FRANCE

Since 1 Jan 2026 France's national health insurer pays a one-off €10,000 to doctors first setting up practice in a priority under-served zone (ZIP), €5,000 in a complementary zone (ZAC), and €3,000 for a new secondary practice in a ZIP.

PromiseDoctors get a cash bonus for opening a practice where rural France needs them most.

What it takesOnly for licensed doctors in conventioned liberal practice (sector 1 or sector 2 with OPTAM); amounts are far smaller than the old CAIM contracts (up to €50,000), which closed to new entrants on 31 Dec 2025.

Fast-track 'Passeport Talent' residence permit of up to 4 years (renewable) for non-EU founders whose startup is selected by a partner incubator or accelerator, with spouse and children included.

PromiseA renewable four-year French residence card for you and your family once a recognised incubator backs your startup.

What it takesNo relocation money: the visa itself carries no grant; you need incubator selection, public-body recognition of the project and living means at least at the SMIC (minimum wage) level. Algerian nationals are excluded.

The Creuse département pays medical, dental, physio, speech-therapy and midwifery students €400–600 a month for up to 3 years in exchange for a 3-year commitment to practise in Creuse, plus equipment grants up to €10,000 for dentists and orthoptists who set up there.

PromiseGet paid through your last years of health training in exchange for practising in rural Creuse.

What it takesBursaries must be repaid in full if you drop out, fail the diploma or break the 3-year installation commitment; professional grants are 50% co-funding of equipment, not cash in hand.

People recruited from abroad by a French employer can have their impatriation premium (actual amount, or a flat 30% of net taxable pay) exempt from income tax, plus 50% of certain foreign investment income and gains exempt, until 31 December of the 8th year after starting work.

PromiseRoughly 30% of a French salary tax-free for up to eight years after you are hired from abroad.

What it takesOnly for people recruited from abroad (intra-group transfer or direct hire); not for those who came to France on their own initiative or were already domiciled there. You must have been non-resident for the previous five calendar years, and combined exemptions are capped (50% of total pay, or 20% for the foreign-work part).