How Much Money You Need for a French Long-Stay Visa

Each route sets its own money test

Long-stay visas generally ask for proof of financial resources appropriate to the visa category, but the test is not the same from one route to the next. Some routes use a benchmark the consulate reasons from, some a floor written into the rules, and some a salary or investment amount tied to the job or the business. The visitor, student, family-reunification and entrepreneur tests are all tied to the French minimum wage, the SMIC; the Talent Passport thresholds are not.

The SMIC rose twice in 2026. Since June 1, 2026 it stands at €1,867.02 a month gross and €1,477.93 a month net. Those two numbers sit behind most of what follows.

VisitorVLS-TS visiteur

benchmarked to the net SMIC, €1,478/month; a benchmark, not a legal floor

StudentVLS-TS étudiant

at least €877.50/month for applications filed from August 1, 2026

Family reunificationregroupement familial

household resources on a sliding scale tied to the SMIC, including about €2,054/month for four or five people

Talent PassportTalent

a salary or investment amount per category, such as €39,582 a year gross for a qualified employee

Entrepreneurprofession libérale

a viable business, or one able to provide income at least equivalent to the SMIC

Visitor visa: the net SMIC is the benchmark

The visitor visa is for people who will not work in France: retirees, and people living on savings, investments or pensions. Consulates typically use the net SMIC as an informal benchmark for their resources, which puts it at €1,478/month since June 1, 2026.

That figure is not codified in law for this category. CESEDA Article L.412-1 requires only “sufficient means of existence”, consulates assess each file case by case, and each consulate may apply a different standard. Treat the benchmark as the level the consulate reasons from, not a line you either clear or fail.

The resources can take two forms: stable monthly income, such as a pension or investment income, or savings. Shown as a lump sum, the savings should equal a full year at the benchmark, about €17,700–€18,000 at the current net SMIC.

Student visa: a floor of €877.50 a month

The student route has a written minimum. Décret n° 2026-526 of June 22, 2026 raised it from €615 to €877.50 a month for applications filed from August 1, 2026, replacing a figure that had been frozen since 2002. Applications lodged up to and including July 31, 2026 were assessed against the old amount; anything filed now must show at least €877.50 a month.

The threshold is set at 47% of the gross SMIC in effect on the date the application is filed, and is now written into CESEDA Article R. 422-2. It will be reviewed at least once a year by ministerial order as the SMIC changes, so treat €877.50 as the current figure rather than a fixed one, and check it again for each new application or renewal. Renewals filed from August 1, 2026 are assessed against the new amount, even when the original visa was issued under the old rule.

Students on a French government scholarship, currently around €900 a month, already exceed the threshold. Students on co-financed or partial scholarships may need to add funds to reach it.

• Bank statements
• A scholarship award letter
• CROUS certification
• A sponsor’s attestation de prise en charge, with the sponsor’s supporting bank records

Family routes: it depends on whom you are joining

The spouse of a French citizen applies for the long-stay “vie privée et familiale” visa. The grounds on which it can legally be refused are fraud, annulment of the marriage, or a threat to public order; a resources figure is not among them.

Family reunification (regroupement familial), where your spouse is a non-EU resident of France, is different: the sponsor applies with OFII from inside France, and household resources must be stable and sufficient. They are measured on a sliding scale tied to the SMIC, roughly 1× for two or three people, 1.1× for four or five, and 1.2× for six or more. The published 2025 figures map exactly onto that ratio; for 2026 the scale is expected to rise with the SMIC to approximately the figures below.

• Two or three people: about €1,867/month
• Four or five people: about €2,054/month
• Six or more people: about €2,240/month
• Family allowances, RSA, ASPA, ATA, ASS and AER are excluded from the resource calculation
• Algerian nationals face a flat SMIC threshold whatever the household size; recipients of AAH or ASI, and applicants aged 65 or over with 25 years’ residence and 10 years of marriage, may be exempt from the income test

Talent Passport: salary and investment thresholds

The Talent Passport does not use a resources benchmark. Each category sets its own amount, and the salary thresholds are fixed reference amounts set by ministerial order, not formulas indexed to the SMIC. The Arrêté of August 21, 2025 set a single annual gross reference salary used for both salaried cards (CESEDA articles R. 421-16 A and R. 421-21 A), and the two 2026 SMIC increases did not change it.

• Qualified employee (Talent – salarié qualifié): a salary of at least €39,582 a year gross
• EU Blue Card (Talent – carte bleue européenne): at least 1.5 times that reference, €59,373 a year gross
• Company founder (Talent – porteur de projet): at least €30,000 invested in the business; the French Tech Visa track for innovative projects has no €30,000 floor but needs backing from an approved incubator or French Tech player
• Investor: at least €300,000 of direct investment in France, with a commitment to create or preserve jobs

Self-employed: viability, measured against the SMIC

The entrepreneur / profession libérale visa has no fixed capital threshold. The consulate assesses the economic viability of the business project, or the business’s capacity to provide income at least equivalent to the SMIC, from the projections and viability documents you submit. The route has its own guide, linked below.