Set up your French company, with or without a Holding, from anywhere
From Lagos, Geneva, Dubai, Montreal or anywhere else: the structure chosen before incorporation, and the entire ecosystem that makes a company run (banking, accounting, insurance, premises, property, the director’s own taxes) orchestrated by one point of contact. Your country is a data point in the file, never a condition of access. Cette page existe en français →
Company alone, or company + Holding?
Company alone (SAS/SASU or SARL): the right answer for one operating activity with profits you intend to draw. Corporate tax at 15% up to €42,500 of profit, 25% beyond; dividends to a non-resident shareholder leave France with the 12.8% domestic withHolding, adjusted by your treaty’s cap (we pin it on the official text for your treaty).
Company + Holding: worth modelling the day you expect several entities, reinvested profits or a future sale. The French parent-subsidiary regime exempts 95% of dividends flowing up to the Holding, leaving roughly 1.25% effective friction; profits parked in the Holding can be reinvested without first passing through your personal taxation. The trade-off is real running costs (accounts, filings, banking) and substance to maintain: that is precisely the calculation we run with you before incorporating anything, because retrofitting a Holding later costs multiples.
What the mission includes?
Structuring memo (company vs company + Holding, modelled on your numbers and your treaty convention) · incorporation file end to end: statutes, registered office solution, beneficial-owner register (RBE), tax and VAT registrations, URSSAF · banking: account-opening file built to pass non-resident KYC, with fallback options · first-year calendar: every filing dated · the director’s file where relevant: visa module (talent passport routes), inbound regime (art. 155 B) when you relocate. Personalised legal and tax acts are delivered by registered partner professionals; we structure, generate, coordinate and keep the deadlines.
Pricing
| Scope | Fixed fee | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| France Setup · company alone | €3,900 | 2 to 4 weeks after complete KYC |
| France Setup · company + Holding | €5,900 | 3 to 6 weeks after complete KYC |
| Visa / mobility module (director) | +€1,500 | In parallel |
| Complex cases (regulated activity, multiple founders, cross-border group) | up to €6,900 base | Quoted in writing before any engagement |
Government fees, registry and publication costs are passed through at cost. Anti-money-laundering screening is a non-negotiable first step for every file, every country: it protects you as much as us. Our guarantee applies: if the final report does not document stakes at least equal to the fee, the fixed fee is refunded.
Beyond the company: the full ecosystem, one point of contact
A company that actually runs in France is ten subjects beyond the statutes, and that is where non-resident founders lose their months. We orchestrate the whole: banking (a business account that passes non-resident KYC), accounting (a partner chartered accountant on board from year one), mandatory insurance (professional liability, health, provident cover: partner broker), the address (registered office or real offices), property where your project includes it (premises, housing, investment: property and financing partners), your personal taxes as director (treaty convention, art. 155 B if you relocate, salary vs dividends), and the family file (visas, schooling, social coverage). Each brick is delivered by the licensed professional for that trade; you keep one calendar and one point of contact. That is what turns a €3,900 incorporation into an establishment still standing five years on.
The classic traps we remove
1. Incorporating first, structuring later. Adding a Holding above an existing company is a taxable restructuring; deciding before incorporation costs nothing. 2. The bank account discovered last. Non-resident founders fail French KYC for documentation reasons, not nationality: the file is built for it from day one. 3. The director’s own taxes ignored. Where you live decides where your salary and dividends are taxed: the treaty analysis is part of the mission, not an extra. 4. Effective management left ambiguous. A French company managed from abroad, or a foreign company managed from France, each triggers consequences someone should have modelled: we do.
FAQ
Can I incorporate without coming to France? Yes: incorporation, registrations and account opening can be completed remotely with certified documents; some banks require one video or in-person verification, planned into the calendar.
Do I need a French co-founder or director? No. A non-resident can own and direct a French company. What you need is clean documentation and a real answer to the effective-management question.
Should the Holding be French or foreign? It depends on your residence, your treaty convention and your exit plans: that is the structuring memo’s job. We never default to either answer.
How fast can I invoice? The SIREN typically arrives within days of a complete file; VAT registration and banking define the real start. Plan 2 to 4 weeks from complete KYC for a simple company.
Five questions on your project and convention; the scored report tells you which scope fits and what it will cost, before you commit to anything. Check my project →
Sources: French tax code (IS 15%/25%, parent-subsidiary regime arts. 145 and 216, withHolding 119 bis), 2026 Finance Act, service-public.fr incorporation procedures. Treaty caps pinned per treaty on the official text.