Job search permit in France: one year after your degree

Your degree is coming, but your job or your business is not there yet. Your "student" card is then nearing its end. The CESEDA, the French immigration code, provides a card for exactly this transition. A lawyer checks your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

The job search permit: what is it?

The job search permit bears the official name of "job search or business creation" card. Articles L.422-10 and following of the CESEDA govern it. It replaces the former temporary residence authorisation, often called the APS.

It gives you one year to find a job or launch a business linked to your studies. This card cannot be renewed. So by the time it ends, you must hold another permit.

It covers two groups:

• students who have just graduated in France;
• graduates who went abroad and come back within four years.

Researchers can also obtain it once their research work ends.

Which degrees qualify for the job search permit?

Not every degree counts. You must have obtained it in France, from an accredited institution.

Degree	Eligible
Vocational bachelor's degree (licence professionnelle)	Yes
Master's degree	Yes
Engineering degree	Yes
Specialised master's or MSc accredited by the Conférence des grandes écoles	Yes
Other degree at least equivalent to a master's (order of 12 May 2011)	Yes
General bachelor's degree or BTS	No

Thus a general bachelor's degree falls short. After such a degree, you have to aim directly for an "employee" card, with a work authorisation.

When and how to apply

If you live in France, file your application before your "student" card expires. Service-public recommends doing so within the two months before expiry. Most prefectures handle the filing on ANEF.

You usually attach:

• your passport, your current permit and proof of address;
• three photos;
• your degree or a certificate of success;
• proof of health insurance;
• the contract committing you to respect the principles of the Republic.

A certificate of success will do if the degree itself has not been issued yet. However, do not file before your results: the degree condition must exist when you file. Our status change guide covers the filing window and the extension certificate.

The job search permit costs €150 since 1 May 2026, that is a €100 tax and a €50 stamp duty.

Can you work with a job search permit?

Yes, under conditions. The job search permit lets you work without a work authorisation. According to service-public, the job must still relate to your studies. It must also pay at least €2,800.53 gross a month, i.e. 1.5 times the minimum wage since 1 June 2026.

Also, the cap of 964 hours a year no longer applies. In contrast, a small job unrelated to your studies falls outside this framework. So check each offer before you sign.

Moving on to a work permit

The job search permit works as a springboard. Before it expires, you apply for the permit that matches your plans.

You found a job

With a job linked to your studies and paid at least 1.5 times the minimum wage, you aim for the "employee" card. The labour market test then does not apply to you. Your employer still has to apply for a work authorisation.

With a master's degree and a salary of at least €39,582 gross a year, the "talent" qualified employee card also remains open. It needs no work authorisation. Our article on the student to talent permit sets out those thresholds. For the "employee" card, read our article on the student to employee status change.

You are starting a business

You then aim for the "entrepreneur / liberal profession" card. Your project must be viable and earn you at least the minimum wage. Our article on the student to entrepreneur status change describes the file. The "talent" project leader card offers another option.

Graduates returning within four years

Did you go home after graduating? You can come back with this permit within four years of obtaining your degree. The application then goes through a long-stay visa at the consulate.

That visa serves as a residence permit for one year, once you validate it online on arrival. Validation costs €100. After that, the same rules apply to work and to the switch towards another permit.

While your application is examined

Was your file complete and lodged in time? You then receive a certificate of extended processing. It extends the rights of your "student" card during the review. Thus you stay limited to 964 hours of work a year until the decision.

Since 4 May 2026, the ministry says these certificates renew automatically on ANEF. Still, keep every certificate and watch its date. Our article on the residence permit receipt explains that document.

Nationalities with their own rules

Some students fall under bilateral agreements. Algerians, in particular, follow the Franco-Algerian agreement of 27 December 1968 for their stay. So the rules of the job search permit do not always apply as they stand. Our article on Algerian nationals sets out the position.

Other agreements, signed for instance with Senegal or Benin, provide their own rules. So check the text that applies to your nationality before filing.

The mistakes that cost dear

A few errors come up often with the job search permit.

• Filing after your "student" card expires: you lose the continuity of your stay.
• Accepting a job below 1.5 times the minimum wage: it falls outside the card's scope.
• Waiting until the last week of the card to apply for the next permit.
• Assuming the card can be renewed: it cannot.

When to consult a lawyer

A lawyer checks that your degree qualifies for the card. They also help you prepare the switch to the "employee", "talent" or "entrepreneur" card. If you are refused, our article on residence permit refusal sets out the remedies.

An immigration lawyer answers within 20 minutes. The official conditions appear on the service-public job search permit page.