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Six official websites to know if you’re planning to work in France

French bureaucracy is well-known for being complicated for foreigners to navigate but there are certain official government websites that are designed to help you if you are working or hiring in France.

Published: 10 May 2022 16:06 CEST
Six official websites to know if you're planning to work in France
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

When it comes to working in France, there are a whole host of things to think about…visas, work permits, different types of employment contracts.

Now, “Welcome to France,” the French government website dedicated to helping foreign workers ‘settle in,’ has updated its interface to answer pretty much all of your questions.

But if it does not suffice, here are the other five websites you need to know for being (or hiring) foreign workers in France:

WelcomeToFrance.com

Screenshot of the website for Welcome to France
 

First things first, when you open this website, you’ll notice that you can click to change the settings to English (found in the upper-right hand corner) – a very useful tool that not every French government website offers.

Next, you’ll be offered several links to learn about the various French regions, how the country is “one of the world’s fastest growing start-up hubs,’ key Covid information, and informational videos.

But the most useful link is perhaps the “My Procedures” tab which allows you to fill out a quick survey about your situation – your country of origin, how long you plan to be in France, and what you’ll be doing in France (working, starting a business, research, etc).

Based on your responses, you’ll be provided with a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for what to do six months before moving, at the time of moving, and in the immediate year after moving, even including guides for exchanging your driver’s license and filing your taxes. 

 
 

The “Our Rubrics” side of the website will offer you with five sub-themes: Visas, Employment Regulations, Social Protection, Taxation, and Day-to-Day Life.

As the aforementioned survey might apply more to those planning a move to France rather than those already here (though, the information is still useful for any foreign worker in France), these “rubrics” are particularly geared toward current workers or business owners in France.

For instance, if you click the “Employment Regulations” tab, you’ll be offered a range of documents regarding different types of work contracts, regulations for dismissal or resignation, the extensive rules companies must abide by for recruiting new employees.

Beware that sometimes the links to certain rules or explanations will take you to other government websites that are exclusively in French, however.

While on this website, you might notice some links taking you to the Business France website, which is more so geared toward those who are recruiting foreign hires or aiming to start a business in France.

In many ways, the website gears itself toward tech or ‘talent’ employees, as it is part of Business France’s goal to attract more investment into the country. However, if this status does not apply to you, fear not – the foreigner oriented rubrics are useful to everyone (take for example: “Opening a Personal Bank Account“).

France-visas.gouv.fr/en/web/france-visas/

This is the French government’s visa portal website. It is also mostly available in English, and allows you to follow the “Visa Wizard” survey to determine if you need a visa.

You can also start, submit, and track your visa application on this website. On this website, you can find explanations of the different types of visas and residency permits, as well as the list of all the supporting documents you will need for your application.  

The “visa wizard” segment of the France-visas website

Service-public.fr/

This website is primarily in French, because it is not geared specifically to foreigners. It is the overarching ‘public services’ website in France, with plenty of information specific French nationals, like how to obtain a passport.

It can also be very useful for foreign workers because, like the Welcome to France site, it has a dedicated category to work (including information about contracts, retirement, and job trial periods). The section “Étranger” is meant for foreigners living in France.

This is where you will find information for residence permits, travel documents, and applying for French nationality. You should note that this website differs from France-visas.gouv.fr because it focuses more so on cartes de séjour residency permits rather than visas.

Ofii.fr/en

This is the website for the French Office for Immigration and Integration. You can find a lot of similar information to what has been outlined above on this site, like what to do if you are looking to recruit a young foreign worker, or how to bring your immediate family members to France if you are living and working here.

Ultimately, this website is most useful for information regarding completing your mandatory medical visit as long-stay visa holder. However, if you switch onto a “vie privée et familiale” permit, you may need to take integration steps, such as signing the “Republican Integration Contract,” along with language and civics trainings. 

Administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr/

Finally, this is the website you must use to validate your visa or carte de séjour. In its latest update, you can also update your address here, if you have recently moved. You can even start your citizenship process on this website.

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VISAS

Ask the expert: What are the French immigration laws for ‘pacsé’ couples?

The French civil partnership known as Pacs is an alternative to marriage - but the situation is complicated if you're hoping to get a French visa or residency permit through being pacsé with a French or other EU national, as immigration lawyer Paul Nicolaÿ explains.

Published: 2 May 2024 11:59 CEST
Ask the expert: What are the French immigration laws for 'pacsé' couples?

In a 2018 judgement, the Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative Court, put an end to a long-running controversy as to whether or not an individual, signatory of a civil partnership under French law (Pacs) with a European citizen could be considered as a family member of the latter and therefore benefit from favourable EU regulations on immigration.

One of the core principles of the European Union has always been to facilitate the movement of European citizens within the territories of the Member States. And obviously, expatriation is a much more attractive option if family members are allowed to remain united without time limit and with rights equivalent to those of local citizens.

These assumptions form the basis of the European directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.

This regulation gives a precise definition of a “family member” that includes the spouse, the descendant, the ascendant in a state of dependance, and also “the partner with whom the Union citizen has contracted a registered partnership, on the basis of the legislation of a Member State, if the legislation of the host Member State treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State”.

In other words, if a civil partnership, implemented by an EU Member State such as France, confers on its signatories the same status and the same rights and obligations as a marriage contracted in the same country, then civil partners must be considered as spouses under the EU aforementioned directive, and therefore benefit from the right to move and reside freely within the EU.

Quite logically, the issue was raised concerning the French civil partnership implemented in 1999 and called Partenariat civil de solidarité (Pacs).

After all, Pacs and marriage have in common the same obligation of common life, a commitment to mutual material support and the same consequences on taxes. In the meantime, unlike marriage, Pacs contracts have little to no effect on parentage, nationality, property, and inheritance and are much easier to rescind.

READ ALSO What are the differences between Pacs and marriage?

The first answer given to that question by the French legislative power in 2006 was that Pacs and marriage were not equivalent.

In the following years however, several administrative Courts have ruled otherwise, in contradiction with French national law, and considered that the most important aspects of a Pacs contract make it roughly similar to a civil marriage.

The final word belonged to the Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative Court, which in 2018 overturned this position and definitely ruled that, due to the essential differences between Pacs and marriage, only married spouses are considered family members under EU law.

In practical terms, the main outcome of this legal controversy is that non European nationals cannot apply for a French visa or residence card as family members of an EU citizen, simply due to the fact that they signed a Pacs contract with an EU national.

Of course, other solutions exist for them but, undoubtedly, they do not benefit from EU law and remain under a much less favourable status than spouses of EU citizens residing in France.

READ ALSO What type of French visa do I need?

Their main option is to apply for a residence card under the status vie privée et familiale (private and family life), but in this case préfectures require the proof of a stable and continuous common life of at least one year.

If you find yourself in this situation, be careful to submit your application file through the appropriate procedure. Any confusion, even due to the préfecture itself, could induce frustrating delays and put you in a precarious situation.

Paul Nicolaÿ is a French lawyer based near Paris and specialising in French immigration and nationality law – find his website here.

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