In France, there are many foreigners who have found a job, work in France and earn their living as they should. On the other hand, finding a job in France when you are of a foreign nationality is not always easy. You have to follow a whole procedure and get employed regularly. Otherwise, the sanctions in the event of irregular recruitment of the foreign worker are particularly important. How can one come to work in France, whether one is a national of the European economic area or not?
Working in France when you are a national of the European Economic Area The European
European Economic Area is an economic union which totals some thirty European countries, including Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway in addition to the 28 member countries of the European Union. This economic space aims to ensure the free movement of goods, capital, services and people. If you are a national of one of the States of the European Economic Area EEA, you benefit from complete freedom of movement.
In addition, being a national of the EEA space offers you the possibility of having free access to the labor market. In other words, if you are of Norwegian, German or Polish nationality, you can come and work freely in France, whatever the status you enjoy. On the other hand, certain conditions must be met with regard to public employment or regulated professions. Thus, to work in France, you will have to keep your valid passport or identity card. You will also need to prove that you are in the worker category, whether you are applying for a residence permit or not. After five years, when you have acquired a right of permanent residence, you will no longer be obliged to complete this formality.
Working in France when you are a citizen of a third country
If you have a nationality that does not belong to the EEA, the conditions for working in France will be much more complicated. You will need to obtain a valid work permit from the French administration. In this case, you can use your residence permit if it has the value of a work permit. You can obtain your residence permit by making an appointment at the prefecture. Otherwise, you will need to apply for a work permit. If the application is accepted, you will be able to receive a residence permit which authorizes you to work in France. Or, you will receive a temporary work permit.
With regard to French residence permits, there are various types which allow foreigners from a third country to benefit from the possibility of working. It should be noted that the conditions for benefiting from these residence permits are different, but it is still possible to obtain them when the required criteria are met.
Obtaining your work permit
As you will have noticed above, if you are not a national of the EEA and you do not have a residence permit in France, the work permit will be necessary to work in any regularity on French soil. There are several types of work permits in France. The general idea, however, remains the same. To obtain your work permit, you must have found a future employer who is ready to hire you on French soil.
Accessibility to the Internet today allows this type of opportunity. In summary, you must have found work before settling in France. As soon as the employer is ready to employ you, he himself applies for a work permit. The list of documents that your employer will have to provide could then vary depending on the type of contract that he wants to sign with you.