While studying in France has become more accessible for foreign students, access to work for them is subject to several conditions, in particular those governed by long-stay visas. Many are therefore wondering if it is possible to work in France with a long-stay visa.
For a stay in France exceeding 90 days, obtaining a long-stay visa is essential, unless your nationality does not exempt it. Regardless of the length of your stay in France, the long-stay visa (VLS) is valid for 3 to 12 months. Once this period has passed, you will have to apply for a residence permit from the prefecture.
During its validity, the VLS is equivalent to a Schengen visa, allowing you to travel and stay outside France.
Each new employment contract will require a work permit. The long-stay visa, which is equivalent to a residence permit (or residence card) for temporary workers, allows the exercise of the activity specified in the employment contract, under the specific employer and in a defined geographical area.
A work permit is a foreign document allowing a person to work as an employee in France. To obtain a work visa, a company that wishes to hire a foreigner in France must request a work permit from the DIRECCTE. This request will then be added to your visa application file.
However, your employer is not required to request a work permit in the event that your mission is linked to a sporting, cultural, artistic or scientific event, business tourism, film and audiovisual production and distribution, film and audiovisual distribution, phonographic publishing, etc.
First of all, your visa must correspond to the nature of your contract (CDD or CDI):
Special cases
If you are seconded by your employer to a French company located in France or if you are an employee of a group of companies abroad who must carry out an assignment in France or follow a training course in the French establishment of this group, you will need to obtain a visa adapted to the duration of your mission.
In the case of a VLS request, it will include the mention 'temporary worker'. If you are a trainee, you will apply for a long-stay visa marked 'ICT Trainer', to be validated within 3 months following your arrival in France.
For managers who need to carry out a high-level management or expertise mission, the request will be a 3-year long-stay visa marked 'posted ICT' employee. Within 2 months following your arrival in France, you must apply to the prefecture for a multi-year residence permit.
To apply for a visa, you will need the following documents:
A visa application form, dated and signed, accompanied by its France-Visas receipt.
Here are some of the general conditions for working in France with a long-stay visa:
Have a VLS adapted to the professional objective
The type of visa you have must be in accordance with your professional goals.
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