Work in France

Working in France and obtaining work-visa

Applicants who want to find a job in France must receive a work-visa before obtaining a residence permit in this country. First, you need an employer to apply for a work permit for you, so you must first search to find a suitable job in France. A French work-visa is issued to skilled workers to enter France and work for a company in France. The company that is offering work to the applicant must apply for a work permit to begin the applicant’s process of obtaining a French work-visa.

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Topics reviewed in this article:

• Working in France and the required documents
• Working in France and companion visa
• Working in France and the amount of salary
• Working in France and the required jobs
• Working in France and employment agencies

Working in France and the required documents

A long-term French work-visa is valid for more than three months. This visa requires a job offer from an employer in France. There are two categories of required documents to obtain a work visa in France, which are the documents that the applicants provide and the documents that the employer presents.

Documents required by the applicant to apply for a work visa in France:

• Passport: it should be valid for at least three months.
• Visa application form: Complete and signed.
• Photo: Two pieces based on the passport photo standards
• Lease: Indicates that you have a place to live in France.
• Work agreement
• Documents showing the sources and financial situation: the bank statement in the last three months and the salary slip for three months if you were employed.
• Professional and social status documents: these include degree, CV, employment certificate, work sample, and such.
• Legal Statement: a certified affidavit stating that the person has not gone bankrupt in the last ten years and has no criminal record.
• Certificate of no criminal record: obtained by the local police and must have been issued within the last three months.

Documents required by the employer to apply for a work visa in France:

• Documents about job position (not about job-seeker)
• Employment contract
• Documents showing that the applicant meets the employment conditions set by the government
• Documents showing that job market testing has been performed (if necessary)

Working in France and companion visa

The employer must start the process of obtaining a companion visa at the same time as applying for the applicant’s work-visa if the applicant wants to bring one’s family to France. Companions include spouses and children under 18 years old. The companion is also allowed to work if the applicant has a work permit for highly skilled jobs.

Working in France and the amount of salary

The minimum wage for a regular job is at least 967 euros per hour or 1,466 euros per month, which is for full-time work, or 35 hours per week. This amount of salary may increase by up to 2% every year on January 1, based on changes in the economic index and the consumer price index in this country.

You can see the salary of some significant jobs in France in the table below:

Working in France and the required jobs

Despite France being the second-largest economy in the European Union, unemployment is a problem, and the unemployment rate is over 9%. It is due to the incompatibility of corporate needs and skills in the workforce. In particular, the required jobs in France are IT, health, and engineering. While the number of agricultural, manufacturing, and mine workers is in surplus.

The current jobs in France that can be suitable and profitable are primary industries, including motor, pharmaceutical, industrial machinery, metallurgy, electronics, food, and beverage, as well as tourism. However, according to the Hayes report in 2015, most people were hired in engineering, research and development, IT, and also banking. Also, jobs in the field of tourism, such as hotels, restaurants, home care services, medical care, child and elderly care, retail, and language training are popular jobs for foreigners.

Working in France and employment agencies

You can get help from employment agencies and sites to find work in France. Some of the most significant job-search agencies are listed below:

• EURES
• The Local France
• Indeed France
• Monster
• XpatJobs

You can also apply for a job by visiting the sites of your desired companies. These companies can be the right option for you if you have just graduated, you are looking for a job in France, or you are interested in finding work in large multinational companies.

• Airbus
• AXA Group
• Citroën
• Danone
• L’Oréal
• Michelin
• Ubisoft