Company Formation in France for Non-Residents: The Complete 2026 Guide

Yes, you can form a French company without living in France, whatever your nationality. No visa or residence permit is required as long as you do not move to France: the old "foreign trader's card" and the prefecture declaration were abolished years ago (the last one in 2014). Company formation in France comes down to four building blocks: a legal structure (the SAS or single-shareholder SASU in most cases), a registered address in France (a licensed domiciliation provider), a share capital deposit with a bank or a notary, and an online registration through the INPI one-stop portal. Everything can be done remotely, by power of attorney and electronic signature. Allow 2 to 4 weeks and about 200 euros of official fees (registry 33.83 euros, beneficial owners 19.33 euros, legal notice 124 to 199 euros depending on the structure), plus professional fees if you are assisted. Forming the company does not make you a French tax resident: the company pays French corporate tax, while you remain taxed according to your country of residence and the applicable tax treaty.

Yes: no residency or nationality condition#

French law allows any individual or legal entity, whatever their nationality and country of residence, to incorporate a company in France, own 100 % of its shares and act as its director. There is no residency requirement for shareholders or directors of a French company (official source: service-public).

The old authorisation regimes are gone:

• the prior declaration to the prefecture for non-resident foreign directors, under former article L. 122-1 of the Commercial Code, was repealed by law 2014-1 of 2 January 2014 (article 21).

In 2026, a founder based in New York, Dubai, London or Singapore registers a French company with the same formalities as a French resident. What actually changes are the practical friction points: banking, the registered address, signing documents from abroad and cross-border taxation. That is what this guide covers in depth.

The key distinction: shareholder or director, staying abroad or relocating#

Many guides blur three very different situations. This table puts them in order:

If your plan is to move to France (Talent Passport visa, the impatriate tax regime, French social coverage), the path is different: see our guide to setting up a French company as a foreigner, which covers visas and relocation. The guide you are reading covers the non-resident who stays abroad.

Forming a French company does not make you a French tax resident#

It is the question our non-resident clients ask first, and the answer is clear: owning or managing a French company does not, by itself, make you personally tax-resident in France. You only become a French tax resident if one of the tests of article 4 B of the French tax code is met: home in France, main place of stay, main professional activity carried out in France, or centre of economic interests in France. A founder who lives abroad, works mainly abroad and earns most of their income outside France remains a non-resident: France then taxes only French-source income (dividends, French-source pay), mostly through withholding taxes capped by the tax treaty. Our article on tax residence for foreigners in France covers the tests in detail.

Watch the mirror-image trap on the corporate side: if the company is effectively managed from another country, that country may treat it as having a permanent establishment or its place of effective management there and claim the profits. This is manageable (substance in France, documented governance, treaty analysis), but it must be anticipated at incorporation.

SAS and SASU: the standard for international founders#

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) and its single-shareholder version, the SASU, account for the vast majority of non-resident incorporations, for concrete reasons:

• Maximum bylaw flexibility: remote governance (written consultations, video meetings, electronic signature), powers and proxies organised freely, an English working translation possible (only the French version is legally binding);
• Free share capital: 1 euro legal minimum; in practice 1,000 to 5,000 euros for banking credibility;
• No shareholder restrictions: individuals or legal entities, any nationality, any residence, including a foreign company (US LLC, UK Ltd, holding company) as sole shareholder;
• President treated as an assimilated employee, affiliated to French social security only if paid; an unpaid president (paid through dividends, for instance) pays no French social contributions;
• Investor-ready: the SAS is the standard vehicle of French venture capital.

SARL and EURL: possible, but less practical from abroad#

The SARL (and single-member EURL) remains relevant for family or regulated activities. For a non-resident there are two frictions: the majority manager falls under the self-employed (TNS) scheme, which coordinates poorly with foreign social coverage, and share transfers require partner approval, making investor entry rigid. Choose it only where the SARL is required for other reasons.

SA: for large projects only#

The Société Anonyme requires 37,000 euros of minimum capital and at least 2 shareholders (7 for listed companies). It only makes sense for large structures or a future listing.

Micro-entrepreneur: the wrong door for a non-resident#

The micro-entrepreneur regime is legally a sole proprietorship designed for someone operating in France. For a founder staying abroad it stacks the drawbacks: unclear social affiliation, weak banking credibility, and automatic VAT and accounting obligations as soon as the activity grows. The micro-entreprise is a sole trader: it assumes an operator working in France and gives no separate legal personality. For a founder staying abroad, a company answers the social attachment question, the liability question and the banking credibility question.

Foreign company: subsidiary or branch?#

If the founder is not an individual but a foreign company, the choice is between a subsidiary (a French SAS owned by the parent) and a branch (an extension of the parent with no separate legal personality). The subsidiary ring-fences liability and reassures partners; the branch binds the parent on all its French commitments. We compare the two in our guide to opening a branch in France and our French subsidiary checklist for foreign groups. For the specific case of a US start-up, see our dedicated analysis.

Step 1: draft bylaws built for remote management#

The bylaws are where a non-resident file is won or lost. Three clauses deserve particular care:

• remote governance: decisions by written consultation, video conference or electronically signed instruments, so that nothing stalls because the president is abroad;
• powers of attorney: express authority given to a French representative (your accountant, a lawyer) to sign incorporation documents and handle the filings;
• bilingual version: the French version is binding; an English working translation avoids misunderstandings with your co-founders or board.

Generic online templates will pass registration but cost you later: banking blockages, governance clauses unusable from abroad, friction when an investor arrives.

Step 2: establish the registered address (domiciliation)#

Your company needs an address in France. For a non-resident, the standard solution is a commercial domiciliation company, which must hold a prefecture licence. Budget roughly 20 to 70 euros (excl. VAT) per month for a simple address, more with mail forwarding and services. Alternatives: a real lease (office, coworking) if you already have a presence, or the address of an establishment you open. Always check the provider's licence: a non-compliant address blocks registration and unsettles banks.

Step 3: deposit the share capital (bank or notary)#

The capital must be deposited before the final bylaws are signed, with a credit institution or a notary (the Caisse des dépôts no longer accepts deposits since 1 June 2021). The depositary issues the certificate of deposit, a mandatory piece of the registration file.

For a non-resident this is the first hard point: opening a capital deposit account triggers KYC checks that not every bank can run remotely. Three routes in practice:

1. online banks and fintechs with remote onboarding, subject to the director's country of residence (see the banking section below);
2. deposit with a notary: the robust fallback when banks decline; the notary holds the funds in escrow and issues the certificate;
3. a traditional bank with an in-branch meeting, demanding (physical presence, translated documents) but unavoidable for some profiles.

Step 4: publish the legal notice#

Incorporation requires a notice in a legal announcements medium of the department of the registered office. Prices are flat-rate, set by ministerial order (order of 19 November 2025 for 2026): 124 euros for an EURL, 142 euros for a SASU, 148 euros for a SARL, 199 euros for a SAS (excl. VAT, mainland France). The notice is obtained online in minutes; the publication certificate joins the file.

Step 5: register through the INPI one-stop portal#

Since 1 January 2023, every French business formality goes through the guichet unique operated by the INPI (access: formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr or procedures.inpi.fr). The former guichet-entreprises.fr portal is closed, and the paper M0 form no longer exists: filing is fully digital. For US readers: think of it as your Secretary of State filing, centralised nationally and online.

Documents a non-resident founder should prepare:

• signed bylaws (electronic signature accepted);
• certificate of capital deposit;
• director's ID (passport); translations or apostilles of foreign documents where applicable;
• proof of registered address (domiciliation contract);
• beneficial owners declaration: every individual holding more than 25 % of capital or voting rights, including through a foreign entity;
• power of attorney if a proxy files for you, which is how most of our non-resident files run.

Official 2026 costs: 33.83 euros for the trade register entry of a commercial company and 19.33 euros for the beneficial owners declaration.

Step 6: receive the Kbis and activate your identifiers#

The INPI routes the file to the registry and the tax administration; you receive:

• the SIREN (9 digits) and the establishment's SIRET, France's company identifiers (functionally comparable to a US EIN for identification);
• the Kbis extract, the company's official registration certificate (the French equivalent of a certificate of good standing);
• the EU VAT number (FR + 11 characters);
• the assignment to a corporate tax office (SIE).

The INPI states SIREN attribution takes around two weeks on average; the full chain including banking runs 2 to 4 weeks on a well-prepared file.

Let us be direct: in 2026, the number one obstacle is neither legal nor tax, it is banking. French banks apply reinforced AML/KYC checks to non-resident directors, and every institution has its own policy:

• French and European fintechs (online business accounts): fast remote onboarding and capital deposit, but most require the legal representative to reside in the EEA or in a list of accepted countries. A president living in the US, Dubai or Israel may be declined by one provider and accepted by another; acceptance policies are not public and change regularly;
• traditional banks: they do take non-resident directors, but often require an in-branch meeting and a full file (translated documents, bank references);
• notary deposit for the capital, with the operating account opened in a second phase, a sequence that unblocks many non-EEA files.

Three sequencing points to lock down: do not sign the bylaws before the capital deposit route is secured; prepare a complete KYC pack in English and French (passport, proof of address, business description, source of funds); and if you live outside the EEA, plan the notary fallback from the start. An account that never opens is the first cause of formations that drag on.

The company: French corporate tax and VAT#

A company registered in France pays French tax on its profits:

• corporate income tax (IS) at the standard 25 % rate;
• reduced 15 % rate up to 42,500 euros of profit, under conditions: turnover below 10 million euros and capital held at least 75 % by individuals. Key point for subsidiaries, and often misread: the holding may be indirect. The reduced rate requires capital fully paid up and held continuously for at least 75 % by individuals, directly or through one or more companies that themselves meet the turnover condition and are held at least 75 % directly by individuals. A foreign parent does not therefore disqualify its French subsidiary by itself: the nationality of the intermediate company is not one of the conditions. What rules out the reduced rate is an ownership chain that does not trace back to individuals, such as a listed company or a fund, or an intermediate company above the turnover threshold;
• VAT: standard rate 20 % (reduced rates 10 %, 5.5 % and 2.1 %). The small-business VAT franchise applies up to 37,500 euros for services or 85,000 euros for goods (upper tolerance 41,250 / 93,500 euros), but it rarely fits a company invoicing internationally: voluntary VAT registration with an EU VAT number is the practical rule;
• accounting under the French chart of accounts (Plan Comptable Général), annual accounts, the corporate tax return and registry filing apply like for any French company, even with zero revenue. Our French CPA for foreign companies service page details these obligations.

The non-resident shareholder: withholding taxes and treaties#

This is where non-residence genuinely changes the picture:

• dividends paid to a non-resident individual: French withholding tax of 12.8 % (domestic rate). A treaty may cap the French rate, often at 15 %, but it can never raise it: the rate actually applied is the lower of the two, so 12.8 % here. Some treaties go below that for qualifying holdings; no French social levies (CSG/CRDS) on a non-resident's dividends, whereas a French resident bears the global 31.4 % flat tax;
• dividends paid to a foreign company: withholding at the corporate rate (25 %), reduced by most treaties to 15 %, 5 % or even 0 % depending on the shareholding (France-US treaty: 15 %, or 5 % from 10 % ownership; France-Canada: 15 %, 5 % from 10 %);
• director's pay to a non-resident: withholding under article 182 A of the tax code, by brackets: 0 % up to 17,275 euros, 12 % above 17,275 euros and up to 50,112 euros, 20 % above (2026 scale), subject to the treaty;
• interest on a shareholder's current account paid to a non-resident: in principle exempt from French withholding tax (unless paid into a non-cooperative jurisdiction), while interest deductibility remains capped on the company's side;
• non-cooperative jurisdictions: withholding raised to 75 % on flows to those territories.

Two reflexes before the first distribution: check the tax treaty between France and your country of residence (it overrides domestic law), and document your tax residence with the paying institution (form 5000) so the treaty rate applies at source. New for 2026: even where the treaty exempts the dividend from withholding, the paying institution must now withhold at the domestic rate, with the non-resident claiming a refund upon proof of residence and beneficial ownership (French tax authority guidance published 16 March 2026). Preparing the paperwork early avoids locking up cash.

US founders note. A French SAS wholly owned by a US entity or US persons may trigger US filings and rules on the American side (CFC/GILTI analysis, forms such as 5471). France taxes the company; the US side needs its own adviser. The France-US treaty of 31 August 1994 governs dividend flows.

VAT without an establishment: the fiscal representative#

A related but distinct case: a foreign company making taxable supplies in France without forming a French company must register for French VAT and, if established outside the EU in a country without a mutual assistance agreement, appoint an accredited fiscal representative. We explain this in our article on the fiscal representative for foreign companies.

R&D incentives open to foreign-owned companies#

A French company owned by non-residents accesses the same schemes as any other: the research tax credit (CIR) at 30 % of eligible R&D spending up to 100 million euros, the young innovative company (JEI) status (at least 20 % of expenses in R&D, employer contribution relief), and Bpifrance support under conditions. This is often the deciding argument for locating a technical team in France.

The rule is simpler than expected:

• unpaid SASU/SAS president: the president is in principle attached to the general scheme as an assimilated employee (article L. 311-3, 23° of the Social Security Code). Contributions are assessed on the remuneration, so no pay means no contributions, but also no entitlement acquired under the mandate, neither pension nor daily sickness benefits. What disappears is the base, not the attachment. The "zero salary + dividends" pattern is common among non-resident founders already covered in their home country;
• paid president: assimilated employee, French contributions on the remuneration (no unemployment insurance). If you are covered in an EU/EEA country or a state bound to France by a social security agreement, coordination rules can prevent double contributions: check this before setting the pay policy;
• employees hired in France: full French employer obligations (DPAE, DSN payroll filings, URSSAF), identical to any French employer, even with a director abroad.

The following are illustrative scenarios, representative of non-resident founder files, to give realistic orders of magnitude.

Scenario 1: consultant based in Canada, service SASU#

A consultant living in Montreal forms a SASU to invoice European clients. Licensed domiciliation in Paris, 1,000 euros of capital deposited, bylaws with a power of attorney to his French representative, INPI registration handled remotely. He takes no salary; dividends bear the France-Canada treaty withholding of 15 % and are taxed in Canada with a foreign tax credit. No French social contributions while he remains unpaid.

Scenario 2: US software company, French SAS to hire engineers#

A US software company incorporates a wholly-owned SAS to hire French engineers. Capital sized for credibility (often 10,000 to 50,000 euros), a local president or a group executive, a traditional French bank. The subsidiary pays corporate tax at 25 % from the first euro (the 15 % reduced rate is unavailable to company-owned subsidiaries), can claim the CIR on qualifying R&D salaries, and documents transfer pricing with the parent from the first intercompany invoice.

Scenario 3: EU-based e-commerce seller, SASU with French stock#

An e-commerce entrepreneur established in another EU member state forms a SASU to sell in France with local stock. Immediate VAT registration (the franchise is not practical here), e-invoicing readiness to anticipate, French bookkeeping from month one. Governance stays remote; the French obligations sit with the company, not with his personal residence.

Budget the running costs too: accounting and the annual tax return, domiciliation, and the registry filing of annual accounts. A dormant company keeps its accounting and filing obligations: "no activity" does not mean "no obligations".

• Signing the bylaws before the banking route is secured: if the capital deposit fails, everything is redone. Lock the bank-or-notary sequence first;
• an unlicensed or dubious mailbox address: registration blockage, bank distrust, inspections;
• neglecting the beneficial owners declaration: it must reflect the real ownership chain, including through a foreign holding; inaccurate filings are sanctioned;
• treating the micro-entrepreneur regime as a shortcut: for a non-resident it is almost always the wrong entry door;
• ignoring the reverse permanent-establishment risk: a French company actually managed from your country of residence can become taxable there; document substance and governance;
• distributing dividends without checking the treaty: without form 5000 the paying institution applies the domestic rate, and you reclaim afterwards;
• overlooking employer obligations at the first French hire: DPAE, DSN and URSSAF apply in full, even with a director abroad.