Co-founder teams for the French Tech Visa: how 2–3 founders strengthen a dossier

Yes, a French Tech Visa project can have several co-founders, and a 2-to-3-person team usually strengthens the dossier because it shows DRIEETS a project with expertise covered from multiple sides. The official rule is specific: a project “may be led by several people, provided each holds executive functions within the company,” and every co-founder files an individual application and receives their own attestation with a unique number. The word “executive” matters. Co-founders are real operators with a defined role — product, growth, sales, partnerships — not passive names added to pad a team section. Before the company is registered there is no legal tie between co-founders (the business plan has no corporate effect), and because startups pivot and teams evolve, France accepts that the original team may not stay together. After approval, each founder can go on to register their own company.

Can a French Tech Visa project have co-founders?

The answer is yes, and the legal basis comes directly from the DRIEETS application form at demarche.numerique.gouv.fr/commencer/french-tech-visa-for-founders (verified June 2026):

“Les projets peuvent être portés par plusieurs personnes, à condition que celles-ci exercent toutes des fonctions exécutives au sein de l’entreprise (mandat social).”

Projects may be led by several people, provided each holds executive functions / a corporate mandate in the company.

“Chaque porteur doit faire une demande car il recevra, après validation du dossier, une attestation nominative avec un numéro unique.”

Each founder files individually and receives a personal attestation with a unique number.

The legal anchor is Article L.421-16, 2° CESEDA. Since the immigration law of 26 January 2024 (loi n° 2024-42), the former standalone projet économique innovant article (L.421-17) has been merged into the consolidated talent — porteur de projet card, with the innovative-project route now listed as the second of its three sub-routes. Procedural detail for this route sits in Articles R.421-34-1 and R.421-34-2 CESEDA. (The DRIEETS form itself still cites the old L.421-17 numbering — the form text predates the consolidation.)

Two practical implications: each co-founder submits a complete, separate dossier to DRIEETS — your co-founder does not appear as an addendum to your application, they apply in their own right. And each approved co-founder receives their own Talent residence permit. There is no shared team permit.

One more requirement that matters specifically for teams, added by Décret n° 2025-539 (in force since 16 June 2025, codified as Article R.421-34-2 CESEDA): each applicant must individually show resources at least equal to the annual gross minimum wage — €22,404.20 at the current SMIC rate. The test is per person. A team of three founders needs three separate proofs of resources; one founder’s funds cannot cover another’s application.

For the full picture of what a strong DRIEETS dossier looks like, see the DRIEETS dossier checklist and the French Tech Visa hub.

Why a team raises approval odds

DRIEETS evaluates the viabilité du projet — the credibility and concrete viability of the proposed innovative project. A solo founder must convince evaluators that one person commands the full range of expertise needed to execute it. A well-composed team redistributes that burden across complementary specialisations.

A dossier covering the three core dimensions of a startup — technology or product, commercial execution, and market or domain expertise — is more convincing than one anchored in a single profile. A concrete example that reads well: a technical co-founder who built the core product and holds the IP alongside a commercial co-founder with a demonstrated track record in the target market. DRIEETS sees two non-overlapping zones of competence serving the same project goal.

This is not a formal weighting rule. It reflects how DRIEETS applies the innovation and viability test under Article L.421-16, 2° CESEDA: the project must be credible, and a credible project can be made more credible by the team behind it. Teams of 2 or 3 founders with genuine, complementary expertise tend to progress through the DRIEETS review with fewer information requests and at faster pace.

The same logic that makes a two-letters-of-support dossier work — showing the project has real ecosystem backing across multiple actors — applies to a co-founder team: more independently credible sources pointing to the same project increases overall plausibility. For context on the ecosystem-support route, see French Tech Visa without an incubator.

What “executive functions” means — and why it matters

The DRIEETS form requires that each co-founder “exercises executive functions within the company (mandat social).” This is the compliance heart of the entire co-founder question.

A mandat social is a formal executive appointment in a French corporate structure: gérant in an SARL or EURL, président or directeur général in a SAS or SASU. It is not a title someone gives themselves — it is a legal office with fiduciary responsibilities, registered in the company statutes and recorded in the registre du commerce et des sociétés (RCS). A person holding a mandat social has formal authority over the company’s operations and can be held accountable for its obligations.

The implication for DRIEETS evaluation: co-founders who appear in a dossier are expected to genuinely operate the company at the point of registration. Evaluators are not rubber-stamping a list of names — they are assessing whether each person listed has a credible, indispensable role in the project.

The most convincing co-founder dossiers answer three questions per person:

• What specific aspect of the project does this person own?
• What deliverables fall under their responsibility that the other co-founders cannot substitute for?
• Why is their expertise essential to the project’s success, not just useful?

A precisely specified role strengthens the application. A vague one — “co-founder, responsible for general support” — raises questions that will slow or block the evaluation.

Ready to structure your team dossier for maximum impact? Relovisa’s France Talent service includes a co-founder profile review before submission. Learn how we build co-founder dossiers →

Strong vs weak co-founder profiles

Not every role reads as a founding executive role to DRIEETS.

Strong co-founder profiles:

• Technical lead / CTO — owns the technology, built the product, holds relevant engineering or scientific background
• Product director — responsible for product roadmap, user research, technical specifications, interaction with the technical team
• Commercial director / VP Sales — owns the revenue pipeline, client acquisition strategy, key partnerships
• Partnerships lead with documented relationships in the sector relevant to the project
• Domain specialist essential to the project (regulatory expert for a medtech, energy engineer for a cleantech, licensed practitioner for a regulated-sector tool)
• Growth engineer in a sector where growth is a distinct technical discipline (B2C marketplace, SaaS with complex acquisition loops)

Profiles that weaken the application when listed as the primary identity:

• Staff lawyer — reads as a hired compliance function, not a founding operator
• Staff accountant or CFO without operational responsibilities — same problem
• General advisor with no defined operational remit in the company
• A second technical co-founder with the same specialisation as the first, when the project does not require two identical technical profiles

The practical question DRIEETS is implicitly asking: “Is this person a person we would expect to see named as an executive in the company statutes?” If the answer is clearly yes and the role is precisely articulated, the profile works. If the profile sounds more like a contractor or a support hire, it does not.

The legal reality before the company exists

A recurring source of anxiety for applicant teams: does the business plan legally bind co-founders together?

It does not. A business plan submitted to DRIEETS is a planning document, not a legal instrument. It creates no company, no partnership, and no contractual obligation between the people who sign or submit it. The only document that creates legal ties between co-founders is the company statutes filed at registration with the RCS — and registration typically happens after arrival in France and during or after the first programme phase.

Before company registration:

• Co-founders have no shared liabilities toward each other or third parties in the name of the planned project
• Neither party holds any formal office yet — the mandat social does not exist until the company exists
• The equity split, role descriptions, and vesting schedules described in the business plan are intentions, not legally binding agreements

This matters practically: if two founders apply together on a shared project description today and later decide to pursue different paths, each can register their own separate company independently. There is no legal structure to unwind because none was created. France does not treat the DRIEETS business plan as a partnership agreement.

For detail on when to register a company relative to the French Tech Visa timeline, and what renewal actually requires, see our upcoming article on company registration and renewal timing.

How teams legitimately evolve after approval

DRIEETS and the prefecture system have processed enough Talent dossiers to understand that startups change shape. The programme accommodates pivots, team restructurings, and founders who end up building different ventures than the ones originally certified.

Co-founder departs mid-permit. Each Talent permit is individual and linked to its holder’s own attestation. If one co-founder leaves the project, their permit continues under their own status. The remaining founders carry the project forward under their own permits. The departing co-founder is not stranded — their residence rights persist for the duration of their card; they can later change status if their circumstances change.

Project pivots significantly. The renewal test at the end of the card’s validity (the card is issued for up to four years; the renewal application is filed online between four and two months before expiry) does not require the project to be identical to the one described in the original DRIEETS dossier. What renewal checks is whether there is a continuing active project, a registered and operating company, and an ongoing role for the founder as the company’s executive officer. A pivot that produced a better product in the same space is a normal startup trajectory. The renewal test is about continuity of activity, not fidelity to a four-year-old plan. For the full picture of what renewal checks, see France Talent permit without tax residency, which covers the L.433-1 exemption and the renewal activity test in detail.

Founders separate into distinct ventures. If the original project splits into two separate companies each led by one of the founding co-founders, this is a legitimate outcome. Each founder was already holding their own individual attestation and their own permit. One founder registering a new company in France is not a breach of any condition — it may simply be the next iteration of the original innovative project.

One practical note: if your situation changes materially — you leave the company, take employment elsewhere, or the project’s legal form changes significantly — it is better practice to inform your prefecture proactively rather than waiting until renewal surfaces a discrepancy. The prefecture manages status changes; the sooner you report a change, the simpler the resolution.

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Working with a co-founder on a French Tech Visa application? Relovisa builds multi-founder dossiers for DRIEETS evaluation — matching team profiles to the project’s stated needs and making sure each executive role is framed correctly. Start the conversation →

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FAQ

Can several people apply for the French Tech Visa on one project?

Yes. The DRIEETS application form states: “Les projets peuvent être portés par plusieurs personnes, à condition que celles-ci exercent toutes des fonctions exécutives au sein de l’entreprise.” Each co-founder submits a complete, separate dossier and receives their own personal DRIEETS attestation with a unique reference number.

Do all co-founders need the same background as me?

No — and different backgrounds are better. DRIEETS evaluates the viability of the project, and a team covering technical, commercial, and domain expertise from different angles presents a more complete picture than a team of generalists. Complementary profiles are more convincing.

Are co-founders legally tied to me before the company is registered?

No. A business plan has no corporate legal effect. Before joint company registration there is no binding legal tie between co-founders under French law. Each can later register their own company independently without any unwinding procedure.

What happens if a co-founder leaves after we receive our permits?

Each co-founder holds an individual Talent permit tied to their own attestation. One person’s departure does not affect the others, who continue the project under their own residency status.

What co-founder profiles strengthen a DRIEETS dossier most?

Technical lead/CTO, product director, commercial director, growth expert, domain specialist essential to the project. Profiles that weaken an application: staff lawyer, staff accountant — these read as hired support rather than executive founders.

Does each co-founder get their own residence permit?

Yes. DRIEETS issues an individual attestation per co-founder; each applicant then applies for their own Talent residence card at their local prefecture or via ANEF online. There is no shared or joint permit.

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Sources

1. DRIEETS application form — demarche.numerique.gouv.fr/commencer/french-tech-visa-for-founders, plusieurs personnes / fonctions exécutives clause and attestation nominative clause — verified June 2026
2. Légifrance — CESEDA Article L.421-16, 2° (talent — porteur de projet, innovative-project route; consolidation of the former L.421-17 by loi n° 2024-42 of 26 January 2024) — verified June 2026
3. Légifrance — CESEDA Articles R.421-34-1 and R.421-34-2 (procedure and resource requirement for the innovative-project route; Décret n° 2025-539 of 13 June 2025) — verified June 2026
4. Service-public.fr — Carte de séjour « talent » (fiche F16922), individual card, renewal window and fee — verified June 2026
5. Business France / Welcome to France — French Tech Visa for Founders programme overview, DRIEETS Île-de-France role, ecosystem-support route — verified June 2026