Work authorisation for foreign employees in France

An employer who wants to hire a non-European employee (outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland) in France must first obtain a work authorisation (autorisation de travail) for that person. Many people assume this applies to every foreign hire, every time — it doesn’t. Several kinds of titre de séjour already carry the right to work built in, and the authorisation is only needed for a specific few. Knowing which category you fall into first can save weeks.

If you’re from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, none of this applies

As a citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland, you can settle in France beyond three months without needing a residence card — it isn’t obligatory, though it can be useful. You can carry out any professional activity, salaried or not, with the exception of certain public-sector jobs and, under conditions, certain regulated professions. You are not obliged to hold a residence permit.

Permits that already let you work

If you hold one of the following, your employer is dispensed from requesting a separate work authorisation:

Permits that still need one

Two situations still require your employer to apply for a work authorisation:

• VLS-TS or carte de séjour « salarié » or « travailleur temporaire » — the authorisation is mandatory before you can work.
• APS « demandeur d’asile » — this APS does not itself permit work. Your employer must request a work authorisation on your behalf, and can only do so after a delay of 6 months with no response from Ofpra.

What the job offer and the employer must meet

For the general case, the job your employer is offering must meet one of these conditions: it appears on the list of métiers en tension (labour shortage occupations), or it was published for 3 consecutive weeks within the 6 months before the request is filed, with the organisations that take part in the public employment service.

The employer, the client company, or the host business must also meet all of the following: respect the social obligations tied to its status or activity; not have been criminally convicted or hit with administrative sanctions; provide an attestation less than 6 months old showing its social contributions have been paid; and, if the job is seasonal, provide proof that the worker will have housing that ensures decent living conditions.

Pay can’t be lower than the Smic (or the salary set by the applicable collective agreement, if that’s higher than the Smic).

How the request is filed

Whether the employee is in France or abroad, the work authorisation request is made online only, through the portal administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr.

Documents to prepare include:

• The candidate’s valid titre de séjour, passport or ID card
• The job offer, as filed with the public employment service
• A document showing the offer has been closed with no candidate found
• Proof of compliance with the regulatory conditions for the profession
• Diplomas obtained in France and abroad
• CV

Once it’s granted: CDI and CDD aren’t the same

If the authorisation was obtained for a permanent contract (CDI) tied to a carte de séjour « salarié », you can start working directly.

A work authorisation delivered in metropolitan France only permits you to work in metropolitan France.

If the request is refused

Once you’ve received an unfavourable decision, you can challenge it within 2 months of that refusal. If the prefecture hasn’t responded after 2 months, that counts as an implicit refusal — and you then have 2 months from that point to challenge it.

Renewal, and what happens when your card expires

What it costs to skip

Hiring a foreign employee can trigger an employer tax, though it isn’t due for certain categories of foreign employee.

The penalties for an employer who is a private individual, and who knowingly hires or keeps a foreign employee without a work authorisation, are severe:

Before your employer hires you, or before you start a new contract, check your permit against the tables above — it’s the fastest way to find out whether you’re waiting on paperwork or already free to work.