Working in France as a Russian-speaker: permits and pay

We are the “Vibe South of France” community: we have put the rules of working in France together from official pages, versions from 2025-2026, with the date marked for each, and jobs wanted and offered go in the community listings. Ukrainians under temporary protection do not need a work permit: the APS gives the right to work, and protection runs to 4 March 2028 (for life and community among Ukrainians, see Ukrainians in France; for the status itself, the guide to asylum and refugee status). The rest depends on your residence permit, so that is where we start. And you can ask about work in your own city and field in the “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram.

Who can work in France without a separate permit

Look at your document first. It decides everything else.

On students: going over 964 hours can lead to the permit being withdrawn or a renewal being refused. The employer must notify the prefecture no later than 2 working days before the work starts. The F2713 version is more than a year old, so open the current one before you take a job.

If you are a citizen of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland

You need no work permit, either in the first 3 months or afterwards: you can be employed or work for yourself, and only some public-sector posts are closed. Regulated professions (lawyer, dentist and the like) need your diploma recognised, which the guide to recognition of diplomas and professions covers (F13512, F2651). No residence card is required in order to work.

Looking for work? Register with France Travail as a jobseeker. You can keep drawing unemployment benefit from your previous country in France for 3 months, extendable to 6, if before leaving you were, as a rule, registered with the employment service for at least 4 weeks and obtained a U2 document (F12136; the card dates from 2023, so check before you leave).

A family member from a third country works on their own card as a family member of an EU citizen: the application goes to ANEF within 3 months of entry (F19315). The rest for Europeans is on the page moving to France as an EU citizen.

How an autorisation de travail is obtained

The employer requests the autorisation, online only, before hiring. You cannot request it for them. What the prefecture checks, according to F2728 (version of 18 June 2026):

• the salary is no lower than the SMIC, or than the sector agreement if that is higher;
• the job is on the métiers en tension list, or the vacancy was advertised for 3 weeks running in the 6 months before filing and no suitable candidate came forward;
• for seasonal work, the employer shows that the worker will have decent housing;
• if the prefecture says nothing for 2 months, that is a refusal.

The confirmation of filing (confirmation de dépôt) you get after the online request does not let you work. Wait for the decision.

Shortage occupations

If a job is on the regional métiers en tension list, the employer does not have to advertise the vacancy for 3 weeks. The list is drawn up by region: the latest order is the arrêté of 21 May 2025; under the January 2024 law it is meant to be updated every year, and as of 18 June 2026 service-public still refers to that one (news item A18300 of 2 June 2025). For the trades in your region, read the text of the order.

Working for an EU company: posting to France (détachement)

Working in France as an employee of a Polish company, or of any other EU company, is legal if it is a genuine posting: you work permanently for that company outside France, and it sends you here for a limited time - to a French client, to its own branch or a company in its group, or to do its own work with no French customer at all (Code du travail, L1261-3 and L1262-1). The company itself has to be genuinely active in its home country. If at home it only handles internal and administrative business, or if it works in France on a permanent basis, the posting rules don’t cover it (L1262-3).

Before your first working day the company must:

• file a posting declaration through the online SIPSI service, in French and for each service; a letter or any other format doesn’t count (R1263-5);
• appoint a representative in France, who can be the client or one of the posted workers;
• keep the employment contract, payslips and a day-by-day record of hours in French (R1263-1, R1263-2);
• on a building site, get every worker a carte BTP: it is issued after the SIPSI declaration and is valid for 5 years.

For breaches the administrative fine falls on the employer, not on you: up to €4,000 per worker, up to €8,000 for a repeat within two years, and no more than €500,000 in total (L1264-3).

From day one the French “hard core” of rules applies (noyau dur, L1262-4): pay no lower than the SMIC or the sector minimum, working hours and overtime, rest and paid leave, health and safety, a ban on discrimination, and reimbursement of travel, meals and accommodation. By law a posting is temporary, although there is no fixed upper limit. After 12 months (or 18, if before the end of the 12th month the company filed a reasoned declaration) most of French labour law applies to you, except the rules on concluding and ending the contract.

What if you are a citizen of Ukraine or of another non-EU country? When you work permanently for a company from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland and it posts you under these rules, you don’t need a separate French autorisation de travail (R5221-2, 2°; Ministry of Labour instruction DGT/RT1/2024/46 of 27 March 2024). The right to stay in France beyond 90 days is a separate question: ask the prefecture or the DDETS.

Social security runs apart from labour law: the company gets an A1 form for you in its own country in advance, and on a posting of up to 24 months you stay in its system (CLEISS).

How can you tell that everything is above board? Ask the company or the client for the SIPSI declaration number and its confirmation, the name of the representative in France, a contract signed before the posting, your payslips and the A1. With questions, go to the labour inspectorate for the place of work or to the DDETS labour-law information service: in Hérault it is in Montpellier, 615 boulevard d’Antigone, by appointment only. A dispute over pay, hours or leave can go to the prud’hommes for the place of work (R1412-5), and a trade union may take the case to court for you without a power of attorney if, once notified, you have not objected within 15 days (L1265-1).

What jobs people in our community do in France

This is what we see in our community chat, not statistics. Our people work in every field and on equal terms with the French - it’s just much harder to get hired than it is for a French applicant. A great many of us are builders and people who work with their hands. There are quite a few in IT, and some lawyers and business owners too.

If your profession is regulated, start with the guide to recognising your diploma and profession. The simplest way to work for yourself is covered in the guide to the micro-enterprise in France, and what to expect from pay in our look at salaries in France. To find out who in our community works in your field, ask in the “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram: the people who answer have already been down that road.

Where to look for work

• France Travail (the former Pôle emploi, francetravail.fr) - the state employment service.
• APEC - a private joint-management association funded by contributions from executives and companies; it runs a job site for executives (cadres) and helps young graduates.
• LinkedIn, Indeed, HelloWork, Welcome to the Jungle - job-ad sites.
• Temp agencies (intérim) - Adecco, Manpower, Randstad and others.
• Seasonal work (saisonnier) - tourism, vineyards, harvests, hotels and restaurants; how it is contracted is covered in the next section.
• Contacts. Some vacancies in France are filled on a recommendation, so connections in your field help.

What comes up in our chat. At least three different members have asked where to look for work in Montpellier and the South (chat history from 30 May 2025 to 25 October 2026, people counted by anonymised pseudonyms). Our answer is the list above: register with France Travail, and if you are a cadre or a young graduate, check the APEC job site too. To get a useful reply in the chat, say straight away what field you work in, which diplomas you hold and what your level of French is. We do not collect reviews of specific employers.

Hiring formats: CDI (open-ended contract), CDD (fixed-term), intérim (through an agency) and micro-entreprise for the self-employed (how tax works under it is in the guide to taxes in France). Paid leave builds up at 2.5 days a month (jours ouvrables: every day except Sundays and public holidays) with one employer, which is 30 days for a full year (F2258, 30 April 2026).

Your CV and cover letter (lettre de motivation) in French

A French CV is usually short: one page if you graduated recently or have little experience; two are acceptable if you have at least ten years behind you in different professions (in that case, put everything important on the first). That is the advice from France Travail (updated 23 July 2026). You do not have to give a photo, your age or your marital status, and the cover letter (lettre de motivation) adds to the CV rather than retelling it.

What a French CV looks like

At the top, next to your contact details, comes a short accroche: your goal or your key skills. Experience runs from your latest job back to your first; education follows experience, again newest first. Languages can have a heading of their own, “Langues étrangères”, with any certificates, and France Travail suggests calling the “centres d’intérêt” section “Mais aussi…” (how to write a CV, updated 28 October 2026). Changing profession? The same page then recommends a “thématique” CV, organised by skills rather than by dates.

If you already have an ENIC-NARIC statement, you can give its level next to your diploma, but you do not have to: that is up to the employer. How to get one is covered in the guide to recognition of diplomas and professions.

Photo, age, family: what you can leave out

A photo on a CV is not compulsory in France. In a decision of 12 February 2016, the Défenseur des droits (the rights ombudsman) recommends that employers do not demand a photo and do not reject a CV without one for that reason alone. It is a recommendation, not a law.

Under article L1221-6 of the Code du travail (version in force since 1 May 2008), an employer may only ask about things with a direct and necessary link to the job or to assessing your professional abilities. You are expected to answer such questions honestly. The employer should not ask about your health, family, trade union membership, private life, housing or leisure, although asking about a driving licence is fine if the job needs one. You cannot be turned down because of, for example, your origin, sex, family situation, pregnancy, appearance, name, place of residence, health, age, religion, political opinions, nation, or speaking a language other than French. That is only part of the list in article L1132-1, as service-public F39155 summarises it (version of 2 October 2025; check it on service-public.fr before you apply).

Your nationality need not appear on the CV, but the employer will check your right to work all the same: with a foreign candidate, it is required to check the residence permit that allows work (F39155). Which documents give that right is set out in the section “Who can work in France without a separate permit”.

An anonymous CV is something an employer may choose, not a duty: under article L1221-7, the information in a CV “may” be reviewed anonymously. A 2006 law required anonymous CVs at companies with more than 50 staff, but the decree to put it into effect never came out, and in 2015 the obligation was dropped (Conseil d’État, 4 November 2015).

The cover letter and the candidature spontanée

France Travail suggests building the letter in three parts: vous (the company and what it needs), moi (your experience, matched to this vacancy) and nous (what you would bring to the company). Keep it to one page: a recruiter spends about 30 seconds on it. Open with “Madame, Monsieur”, and write “je souhaite” rather than the conditional “je souhaiterais” (France Travail, updated 4 August 2026).

Send a candidature spontanée (an unsolicited application) to a specific person: in a small firm, the head of the business; everywhere else, the HR department. No reply? Follow up with a message or a phone call (France Travail, updated 21 July 2026). For whom to write to, France Travail’s La Bonne Boîte service can help: it shows companies that are quite likely to be hiring soon.

Where to get help with your CV

If you are registered with France Travail, you can sign yourself up in your personal account (Espace personnel, under “Mes services à la carte”) for a CV workshop, including one on CVs in English, German or Spanish. Europass is the European Commission’s free CV builder in 31 languages, and it comes with a cover letter editor too.

To hear how your letter reads in French, ask in the “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram: people there have already been through a job search in France.

Seasonal work in France: grape picking (vendanges) and the seasonal contract

Grape pickers in France are hired on a special fixed-term contract, the contrat vendanges. You need the right to work, as for any job: EU citizens need no permit, and Ukrainians under temporary protection are covered by the APS (F299, 11 June 2026). A single vendanges contract lasts a month at most. You can sign several in a row, but together they cannot exceed 2 months in any 12 (Code rural, L718-5, version in force on 26 October 2026). The contract covers all the work, from preparation and the picking itself through to the “rangement” tasks (L718-4).

There are two contracts for seasonal work:

You can also take a contrat vendanges during paid leave from your main job, and a civil servant can too (L718-6). According to the MSA page (the agricultural social security fund) of 7 October 2021, the employer does not pay the end-of-contract bonus (normally 10%) unless a collective agreement gives more, but does pay compensation for unused leave where it is due.

What does it pay? Pickers’ pay is calculated from the hourly SMIC (France Travail, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional page, no date on the page): “La rémunération est basée sur le SMIC horaire pour les coupeurs et cueilleurs”; the SMIC since 1 June 2026 is €12.31 gross an hour (service-public, F2300). We have no figure of our own for pickers’ pay. The same page says the contract can be drawn up through TESA, and that the work lasts “d’une durée d’un jour à plusieurs semaines”.

Where to look for picking vacancies:

• “La saison des vendanges démarre” - the France Travail Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes page;
• “La saison des vendanges redémarre !” - the France Travail Grand Est page, with the “Guide du vendangeur 2026”.

This page has no separate France Travail page on grape picking in Occitanie and PACA: in the South, use the general France Travail job search.

Besides the special grape contract, the law allows an ordinary fixed-term contract for seasonal work, the CDD saisonnier: “Un CDD peut être conclu en cas d’emploi à caractère saisonnier”. It runs until the end of the season (service-public F36, 21 August 2026). If you go back to the same firm season after season, there is a rule for sectors where seasonal work is common (the list is set by an arrêté): where the sector agreement says nothing on the point, seasonal contracts with one firm “sont considérés comme successifs”, that is, they count as running one after another, even with gaps between seasons (Code du travail, L1244-2-1, version of 29 April 2017). What the hotels and restaurants convention adds, and when you are entitled to benefit after a season, is covered in the guide Working in Nice and on the Riviera.

Housing. If a farm employer (a vineyard, a farm) lodges workers in shared accommodation, the standards are set by the Code rural (R716-6, R716-7): no more than 6 people to a room, and no bunk beds.

Ukrainians on the APS work a season just as they would in any other job: the APS allows them to “exercer une activité professionnelle” (F299, 11 June 2026). What else the status gives is in the guide Temporary protection in France. And to find out who from our community has already been out on the vendanges and who is hiring this year, ask in the “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram.

How to register with France Travail

Registration is free: online on the France Travail site or at an agency (F1636, 10 October 2025). A foreigner from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland needs a valid French document that allows work. The service-public list includes the carte de résident, “salarié”, “passeport talent”, “vie privée et familiale”, “recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise”, the APS and a receipt marked “autorise son titulaire à travailler” (F24465, 21 January 2025). The “étudiant” and “visiteur” cards are not on that list.

The “travailleur saisonnier” card does not entitle you to register: it is issued on condition that you keep permanent housing abroad, and R5221-48 (version of 26 April 2026) excludes documents with such a condition.

Unemployment benefit (ARE)

Four things are needed at once: losing your job involuntarily (dismissal, rupture conventionnelle, a CDD that is not renewed, or a legitimate reason for resigning), stable and lawful residence in France, registration with France Travail no later than 12 months after the contract ends, and an active job search. Work record: 6 months (130 days or 910 hours) in the last 24 months, and from age 55 in the last 36. For those who have never received unemployment benefit or have not received it for more than 20 years, 5 months is enough from 1 April 2026 (service-public F38881, 23 July 2026).

How much it pays. The benefit is worked out per day: a fixed part of €13.18 gross plus 40.4% of your average daily pay over the reference period (salaire journalier de référence, SJR). The total cannot be below 57% of the SJR or above 70%, and in net terms not below €32.13 a day. It is paid for 30 days a month, and the first 7 days after the contract ends are a waiting period with no payment. A 25% cut to the duration currently applies, so the maximum is 548 calendar days under 55, 685 at 55-56 and 822 from 57. That is what service-public card F38881 says (for contracts that ended on or after 1 April 2025), checked on 3 November 2026. For your own exact amount use the France Travail simulator: it depends on your pay and your work record.

Working without French, and courses

People find jobs without the language in IT and remote work, in English-speaking companies, in kitchens, warehouses, delivery, construction, cleaning, agriculture and as au pairs. The more customer contact, the more you need the language.

If you have signed an integration contract (CIR), OFII will check your French. With a result below A2 you are offered a 600-hour course, online if you prefer. If you accept, the course is written into the CIR and becomes compulsory (service-public F17048, 26 June 2026). More on the contract in the guide VLS-TS validation: online on ANEF.

Adult vocational training is the subject of Afpa (Agence nationale pour la formation professionnelle des adultes): its website covers vocational and continuing training, and also VAE (according to the site, 26 October 2026).

Can a doctor or nurse with a non-EU diploma work in France

A doctor, dentist, midwife or pharmacist with a diploma from outside the EU/EEA starts with the EVC exam run by the CNG. In the 2026 session it came in two forms: voie externe (two written papers of 2 hours each) and voie interne (one 2-hour paper, a multiple-choice test). You need French of at least B2: a TCF or TEF result, a DELF B2, a French baccalauréat, or a university certificate that all your studies were in French. You can sit the exam four times (sessions since 2021 count), and with a mark of 6 out of 20 or below on even one paper the exam is not counted as passed. Registration for the 2026 session ran until 21 July (CNG, session page). For what comes after the exam, see the CNG site.

A nurse’s diploma from outside the EU is not recognised as such. The application for an autorisation d’exercice goes to the DREETS of the region, but the right to apply comes from one of two conditions: the diploma is recognised by an EU state and you have worked there for 3 years, or you are the spouse of an EU citizen, a long-term resident or a refugee and the diploma is recognised by an EU state. Otherwise you retrain at an IFSI (F39604, 1 September 2026).

An ENIC-NARIC statement does not give the right to work in a regulated profession: a doctor, nurse, architect or lawyer has a procedure of their own. What the statement does give and what it costs is in the guide Apostille, sworn translation and diploma for France 2026.

Pay: the SMIC

On 1 June 2026 the SMIC rose by 2.41%: it was €12.02 gross an hour (A18916, 18 May 2026; F2300, 1 June 2026). Service-public gives the net figure “à titre indicatif”, that is, as a guide. This is a minimum, not a salary promised to you: the real one depends on sector, region and qualifications, and we have no average figures by profession. An employer who pays below the SMIC risks a €1,500 fine.

If you are a tour guide

You can lead tours in museums with the musée de France status and in historic monuments only with the professional guide-conférencier card. It requires a licence (or an equivalent level) and level C1 in a foreign language, a regional language of France or French sign language. The fine for working without the card is €450 for an individual (F38895, 21 February 2026).

Beware of scams

Signs of a fake job offer, per the cybermalveillance.gouv.fr leaflet:

• you are asked to pay “for processing”, “for training before hiring” or “frais de dossier” - you must never pay a would-be employer, whatever the reason;
• the employer is “abroad” and cannot meet;
• the offer is too good to be true;
• you are asked for a RIB or a social security number before meeting;
• the recruiter writes not from a company address but from a public mailbox.

By law a jobseeker cannot be charged for job-placement services (L5321-3). The only exceptions are agents of artists and athletes.

Jobs wanted and offered go in the community listings; what we don’t promise is “employers who will sort out your papers”. But in the chat you can ask about work in your own city and field.

First steps with the paperwork are in the guides Titre de séjour: residence permit step by step and Your first 30 days in France. The big picture of moving is in How to move to France. Work on the coast, a seasonal contract and the France Travail agencies in Nice are covered in a separate piece, Working in Nice and on the Riviera. If you came to study and want a side job, take a look at Studying in France.

The “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram - work and life in the South of France

Tell us which city you’re in and what you do - people who live there will point you in the right direction.

See also:

• Moving to the South of France: paperwork step by step
• Life in France: pros, cons, honest reviews
• Cities of the South of France
• Salaries in France: gross and net SMIC, regional averages
• Working in France by nationality: visas, agreements, shortage occupations
• Micro-enterprise in France for foreigners: permits, contributions, ceilings
• Recognition of diplomas and professions in France: doctors, nurses, lawyers