POSTERN

France

Student card, then the job-search or business-creation card (APS/RECE). France gives master’s-level graduates a one-year, non-renewable card to find a job or start a business, then an ordinary employee, Talent or entrepreneur card; study years count toward naturalisation, which drops to 2 years for people who did their higher education in France.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

Student card, then the job-search or business-creation card (APS/RECE)

A one-year, non-renewable card with full work rights or the right to build a business in your field.

Who qualifies

  • A student residence card and a diploma at least equivalent to a master’s (or a professional licence or a Conférence des Grandes Écoles-labelled qualification) from a state-recognised French institution.
    CESEDA, Art. L.422-10
  • The "recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise" card is issued for 12 months and is not renewable, though a graduate who has left France may still apply within 4 years of the diploma; the older APS (autorisation provisoire de séjour) is the same thing under its previous name.
    CESEDA, Art. L.422-10 to L.422-14
  • Full-time work in any job is allowed (the student card is capped at 964 hours a year); health cover throughout; apply online before the student card expires.
    Campus France, the temporary residence permit after graduation (APS)

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

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It could fit.

Student card, then the job-search or business-creation card (APS/RECE) needs admission to a qualifying course; enrolment and passport-specific conditions have not been checked.

What would settle itYour admission and the course's eligibility under the destination's rules.

Every door that fits your family

Not legal advice.

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What it takes.

Time
1–2 years for a master’s, then days to two months for the card at the prefecture, then 12 months to land the job.
Cost
Non-EU tuition at public universities is a state-set fee, about €3,900 a year for a licence and €4,300 for a master’s (about $4,300–4,700), though grandes écoles and business schools charge $15,000–30,000; the card itself is a stamp fee of about €225. Living costs of about €615 a month must be shown for the student visa.
The hard part
A strict one-year clock with no extension, and a first job at 1.5 SMIC or a real business by the end of it; French at B2 is needed for the citizenship that makes this route worth it.
3

Citizens by 2031.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    1 year, not renewable.

  2. 2029
    Apply for citizenship

    With a language test and a civics test.

  3. 2031
    Citizenship

    The decision usually takes 12–21 months.

Language
French at B2 in speaking and writing, shown with a TCF or TEF certificate under 2 years old or a French diploma at that level (raised from B1 on 1 January 2026).
Civics
The civic exam, compulsory since 1 January 2026: 40 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes on French values, institutions and history, with at least 32 right to pass. Then an assimilation interview at the prefecture.
Time away
France must be your home: the centre of your working life and family ties, with a valid residence card when you apply. There is no fixed day count, but long spells abroad can break the 5 years.
Two passports
Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.
  • Student and job-search years do not count toward the 10-year resident card (so about 5 more years on a work card after this one), but a French degree earned after 2 years of study cuts the naturalisation clock to 2 years.
  • The decision range is the legal limit (18 months, or 12 after 10 years in France, plus one 3-month extension); the decree is then published in the Journal officiel, which can add months.
  • Whether years on a student card count toward the 5-year naturalisation clock is not spelled out on the official page; they do not count toward the long-term resident card.
The law behind these dates
4

Living there.

Time you must spend there
The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax
Living and working in France full time makes you a French tax resident on worldwide income; study alone usually does not unless your centre of interests moves there.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

5

Start today.

  1. Apply online for the job-search or business-creation card as soon as your master’s is confirmed, before your student card expires.Open demarche.numerique.gouv.fr ↗
  2. Round up the papers.
    • The degree or admission letter, and proof of funds
    • Request your FBI Identity History Summary
    • Health cover for the move
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Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

16 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →
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ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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