A ministerial order published on 2 January 2026 confirms that the minimum salary for two of France’s flagship work-permit categories—the Talent-Passport (Salarié Qualifié) and the EU Blue Card—has risen to €39 582 gross per year. The figure, indexed to 1.5 times the national average wage, replaces the previous €35 891 limit and applies to all new applications and renewals filed after 29 August 2025. For Blue Card applicants, a higher threshold of €59 373 (1.8 times the average wage) continues to apply.
The adjustment is designed to keep France competitive in the battle for highly skilled labour while filtering out lower-paid roles. Employers recruiting non-EU graduates or transferring specialists from other EU states must now revisit offer letters and assignment budgets to ensure compliance. Payroll departments should also check that in-country salary increases kick in before renewal filings, as prefectures will refuse dossiers that cite “projected” remuneration.
Employers who find the new rules daunting can turn to VisaHQ for help. VisaHQ’s France team offers end-to-end assistance with visa eligibility checks, document preparation, appointment booking, and real-time status tracking—making it easier to hit the new salary benchmarks without missteps. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/france/.
![France Lifts Salary Threshold for Talent-Passport and EU Blue Card Permits to €39 582]()
Start-ups and scale-ups—heavy users of the Talent-Passport route—face particular pressure given tighter venture-capital funding. Immigration advisers recommend bringing forward head-count approvals so that hires can sign contracts dated before the threshold took effect, although such back-dating strategies may be challenged during audits.
The decree also codifies a 90-day processing target for Blue Card cases and allows holders of a non-French EU Blue Card to work from day one, provided they apply for a French card within one month of arrival. The simplification should ease intra-EU mobility but may overwhelm prefecture appointment systems already coping with the new language-test rules.
For mobility managers the message is clear: budget higher, file earlier and keep documentary evidence—payslips, bank statements, signed contracts—ready to prove the salary meets the new floor.
The adjustment is designed to keep France competitive in the battle for highly skilled labour while filtering out lower-paid roles. Employers recruiting non-EU graduates or transferring specialists from other EU states must now revisit offer letters and assignment budgets to ensure compliance. Payroll departments should also check that in-country salary increases kick in before renewal filings, as prefectures will refuse dossiers that cite “projected” remuneration.
Employers who find the new rules daunting can turn to VisaHQ for help. VisaHQ’s France team offers end-to-end assistance with visa eligibility checks, document preparation, appointment booking, and real-time status tracking—making it easier to hit the new salary benchmarks without missteps. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/france/.
Start-ups and scale-ups—heavy users of the Talent-Passport route—face particular pressure given tighter venture-capital funding. Immigration advisers recommend bringing forward head-count approvals so that hires can sign contracts dated before the threshold took effect, although such back-dating strategies may be challenged during audits.
The decree also codifies a 90-day processing target for Blue Card cases and allows holders of a non-French EU Blue Card to work from day one, provided they apply for a French card within one month of arrival. The simplification should ease intra-EU mobility but may overwhelm prefecture appointment systems already coping with the new language-test rules.
For mobility managers the message is clear: budget higher, file earlier and keep documentary evidence—payslips, bank statements, signed contracts—ready to prove the salary meets the new floor.
