France Work Permits From UAE – Immigration Lawyer Advice & Application Support

Employee (salarié)

This visa is for applicants who have received a permanent employment contract (CDI) with a French employer. The employer must obtain work authorisation before you apply.

Once approved, you will receive a long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) marked salarié, valid for up to 12 months. You must validate it online on the portal of the Digital Administration of Foreigners in France (ANEF) within three months of arrival in France.

To be eligible, your salary must meet at least the French minimum wage (SMIC) or the higher rate set by the applicable collective agreement.

Temporary Worker (travailleur temporaire)

This category is for applicants on a fixed-term contract (CDD). The employer must obtain work authorisation, and you receive a VLS-TS marked travailleur temporaire, valid for up to 12 months. A new work authorisation is required every time you receive a new employment contract, because your visa only permits the work covered by that authorisation.

Talent Residence Card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle talent)

This is for qualified foreign professionals and people with specific skills or achievements. The card is valid for up to four years.

Eligible categories include employees of innovative companies, employees transferred within a company group, researchers, company founders and investors, and artists. The salary requirements depend on the category. You must first apply for a long-stay passeport talent visa, then request your multi-year card online via ANEF within three months of arrival. The employer does not need a separate work permit, but they must complete the form required for the relevant category.

EU Blue Card

France has now included the EU Blue Card under its Talent framework, and its official name is Carte bleue européenne. This Talent category is for highly qualified employees.

To be eligible, you must have received an employment contract lasting at least 6 months, own a degree representing at least three years of higher education or five years of professional experience, and be on a gross annual salary of at least 1.5 times the reference salary. This salary threshold has been €59,373.00 since 21 August 2025, but we recommend checking the latest official requirements before applying.

The card is valid for the length of the employment contract, up to four years.

Seasonal Worker (travailleur saisonnier)

This work permit is issued to non-EU workers applying to seasonal jobs in sectors such as tourism and agriculture. You cannot work in France for more than six months in any 12-month period.

You will receive a multi-year permit marked travailleur saisonnier, and your employer must obtain work authorisation for each seasonal contract. The employer must also show that you will have suitable accommodation.

Intra-Corporate Transferee (ICT)

This is for employees who have worked for at least six months in a company group outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and are transferred to a French company within the same group as senior managers, experts or trainee graduates.

If you are on a work assignment lasting 3 to 12 months, you will receive a long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) marked salarié détaché ICT. If the assignment lasts longer than 12 months, you will receive a long-stay visa and must apply for a physical multi-year card at the prefecture within two months of arrival in France.

This transfer cannot exceed three years in total. There is also a stagiaire ICT visa for trainees on shorter assignments.

Family members can accompany you on this visa and receive automatic work rights.

Posted-Worker Assignments

This route applies when an employer outside the EEA sends you to France to provide a specific service. Your employer or the French company receiving the service must obtain work authorisation before you can be permitted to work.

However, authorisation is not required for postings of up to 90 days involving audits or expert assessments in IT, management, finance, insurance, architecture or engineering, or occasional teaching as a visiting teacher.

If your work assignment will last up to 90 days, you need a short-stay visa. Longer assignments require a long-stay visa marked travailleur temporaire. You must also show that your work in France is related to your role in your home company.

Work Authorisation

The employer must apply online through the ANEF platform if the job role requires authorisation. The authorities normally decide within two months, and if there is no decision by the end of this period, the application is considered refused (refus implicite).

Labour Market Test

Unless the job is on the official shortage occupations list, involves an intra-company transfer or qualifies under certain Talent categories, the employer must show that no suitable local candidate was available. The job must be advertised through France Travail or another public employment service for at least three consecutive weeks within the six months before the application.

Pay and Working Conditions

The salary must meet at least the French minimum wage (SMIC) or the minimum rate under the applicable national collective agreement, whichever is higher. The employer must comply with social security obligations and provide a social contributions certificate issued less than six months earlier.

Employer Tax

Employers must pay the employer tax when a foreign worker is first admitted to work in France under an authorisation valid for more than three months. The amount depends on the contract’s duration and the applicable gross salary thresholds.

Right-to-Work Checks

Before hiring a non-EU/EEA national who already holds a residence permit allowing them to work, the employer must ask the prefecture responsible for the workplace to verify the permit at least two working days before the employee’s start date.

If the prefecture does not respond within those two working days, the employer’s verification obligation is considered fulfilled. Employing someone without the required authorisation can lead to serious penalties.

Authorisation Renewals and Changes

Under Article R5221-32 of the French Labour Code, the employer must apply to renew an existing work authorisation during the second month before it expires, meaning between 60 and 30 days before expiry. A new application is also required if the employee moves to a different employer or if the employment terms have changed substantially.

Posting Declarations

Employers based outside France that temporarily post workers to France to provide a service must submit a prior posting declaration online, and appoint a representative in France. If the foreign employer fails to submit it, the French client must file a substitute declaration within 48 hours of the posting starting.

The exact France work visa application process varies depending on the employer and employee circumstances, but the following can be considered a standard application procedure.

It is always recommended that businesses appoint a legal representative for the visa, work permit and residence permit application process. Posting employees to France also involves numerous legal responsibilities pertaining to the employment contract and working conditions once the employees are in the country on assignment.

For guidance and support on the entire process to ensure everything is above board, completely legal and up to industry best practice, contact Total Law on +33 187653350.

Step 1: Identify the Correct Employment Route

For a genuine posted-worker assignment, the foreign employer may need to submit a prior posting declaration through the SIPSI system before the assignment begins, subject to applicable exemptions. This declaration is known as a ‘SIPSI declaration’ and consists simply of an online form detailing the employee’s information, the employer’s corporate information and an outline of the work to be completed in France.

This declaration has to be made ahead of the employee arriving in France. If it has not been, the employee can expect to be delayed upon their arrival and in their ability to start work, and the employer can expect to be liable to pay a large administration fine.

Step 2: Obtain Work Authorisation Where Required

The relevant work visa class should be applied for by the employer. Once the employer has filed the application, the employee will be contacted to provide their own information and submit the relevant personal supporting documents.

In most cases, the applicant employee will need to attend an in-person interview at their local French Consulate or Embassy. Visa applications from UAE residents are submitted through VFS Global in Abu Dhabi, with applications processed by the French consular section in Abu Dhabi. These interviews are pre-booked, and the employer can choose whether or not to send a company representative along with the employee.

Step 3: Complete Any Required Post-Arrival Formalities

Depending on the visa class granted, the employee may need to validate their visa online. This notifies the French immigration authorities of their intention to travel imminently and ensures that the visa flags up as ‘live’ on the relevant systems upon the employee’s arrival in France.

Step 4: Enter France and Complete Any Required Residence Formalities

Once the work visa has been validated (if required), the employee is free to travel to France. Their details may need to be checked upon arrival in France, but in most cases will not be subject to any further checks at the border.

Depending on the requirements of the work visa, the employee or employer may need to then apply in-person at the local prefecture (police station) for a work permit and/or residence permit. If this is the case, such a requirement will be stipulated on the visa documentation so that those involved may be aware well ahead of any arrival in the country.

The applicant normally pays the applicable visa application and service fees, while the employer may be responsible for any applicable employer tax or work-authorisation costs. There may be indirect costs to the employee during the visa application process such as money spent on printing and copying. It is for the employer and employee to decide jointly whether such sums may be claimed in expenses.

Where to Apply for a France Work Visa in UAE?

All French visa applications from the UAE are processed by the Consular Section of the French Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

You must submit your documents through the VFS Global France Visa Application Centre at Level B2 (lower ground), The Mall, World Trade Center, Abu Dhabi. The centre accepts applications Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 15:00, and closes on weekends.

Common refusal reasons behind a work visa France application refusal include:

• Missing documents. An incomplete file may be rejected, and the Embassy can ask for more documents
• Choosing the wrong visa category. The visa must match the contract and route.
• Missing work authorisation or proof of exemption. Where authorisation is required, you must submit the one granted to your employer or be prepared to prove your exemption
• Insufficient salary or qualifications
• Inconsistencies in the application details, or concerns about the employment arrangement. Authorities may refuse authorisation if the recruitment is clearly disproportionate to the employer’s business or the employer fails to meet its obligations

How to Appeal

You must submit a mandatory administrative appeal within 30 days of a refusal.

For a long-stay visa, appeal to the Commission for Appeals against Visa Refusal Decisions (CRRV). For a short-stay visa, appeal to the Deputy Director of Visas (sous-directeur des visas). Both appeals must be signed, written in French, explain the factual and legal grounds, and be sent by post to the relevant authority.

If the appeal is rejected or receives no response within two months, you can challenge the decision before the Administrative Court of Nantes within a further two months. If the consulate does not respond within two months, your initial visa application counts as an implied refusal. Your 30-day deadline to submit the mandatory appeal begins when that two-month period ends.

If your French work visa application has been refused and you are unsure how to challenge the decision, our immigration lawyers at Total Law can help you understand your options and prepare your appeal. Call us today on +33 187653350 for legal advice on your French visa refusal.