u have to submit a business plan along with proof of funds to the french embassy where u are resident - its called the competences et talents permit.... however sorry to say but if u approach the french embassy in Pakistan they wont even look at you however if u hire a french lawyer to represent you and he deals directly with the embassy then they will listen to your lawyer. How do you suppose all the restaurants, hair salons, nail salons, clothing stores etc are operated and owned by foreigners in france? The lawyer will cost you around 5000 euros...thats your best bet though ...from india and pakistan they dont take such applicants seriously nor is it advertised anywhere that u can get residency by investing a bit of money..,however you wont get permanent residency. In order to get permanent residency again there is a law not advertised and so against their socialist values....if anyone invests 80 million euros in france they can get permanent resident status almost immediately for themselves and their entire families.

Also if u have enough money to sustain yourself and invest in france then u can get a long stay visitor visa for a year then subsequently buy a business and find a way to extend your stay...once ur in france legally there are many ways to stay on...its not so strict as UK. Most countries in continental europe give visas to business investors who are genuinely investing in a business...job creation is also not that important..even if u create one job it would be easy to get extensions. After five years of legal stay in france u can be permanent. If u want instant permanent residency then invest in spain or portugal or latvia or ireland...all of them give permanent visas for property investors ranging from 100k to 500k. Lastly even as a foreigner u can invest in a french business...u can spend 3 months in and 3 months out as a "business visitor" i know many indians who do this in europe...they buy and run businesses but go in and out on schengen business visas...as long as u do something legal and properly there should be no problem at all...a family friend of mine has been running a business like this in Holland for ten years now..its the same for all eu countries and france is the easiest for visas. You can only have a problem if u have a visa violation history or not enough funds to justify your motive.

 

[maarij]

Thanks a lot "MovingOUTofFrance" for such a detailed and kind answer.
I will be in touch soon regarding this subject.

 

[maarij]

By the way, Can I send you private message to discuss further details.