French employers wishing to recruit an employee who lives abroad must comply with specific immigration and employment formalities. Article L. 8251-1 of the Labour Code prohibits an employer from hiring or retaining a foreign national who does not hold the document authorising them to carry out salaried work in France.
This obligation should not discourage international recruitment. Many employers rely on skills that are scarce in France, and once the correct procedure is identified, the steps can be planned efficiently.
The main steps
- Check whether the labour-market test applies. Where the occupation is not exempt, the employer may need to advertise the vacancy through France Travail for the required period before applying for work authorisation. Shortage occupations and certain immigration categories follow different rules.
- Apply for work authorisation. Where a separate authorisation is required, the employer submits the application through the official online service before the employee starts work.
- The employee applies for the appropriate long-stay visa. Once the work authorisation has been granted, the employee normally applies through the French consular authorities in their country of residence.
- Validate the VLS-TS after arrival where applicable. A long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit must be validated online within the statutory period following arrival.
- Complete any employer tax or immigration formalities that apply. The exact charges and formalities depend on the route used and the rules in force at the time of recruitment.
The best approach is to anticipate the immigration timetable alongside the recruitment process rather than waiting until the intended start date.
Fazolo Avocats assists employers with international recruitment, work-authorisation applications and French immigration compliance.
