I. - A summary of the terms and conditions for foreign student employment

• As of 1 July 2007, a foreign student holding a “student” temporary residence permit is authorized to have part-time employment as long as this professional activity is secondary to the studies in France or the French overseas department that issued the residence permit. Temporary work permits that were previously required to seek employment are invalid as of this date. The right to seek salaried employment is directly attached to the possession of a student residence permit. The student must present this residence permit to the employer.
• Part-time employment is limited to 60% of the legal annual working time, that is 964 hours per year.
• When a foreign student attends a six-month course in France on the basis of a visa de long séjour temporaire (temporary long-stay visa) and does not hold a carte de séjour temporaire mention étudiant (student temporary residence permit), the student should apply for a temporary work permit with the direction départementale du travail, de l’emploi et de la formation professionnelle (DDTEFP). The DDTEFP will certify the student’s right to employment by issuing a work permit allowing employment for a duration proportional to the duration of the studies in France (for example for a six-month stay, the employment allowed will be 472 hours).
• A professional activity within the framework of a contrat aidé (subsidized contract), specifically a contrat d’apprentissage (apprenticeship contract) except in the case where the vocational training leads to a Master’s-level or higher diploma or any one of the employment contracts designated contrat jeune en entreprise, contrat d’accompagnement dans l’emploi, contrat initiative emploi, contrat d’avenir, contrat insertion-revenu minimum d’activité, contrat d’insertion dans la vie sociale and contrat de professionnalisation, is not acceptable for the purpose and intent of this legislation.
• A foreign student may work for a longer period of time on an exceptional basis and only after having requested prior authorization from the DDTEFP.

This exception is only applicable to:

- students hired on a contrat d’apprentissage as part of a qualifying course leading to a Master’s-level or higher diploma,
- students whose training includes a period of salaried work as part of their normal course of studies (for example, an internship, a research allowance, language tutoring, accounting...).

When submitting an application for this exceptional treatment, the student must present to the DDTEFP:

- a valid carte de séjour temporaire mention étudiant (temporary « student » residence permit) or the récépissé de demande de renouvellement de la carte de séjour (receipt of residence permit renewal application),
- a student card,
- a proof of enrollment in a higher education program leading to a Master’s or higher level diploma or a certificate specifying that the program includes a period of salaried work as part of the normal course of studies,
- a copy of the contrat d’apprentissage (apprenticeship contract), the promesse d’embauche (letter of intent to hire) or any other document proving the existence of an employment agreement.

 Note :Algerian students come under the provisions of the modified French-Algerian Agreement of 27 December 1968 and must obtain an Autorisation Provisoire de Travail (temporary work permit) from the DDTEFP. They are allowed to work only on a part-time basis. When applying for the work permit, they should present to the DDTEFP the same documents mentioned in the notice “Issuance of a work permit – The general case”.

II. - Procedures for hiring a foreign student

• As of 1 July 2007, an employer wishing to hire a foreign student must deposit a declaration of intent to hire at the préfecture that issued the temporary residence permit (in Paris, the préfecture de police) to the student two working days prior to the start of the contract. The declaration of intent is submitted by electronic mail or registered letter with a copy of both sides of the student’s temporary work permit.
• The declaration includes the following information:
  - the corporate name or the employer’s name and first names, employer’s address, the SIRET registration number or the number under which Social Security contributions will be paid,
  - name, first names, nationality, date and place of birth of the future employee,
  - intended date of start of employment,
  - type of contract, duration and number of annual work hours,
  - number of the foreigner’s temporary residence permit.
• This declaration of intent will also act as a request for verification by the préfecture of the existence of a temporary residence permit issued to the foreign student so that the employer can be certain that the document presented by the student is authentic. The declaration of intent is not required for hiring agreements already existing at the moment of enforcement of the law.
• An employer who does not comply with the declaration requirements at the préfecture (or the préfecture de police in Paris) before hiring a foreign student is liable to the penalties provided by 5th class contraventions. The temporary work permit of a foreign student who works more than 60% of the legal work duration is liable for revocation by the préfecture.

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