Work Visa for a Doctor France

The healthcare industry in France is continuing to grow and many employers are finding themselves with shortages in certain specialities, especially in more rural areas in France.

If you are finding it difficult to recruit within France, you may have to advertise your positions further afield to fill your staff shortages. You may also have improved success in recruiting abroad as medical professionals in France are highly respected and there is great appeal to international doctors to live and work in France.

International doctors can also enhance your healthcare offering by bringing diverse skills and experience, a variety of languages, and different cultural backgrounds to your centre.

However, recruiting and employing someone from outside the country are regulated by especially strict immigration standards and you will have to make sure that the candidate meets the requirements to legally work in France as a doctor. The employee will also need to apply for a number of documents to allow them to live and work in France.

Page Contents

• Overview of Employing Doctors to Work in France
• What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
• Nurses, Pharmacists and Other Medical Professionals
• What Permits Are Required?
• French Work Permit Process for Medical Staff
• Information Required for a Work Permit
• Considerations for the Work Permit
• If Your Application Is Rejected
• Processing Fees
• Validity of the Work Permit and Renewing
• The Talent Passport
• Arranging for the Family of the Employee to Come to France
• Our Team At Total Law Can Help Your Business
• Frequently Asked Questions

The French government does not allow doctors to travel and practice medicine in France unless they meet strict requirements and qualifications.

The doctor must hold a medical degree from a nationally recognised university; these universities are institutions accredited and recognised by the educational authorities of the country they are based in.

Doctors who received their diploma from outside the European Union will have to contact the Centre National de Gestion, which will advise them on whether their qualification is recognised in France and how to proceed if it is not from a recognised institution.

They must have proof of 5 years of clinical experience and have finished their medical studies, completed their speciality, or be participating in a residency training programme, which qualifies them to practise in France.

Medical staff must have a certificate showing they have conformed to EU directives and be eligible to register with the French Medical Council and the Order of Physicians France; these eligibility criteria are:

• A degree in medicine from an approved medical school
• Aged under 40 years
• No criminal history

Finally, any healthcare professional must have proof of being able to speak proficient French at least at level B2.

For each medical speciality, there are different official boards that the employee will have to register. Nurses will have to apply through the French Nursing Council and pharmacists will need to be licensed by the French Ministry of Health in order to practise, for example.

It is essential the medical professional you are employing has been registered with their relevant medical board.

If your new employee requires a permit to work in France, it is your responsibility as the employer to obtain a work permit from the French authorities.

As doctors and medical staff are listed on the French skills shortage list, you are not required to search within the French job market before advertising the role to international candidates.

Once you have found a candidate who is eligible to work in France as a doctor and given them a confirmed job offer, you will have to submit the application for a work permit at least three months before they are due to begin their new role.

If your work permit is issued, it will be emailed to you and the medical professional, and they will need to attach it to their long stay visa and residence permit/VLS-TS application.

As soon as your new employee has the work permit, work visa, and the correct long stay visa or resident visa, they will be allowed to start working immediately.

In order to submit your work permit request to the French authorities, you will have to provide:

• Information on the role you are recruiting for or the reasons for recruitment of the foreign practitioner
• Your new employee’s details, such as their passport, CV, and any qualifications or certificates required for the role
• Details of the job you are offering, such as duties required
• The proposed employment contract
• The requested supporting documents

Once your request is submitted, it is important that you check the information entered and provided is compliant.

When the French authority is considering your work permit, they will review:

• The levels of employment in that profession and region to check if you are filling a job role that can’t be filled with the French labour force; although, medical staff are listed on the French skills shortage list
• How well the foreign employee’s experience and qualifications meet the job role
• How compliant your application is with employment legislation, social protection and regulatory conditions
• Whether the employment contract and pay are comparable to similar employees in your company, and the pay is not less than the national minimum wage
• Any arrangements you have made to allow the foreign employee to access accommodation

If your application is rejected, you will have two months to submit any of the following administrative or legal appeals:

• An informal appeal to the authority who made the decision (free)
• An appeal to the Minister of the Interior
• An annulment before the administrative court

The foreign employee will not be allowed to practise or do paid work during the appeal process and will have to wait for their work permit to be approved before they start their position.

If the employment contract is for longer than three months and allows first entry or first admission to stay as a salaried employee, you will have to pay an employer tax when the work permit is issued.

The amount payable varies depending on how long the work contract is:

• More than 12 months: 55% of the foreign employee’s salary up to a maximum of 2.5x the monthly French minimum wage (for example, in May 2023, the minimum wage was €4,368)
• More than 3 months and less than 12 months: €74 to €300 depending on the gross monthly salary of the employee

This fee is paid at the same time the company pays their annual VAT.

The work permit will allow the medical professional to practise in France for the duration of time the French authority has granted them; however, the permit can be renewed if their work contract is extended.

You will have to submit a renewal request for the employee two months before it expires and submit further documentation to support the renewal:

• Four copies of the Form Cerfa no. 15186*02
• Their previous three pay slips or an excerpt of their DADS or DSN
• A new fixed-term, permanent or amended employment contract

If the employment levels change and the role they are in is no longer on the skills shortage list, you will have to provide evidence that you have tried to find a candidate in the French labour market.

To address the recruitment shortage in the medical sector, the government plans to introduce a medical talent passport, which applies to non-EU doctors of any speciality, midwives, dental surgeons and pharmacists.

France already has a multi-year talent passport and it is one of the easiest routes to permanent residency in France. The foreign employee must provide evidence of:

• A permanent or fixed-term employment contract for 12 months or more with a French employer
• Their higher education or 5 years of professional experience
• Gross annual pay 1.5x the national minimum wage, which in May 2023 was €53,836.50

The talent passport has been introduced to circumnavigate the complications of applying for a resident permit. It is the foreign employee’s responsibility to apply for a talent passport.

It would be for the healthcare professional and their family and applies for up to four years and can be renewed.