The passeport talent « projet économique innovant » (the French Tech Visa for Founders) is not granted on a business plan alone. Its gate is a government endorsement: an attestation reconnaissant le caractère innovant du projet, requested on the État's démarches-simplifiées portal. You obtain that attestation first, then you apply for the visa (from abroad) or the titre de séjour (change of status in France) with it. This card covers the endorsement step — the piece founders most often lack and cannot find a clear path to.

« Passeport talent » is a whole family — this card is only the FOUNDER « projet économique innovant » path. Do not confuse it with:

création d'entreprise — also a founder path, but money-based (≈ 30 000 € invested + resources ≥ SMIC). No innovation attestation.
salarié qualifié and the carte bleue européenne (EU Blue Card) — employee paths: getting a (tech) job with a French company above a salary threshold. No innovation attestation, no incubator. Different route entirely.
chercheur, investisseur, profession artistique, famille — other sub-types.

Tell them apart by the trigger:

"my project must be recognised as innovant / I was told I need a French government endorsement" → this card (projet innovant).
"I have (or want) a job offer from a French company" → employee path (salarié qualifié / Blue Card), not this card.
"I want to invest ~30 000 € and start a company" → création d'entreprise.

Éligibilité / Qui est concerné

Founders (or founding-team members) of a genuinely innovative project who intend to run it in France.
Key prerequisite: backing by an incubator, and its document. The attestation rests on the incubator link:
- Incubator referenced by La French Tech → attach the proof of affiliation to that incubator.
- Incubator not referenced by La French Tech → attach a letter of support from it instead. Either way, an incubator acceptance/support document is required; a bare business plan will not carry the file. Get the incubator relationship in place first — it is the slow part.
- Official list of referenced structures: the partner incubators/accelerators are those referenced by La French Tech / listed via Business France (Welcome to France) — check a structure is on that list before you rely on it (see Sources). The innovative nature of the project is then recognised by the DRIEETS Île-de-France (Ministère de l'Économie), which issues the recognition letter.
Co-founders can be listed; each founder states whether they are also applying for a titre via the French Tech Visa procedure.

Étapes

Get accepted / backed by an incubator and obtain its document (affiliation proof if French-Tech-referenced, otherwise a letter of support).
Go to demarche.numerique.gouv.fr, create an account or log in, and search for the procedure (« attestation reconnaissant le caractère innovant d'un projet » / French Tech Visa for Founders).
Prepare every answer first (see the question list below) — the form is long and made of free-text project sections, not quick fields.
Fill the form and upload the pièces (passport copy, incubator document), then submit.
Wait for the decision. If accepted, the dossier status becomes Accepté and you download the attestation (PDF) from the dossier.
Use the attestation for the visa/titre. From abroad it feeds the France-Visas passeport talent application (see visa-etudiant for the general France-Visas mechanics); from a change of status in France it feeds the titre request on ANEF (see renouvellement-titre-de-sejour).

Questions du formulaire (préparez vos réponses AVANT de démarrer)

The whole form must be answered, and most of it is substantial free text about the project. Equip every answer before driving the form. Fields by section:

1. Profil du porteur de projet (founder profile)

Civilité ; Nom ; Prénom ; Numéro de passeport ; Lieu de naissance ; Date de naissance ; Nationalité(s).
Upload: photocopie du passeport.
Autres porteurs du projet (co-founders, repeatable): Nom ; Prénom ; Nationalité(s) ; « a-t-il aussi demandé un titre via la French Tech Visa ? » ; rôle dans le projet, expérience, formation.

2. Description précise du projet (project description — free text)

Intitulé du projet.
Contexte / origine du projet.
Domaine d'activité (+ « si autre, précisez »).
Marché visé.
Description du modèle d'affaires.
Description de la technologie, du produit ou du service.
Partenariats.
Retombées économiques potentielles pour le territoire français.
Stade de développement du projet et prochaines étapes.
Pourquoi développer votre projet en France ?

3. Identification de l'incubateur

Nom de l'incubateur.
Date du comité de sélection du projet (prévisionnelle si besoin).
Upload: justificatif d'affiliation à l'incubateur référencé French Tech OU lettre de soutien pour un incubateur non référencé.
Lettres de soutien supplémentaires (optionnel).

4. Implication du porteur demandant le titre de séjour

Compétences (diplômes, formation).
Expériences (stages, emplois occupés).
Rôle dans le projet (technique, management, commercial, financier…).

5. Détermination du caractère innovant (at least one dimension, with real substance)

Innovation technologique.
Innovation de produit, de service et d'usage.
Innovation de procédé et d'organisation (optionnel).
Innovation marketing et commerciale (optionnel).
Innovation du modèle d'affaires (optionnel).
Innovation sociale.

Pièces justificatives

Passport (photocopy uploaded in the form).
Incubator document — required: affiliation proof (French-Tech-referenced incubator) or a letter of support (non-referenced incubator).
Optional extra letters of support.
A business plan and clear innovation write-ups feed the free-text sections above (the innovative nature must be visible). Confirm the exact list on the procedure page before submitting — it can change.

Délais et échéances

The dossier moves En instruction → Accepté on the portal. In one observed case the file was submitted and accepted within about three weeks (submitted 26/01, accepted 13/02). Treat that as an example, not a guarantee.
The attestation has a validity window for the downstream visa/titre; apply for the visa/titre reasonably soon after you receive it.

Portail / Où faire la démarche

demarche.numerique.gouv.fr (the État's démarches-simplifiées service) — where the innovation attestation is requested. Not France-Visas (that is the next step, for the visa itself) and not the guichet unique formalités des entreprises (that is company creation, a different thing). Free of charge.

Pièges connus

Wrong sub-type. Founders get pushed toward « création d'entreprise » (money-based) when their real path is « projet économique innovant » (endorsement-based). Establish the sub-type before starting anything.
No incubator document = no attestation. The incubator link is the gate.
Under-prepared free text. The project and innovation sections are long and assessed on substance; drafting them live in the portal invites a weak file. Prepare them first (this card's question list).
Ordering. The attestation is a prerequisite obtained before the visa, on a different portal. Applying for the visa first, without it, stalls.

Sources

Procedure portal, form structure and dossier flow (title « Passeport talent "Projet économique Innovant (French Tech Visa for Founders)" — Demande d'une attestation reconnaissant le caractère innovant d'un projet »): demarche.numerique.gouv.fr — observed on an accepted dossier, 2026-08-01.
French Tech Visa programme and the partner/referenced-structure route: lafrenchtech.gouv.fr (La Mission French Tech) — official programme page (checked 2026-08-01).
Official partner-structure list + procedure detail: Business France — "Welcome to France" (welcometofrance.com), the public body the French Tech page points to for the current referenced incubators/accelerators (checked 2026-08-01).
Recognition of the innovative nature (the recognition letter) is issued by the DRIEETS Île-de-France (Ministère de l'Économie); the request is filed on demarche.numerique.gouv.fr. Confirm the current referenced-structure list and document requirements on the official sources above before applying.
Passeport talent « projet économique innovant » general conditions: service-public.fr (checked 2026-08-01).

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