Yes. Since 1 January 2021, British citizens are third-country nationals. If you do not live in France, you can set up a company and be its director without a visa or residence permit. However, carrying out the role effectively and regularly in France, or settling there, requires a residence permit that allows it. Sources (3)
Service-publicService-public: can a foreign national set up a business in France?Service-publicService-public: how can a foreign national run a company in France?demarche.numerique.gouv.frRenewal of "Article 50 TEU / Withdrawal Agreement" permits (démarches simplifiées)
Three situations
| Your situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| You live in the UK and run the company from there | No residence permit; short stays in France limited to 90 days in any 180 |
| You were living in France before 1 January 2021 | Your "Article 50 TEU / Withdrawal Agreement" permit allows you to stay and work |
| You want to move to France now | A long-stay visa, then an "entrepreneur / profession libérale" or "passeport talent" card |
Documents
Your passport is enough to prove identity. If the shareholder is a British company (Ltd), its register extract and articles of association often have to be translated into French by a certified translator.
With LegalRapide
At LegalRapide, applications from founders of other nationalities are reviewed case by case, because opening the bank account and registering the company's address depend on our partners' checks.
Written by Razvan Toma, founder of LegalRapide. How we check our figures · LinkedIn