Services · Company formation

How to open a company in France as a foreigner

Updated 28 September 2026

EUR 53 in fees and capital from EUR 1, but no bank means no company. We cover the SAS and SARL, the steps via the one-stop portal, 15% and 25% tax, reporting and the limits for Russian and Belarusian citizens.

Is it worth opening a company in France

EUR 53.16 is what the mandatory fees for registering a French company add up to in 2026: EUR 33.83 for entry in the register and EUR 19.33 for the beneficial ownership declaration. A form popular with entrepreneurs, the simplified joint-stock company (SAS, société par actions simplifiée), can be set up with share capital of EUR 1. Compare that with neighbouring Germany, where a standard limited liability company (GmbH) needs a notary and EUR 25,000 of capital.

A cheap entry ticket does not make France easy. Corporate tax is 25%, with 15% only on the first EUR 42,500 of profit and only if conditions are met. A salaried SAS president pays contributions under the rules for employees. And without a French bank or notary to hold the capital you cannot register at all: the deposit certificate is part of the mandatory filing.

A good fit for founders who sell to customers in France and elsewhere in the EU, hire staff locally, work with French clients who want a local contractor, or plan to move under a residence permit for entrepreneurs. A poor fit for anyone looking for low taxes on business done elsewhere: profits are taxed in France at standard rates, and dividends paid to non-residents are subject to withholding tax. Nor does it suit companies with no real activity in France: the bank will ask why you need a French account.

What is an SAS in France and which form suits a foreign founder

Foreign founders usually choose between the SAS and the limited liability company (SARL, société à responsabilité limitée). Both start from EUR 1 of capital and limit the owners' liability to their contribution. They differ in who can manage, how the manager's pay is treated and what a later sale of a stake costs.

Why the SAS or SASU usually suits foreigners better. The president can be a company, such as your holding, while an SARL or EURL can only be managed by a natural person. Registration duty (droits d'enregistrement) on a sale of SAS shares is 0.1%, against 3% for SARL shares, charged on the price less a EUR 23,000 allowance prorated to the stake sold. And an SASU pays corporate tax by default, while an EURL owned by one individual is taxed through the owner's income tax unless it opts for corporate tax.

Where the SARL can come out ahead. A salaried SAS president pays contributions like an employee (assimilé salarié), while an SARL manager holding more than half the shares pays them as a self-employed person (TNS, travailleur non salarié). Which costs less depends on the salary, and Murblz specialists work it out before you choose the form.

EUR 1 of capital is legal but has a hidden cost: the reduced 15% corporate tax rate requires fully paid-up capital. Declare EUR 10,000, pay in half, and you lose the reduced rate until the balance is paid.

Can a foreigner open a company in France without a residence permit

You do not have to live in France to open a company there. The official portal for entrepreneurs (Entreprendre Service Public) is explicit: a non-EU national can set up a company and direct it without residing in France, and needs neither a visa nor a residence permit for that as long as they stay no more than 90 days in any 180.

The line is drawn at actual work: once the director runs the business on French soil on a regular basis, they need a residence permit allowing it. A sole trader must live in France with a suitable permit, so a non-resident's only option is a company.

What can be done remotely. The founders draft the articles themselves; a notary is needed only when real estate goes into the capital. The application is filed online through the one-stop business formalities portal (guichet unique), run by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). An authorised representative can deposit the capital.

Where a real person is needed. The bank or notary receiving the capital checks the founders under anti-money-laundering rules and decides how, including whether to meet in person. So agree terms with the bank before you sign the articles and pay for the legal notice.

Registered office. The company needs an address in France (siège social). A director can use their home only if it is their main residence in France. Non-residents usually rent an office or use a business address provider (société de domiciliation), which must be approved by the prefecture; the contract runs for at least 3 months.

Director's documents. A passport copy and a signed sworn statement of no criminal convictions giving the names of one's parents (déclaration sur l'honneur de non-condamnation et de filiation). A non-EU company acting as SAS president must provide proof of its existence and its articles in French, certified by its permanent representative. See translations and apostilles.

How to register a company in France: steps and timeline

The order is fixed: address, articles, capital, legal notice, application. Each step produces a document the next one needs, so none can be skipped.

How long it takes. The timeline adds up three queues: the bank, the notice publication and the register. For foreign founders the bottleneck is the bank, which sets its own pace for checking founders; without its capital deposit certificate (attestation de dépôt des fonds) the package is incomplete. Trading before registration is allowed if documents state that the company is being formed.

Cutting corners is costly: knowingly false information in the application carries a EUR 4,500 fine and 6 months in prison, and trading without registration a EUR 7,500 fine.

How much does it cost to open a company in France

Registration fees are the same for every commercial company, while the legal notice of formation costs between EUR 124 and EUR 399 depending on the form. Notice tariffs are fixed by the state, so the choice of publication does not change the price.

Registration costs EUR 33.83 and the beneficial ownership declaration EUR 19.33. The notice tariffs apply throughout France except Réunion and Mayotte, where they are higher. VAT on the notice comes on top.

What else to budget for. The registered office, under a contract of at least 3 months with a company approved by the prefecture. A notarial deed for the articles is required only if real estate is contributed; otherwise Murblz specialists draft them, and we quote the cost of our support after reviewing the documents. Capital is not an expense, as the money stays with the company, but an SA needs at least EUR 37,000, of which EUR 18,500 must be paid in at formation. A commercial agent (agent commercial) also needs an entry in the special register of commercial agents (RSAC, registre spécial des agents commerciaux) for EUR 23.21.

What taxes does a company pay in France

The standard corporate income tax rate (IS, impôt sur les sociétés) in France is 25%. Small businesses pay 15% on the first EUR 42,500 of profit if turnover excluding VAT is no more than EUR 10 million, the capital is fully paid up and at least 75% is owned by individuals, directly or indirectly.

Operating without VAT is called the VAT franchise (franchise en base de TVA). The company invoices without VAT but cannot recover VAT paid to suppliers. It suits sales to private individuals; with business customers, opting into VAT, allowed at any turnover, is often better.

Example calculation. An SASU with fully paid-up capital, owned by one person, makes EUR 100,000 of profit. Corporate tax: 15% on EUR 42,500 (EUR 6,375) plus 25% on EUR 57,500 (EUR 14,375), EUR 20,750 in total. Paid out to a non-resident owner, the remaining EUR 79,250 suffers 12.8% French withholding, EUR 10,144, before any tax in the owner's home country.

For Russian tax residents. Russia has suspended key articles of its tax treaty with France, including dividends, since 8 August 2023, so France withholds at its domestic rates. For personal taxes, see taxes in France.

What reporting a company files in France and when an audit is needed

France has no annual renewal fee of the kind offshore jurisdictions charge. Instead there is full bookkeeping, annual accounts filed with the register and tax returns, and a director who fails to file faces a criminal fine.

Annual accounts. Owners approve the accounts within 6 months of the year end in an SARL, and within the period set by the articles in an SAS, usually also 6 months. The accounts and the profit allocation decision then go to the commercial court registry (greffe) within one month, or 2 months if filed online. Failure to file means a EUR 1,500 fine, EUR 3,000 for a repeat offence.

Confidential accounts. A micro company (no more than two of three thresholds: EUR 450,000 balance sheet, EUR 900,000 turnover, 10 employees) can file a confidentiality declaration, and its accounts are not published. Small companies can keep part of their accounts private.

Audit. A statutory auditor (commissaire aux comptes) becomes mandatory once the company exceeds two of three thresholds: EUR 5 million balance sheet total, EUR 10 million turnover excluding VAT, 50 employees. A young company rarely reaches them.

Beneficial ownership register (RBE, registre des bénéficiaires effectifs). The company lists every person holding more than 25% of the capital or votes or controlling it otherwise; if there is none, the director counts as the beneficial owner. The register is no longer public: access is limited to authorities, banks, lawyers, accountants and those with a legitimate anti-money-laundering interest. Update it whenever ownership changes.

Can Russian and Belarusian citizens open a company and bank account in France

The capital of a French company can be deposited only with a bank or a notary, not with a payment institution, which rules out popular online business services without a banking licence. So the first bank account is needed before registration, not after.

If banks say no. France has a right-to-an-account procedure (droit au compte). With a bank's written refusal, a company with an address in France can apply to the Bank of France (Banque de France), which designates a bank obliged to open an account with basic services: account keeping, transfers, a payment card. Anti-money-laundering checks still apply. See also business account in France and personal account in France.

Russian citizens. French company law does not bar Russians from being shareholders or directors unless they are under sanctions, which can be checked in the national asset freeze register (registre national des gels) of the French Ministry of the Economy. But Article 5b of EU Regulation 833/2014 prohibits banks from accepting deposits above EUR 100,000 per bank from Russian nationals and residents without EU citizenship or an EU residence permit, so banks scrutinise such clients and their funds closely. Prepare a business description, client contracts and source-of-funds documents in advance.

Belarusian citizens. A similar deposit cap applies under EU Regulation 765/2006, and banks treat Belarusian founders much like Russian ones.

Does a company give you residence. No, not on its own. Living in France and running the company on the ground requires a residence permit, such as the 1-year entrepreneur permit (carte de séjour entrepreneur/profession libérale) for a viable business or the talent passport (Passeport talent), valid for up to 4 years, for project founders, investors and company executives. The talent passport for company executives (mandataire social) requires income of at least three times the minimum wage, EUR 67,212.60 a year gross, and at least 3 months of work in the same group of companies. For details, see France talent passport and France startup residence permit.

What we do

• choose the company form, SASU, SAS, SARL or EURL, and tell you plainly if France does not fit your goal;
• prepare the articles, founders' resolutions, powers of attorney, the director's declarations, translations and apostilles;
• help with a registered office in France through providers approved by the prefecture;
• prepare the package for the bank or notary and help deposit the capital and open the company account;
• arrange publication of the legal notice and file the application through the guichet unique through to the Kbis extract;
• file the beneficial ownership declaration and the initial CFE return;
• bring in Murblz accounting and tax specialists for bookkeeping, VAT, corporate tax and annual accounts.

Legal representation, meaning advice on French law, notarial acts and representation before authorities and courts, is handled by Murblz specialists together with partners holding a local licence: lawyers (avocats) and notaries (notaires). Other countries are covered in company formation and company registration abroad, and everything about the country is on the France page.

See also

Business account · Personal account · Investment property · All country programs

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