Visa
Work permit in France
France's main employee route is the "salarié" (permanent contract) or "travailleur temporaire" (fixed-term contract) residence card, for non-European nationals with a job in France. Your employer asks for a work authorisation online, and the pay can't be below the minimum wage (Smic) or the collective agreement.
- Official names
- Carte de séjour temporaire "salarié" (CDI); Carte de séjour temporaire "travailleur temporaire" (CDD); Visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour (VLS-TS) "salarié" ou "travailleur temporaire"
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Who it’s for
- The "salarié" and "travailleur temporaire" cards are for non-European foreign nationals who want to work as an employee in France. The "salarié" card goes with a permanent contract (CDI); the "travailleur temporaire" card with a fixed-term contract (CDD).
- The job must meet a labour-market condition: either it is on the official list of shortage occupations (métiers en tension), or it was published for 3 consecutive weeks within the 6 months before filing with France Travail or another public employment service and no valid application came in.
- Holders of a "visitor" or "trainee" card are not allowed to work. The sheet does not cover Algerian nationals, who have separate rules.
- Freelancers and business owners do not use this card; the "entrepreneur/profession libérale" card is for a registered main activity that is economically viable.
- Holders of "talent", "private and family life", resident and long-term resident-UE cards do not need a work authorisation for each job.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Money tests
- The job must pay at least the Smic, or the pay set by the collective agreement if that is higher. The gross monthly Smic is €1,867.02.
- The sources for this card list no savings or personal income test for you; the pay condition sits on the job, not on your bank balance.
- A talent route for qualified employees, the EU Blue Card, asks for a gross salary of about €59,400 a year. To be safe, look for an offer paying more than €60,000 a year.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Documents
- The employer's online work authorisation for the post comes first. A first-time entrant also needs a long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit (VLS-TS), marked "salarié" or "travailleur temporaire".
- To renew in the same job you give your passport, the expiring long-stay visa, proof of address under 6 months old, 3 photos, the work authorisation, proof of ongoing employment (the employer's nominative social declaration or a 12-month professional activity certificate) and a signed commitment to the principles of the Republic.
- If you have lost your job, you add your employer's termination certificate for France Travail and France Travail's individual status notice. For a new job you add the previous employer's termination certificate and the new employer's work authorisation.
- Proof of the stamp duty and an OFII medical certificate are handed over when you collect the card.
- Your passport must be valid at least 3 months beyond the end of the visa, have at least 2 blank pages and have been issued less than 10 years ago.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Timing
- Your employer applies online, and if you live abroad this happens before you enter France. Once approved you can start working on arrival.
- If the prefecture does not respond within 2 months, the work authorisation request counts as an implicit refusal, and you have 2 months to appeal administratively or to the administrative court.
- The visa application goes through France-Visas to the French consular authority in your country of residence, no more than 3 months before you leave.
- You validate the VLS-TS online within 3 months of arrival and pay the €300 tax. The residence permit application goes to the prefecture of your home at least 2 months before the VLS-TS expires.
- A work authorisation issued in metropolitan France applies only there. Work stops when the permit expires, unless a holder of a 4-year multi-year card filed a renewal before expiry, in which case work is allowed for up to 3 months after.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Fees
- The first card costs €350 (€300 tax plus €50 stamp duty), paid in tax stamps. Renewal costs €250 (€200 tax plus €50 stamp duty).
- Filing late, without force majeure or a valid visa, adds a €180 regularisation fee.
- The long-stay visa application fee is €99 at the full rate.
- The employer, not you, owes a tax on the first admission to stay for work. The tax for contracts of 3 to 12 months is €74, €210 or €300 depending on pay, and for contracts of 12 months or more it is 55% of gross monthly pay under €4,667.54, or €2,567.15 above that.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service), France-Visas (official French visa portal). Checked 16 October 2026.
How long it lasts and renewal
- The "salarié" card is valid for 1 year and renewable. If you still hold an employee job, you can get a 4-year multi-year card.
- Renewal into the multi-year card depends on integration: taking part in the Republican integration contract, French at level A2 (no exemption except over 65) and passing the civic exam.
- The "travailleur temporaire" card is valid for 1 year at first. A renewal lasts as long as the rest of your current fixed-term contract or the new one, so it can exceed 1 year.
- A multi-year card cannot be issued on the "temporary worker" mention, and a new work authorisation is needed for each new contract.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Path to permanent residence
- Years on a salaried card count towards the five continuous years needed for the EU long-term resident card, which lasts 10 years.
- That card also asks for resources, health cover and integration; absences of up to 6 months in a row, 10 in total, are allowed.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
Tax
- Working in France other than incidentally is one of the three tests for French tax residence, alongside having your home or main place of stay there or your main economic interests.
- Employees pay CSG and CRDS of 9.7% on 98.25% of pay. These are mechanisms, not your bill.
- If the tax office has not written to you, you can ask your local tax office (SIP) for access to the online account with your civil status, a postal address and a copy of an ID. Returns for 2026 income open in April 2027.
- If you work in France, you can join the public health scheme (PUMa) as soon as your application is accepted.
Sources: BOFiP-Impôts (official French tax doctrine), Urssaf (French social contributions collector), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
Your passport
If you hold a US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand passport
What differs for each passport, from the same sources. A line that says there is no difference means the sources we read name none.
United States passport
- US citizens abroad generally file as they would at home, on worldwide income. The 2026 foreign earned income exclusion limit is $132,900, and its physical presence test needs 330 full days abroad within 12 consecutive months.
- You cannot take a foreign tax credit on income you exclude. Under the US–France treaty, the US can tax its citizens as if the treaty did not exist, with listed exceptions.
- The French embassy in the United States says you can submit a visa application up to six months before departure, while Service-Public says no more than 3 months; check which applies when you book.
Sources: Internal Revenue Service, Embassy of France in the United States, Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Canada passport
- The France–Canada youth mobility agreement allows working stays of up to 24 months in total for ages 18 to 35, a separate route from the employer-sponsored card.
- The Canada–France social security agreement, in force since 2017, generally covers you where you work. Self-employed people need an exceptional agreement shown on form CPT52.
- Canada's CRA treats you as a factual resident if you keep a home or other main ties in Canada.
Sources: Embassy of France in Canada, Service-Public.fr (French government information service), Government of Canada, CLEISS (French centre for European and international social security liaison), Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 16 October 2026.
Australia passport
- Australia has a working holiday agreement with France. Service-Public lists it for ages 18 to 35, with a maximum stay of 12 months, and says such stays generally cannot be extended. It is a separate route from the employer-sponsored card.
- France is not on Australia's list of social security agreement countries, and a 2023 French government answer said negotiations had not produced one.
- The Consulate General of France in Sydney lists visa applications among its tasks and works mostly by appointment.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service), Services Australia, Assemblée nationale (French National Assembly), Embassy of France in Australia. Checked 16 October 2026.
New Zealand passport
- If you are 18 to 30, a New Zealand working holiday visa allows 12 months; it is a separate route from the employer-sponsored card.
- France is not on New Zealand's list of social security agreement countries.
- New Zealand treats you as non-resident only if you are away more than 325 days in a 12-month period and have no permanent place of abode there.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service), New Zealand Embassy in Paris (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand), Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 16 October 2026.
Other visas
Other visas in France.
The country
More on France.
Questions about Work permit in France.
How does an employer sponsor a work permit for France's salarié card?
The employer applies online for a work authorisation before you travel, and once approved you can start work on arrival. The job must be on the shortage list or have been advertised for 3 consecutive weeks without a valid candidate, and pay at least the Smic or the collective agreement.
What does France's salarié work card cost an employee?
The first card costs €350 (€300 tax plus €50 stamp duty), renewal €250, and the long-stay visa application fee is €99 at the full rate. The VLS-TS validation tax is €300 and a late filing adds about €200. To be safe, have more than €200. The employer pays its own tax on the authorisation.
How long does France's salarié card last for a worker on a permanent contract?
The card is valid for 1 year and renewable, and you can get a 4-year multi-year card if you still hold an employee job. That needs the republican integration contract, A2 French (unless over 65) and the civic exam. A fixed-term worker's renewal lasts as long as the contract.
What salary does the EU Blue Card ask for in France compared with the salarié card?
The EU Blue Card asks for a gross salary of about €59,400 a year; to be safe, look for an offer paying more than €60,000 a year. The salarié card sets no salary figure of its own beyond the Smic or the collective agreement's pay.
Can a foreign worker in France change employer on the salarié card?
Only with a new work authorisation. A new permit is needed for each new contract, and changing jobs requires the matching authorisation from your new employer. If you lose your job, you add your employer's termination certificate and France Travail's status notice to the file.
How many years of salaried work in France lead to the EU long-term resident card?
Five continuous years on a salaried, visitor, freelance or talent card count. The card lasts 10 years and also asks for resources, health cover and integration. Absences of up to 6 months in a row, 10 in total, are allowed.
Sources
Official sources we used.
Government and official pages only, each with the date we checked it.
- US citizens abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Foreign earned income exclusion limit, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Physical presence test, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Foreign tax credit, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- US–France income tax treaty (1994), text, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Applying for a visa, Embassy of France in the United States. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 9 March 2026; the page does not list the long-stay fee or documents.
- Long-stay visa (more than 3 months to 1 year), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 9 October 2026.
- Accord franco-canadien relatif à la mobilité des jeunes (France–Canada youth mobility agreement), Embassy of France in Canada. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Canada–France social security agreement, Government of Canada. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Self-employed workers from Canada in France, CLEISS (French centre for European and international social security liaison). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Leaving Canada (emigrants), Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 10 October 2026.
- International social security agreements with countries in Europe (archived copy), Services Australia, Internet Archive copy of 4 October 2026. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Written question 6186: no France–Australia social security agreement, Assemblée nationale (French National Assembly), answer of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Consulate General of France in Sydney, Embassy of France in Australia. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 25 August 2026; lists visa applications among its tasks and says most procedures are by appointment.
- Working Holiday Scheme (France), New Zealand Embassy in Paris (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Tax residency status for individuals, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Leaving New Zealand, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Carte de séjour "salarié" ou "travailleur temporaire", Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 1 May 2026.
- Authorisation to work for a foreign employee in France, Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 18 June 2026; machine-translated, the French version governs; the last part of the page was not read.
- Carte de séjour "entrepreneur/profession libérale", Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Minimum wage (Smic): amounts, Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026. Gross monthly Smic €1,867.02 as read in the earlier check.
- Carte de séjour "talent", Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026. EU Blue Card gross salary of at least €59,373 a year, as read in the earlier check.
- Validate a VLS-TS and pay the tax (online procedure), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 31 July 2026; the page does not show the tax amount.
- Visa fees (long-stay visa, full and reduced rates), France-Visas (official French visa portal), Internet Archive copy of 5 October 2025. Checked 16 October 2026. Archived copy. Long-stay visa 99 euros at the full rate; the foreign spouse of a French national is free of charge.
- Multi-year residence card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 1 May 2026; machine-translated, the French version governs.
- Carte de résident de longue durée-UE (étranger en France depuis 5 ans), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Income tax: taxable persons and tax domicile (BOI-IR-CHAMP-10), BOFiP-Impôts (official French tax doctrine). Checked 10 October 2026.
- CSG and CRDS, Urssaf (French social contributions collector). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Income tax: first return (getting access with a tax number), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 10 October 2026. Page verified 5 June 2026; written mainly for young adults, but describes how someone without a letter from the tax office gets access.
- Universal health protection (PUMa), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 10 October 2026. Page verified 13 May 2026; notes a new contribution for some PUMa members awaiting a decree.