Visitor to employee status change in France: the work permit

The "visitor" card lets you live in France without working there. Yet a job offer sometimes arrives during your stay. Moving to a work permit remains possible, provided you follow the right order. A lawyer reviews your file in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

The visitor card: an undertaking not to work

The visitor card rests on article L.426-20 of the CESEDA, the French immigration code. To obtain it, you signed a sworn statement: you undertook not to carry out any professional activity in France.

Its other conditions remain simple:

• Sufficient resources: at least €1,477.93 net a month, the net minimum wage, assessed over a year.
• Health insurance covering the whole stay.
• A long-stay visa for the first application.

The card lasts one year at most and can be renewed. It therefore gives no right to work, not even part time. So without a visitor to employee status change, every job stays closed to you.

Visitor to employee status change: which permit to aim for?

For a visitor to employee status change, the permit depends mainly on your contract. Here are the main options.

Target permit	Contract	Duration	Work authorisation
"Employee" card	Open-ended contract	1 year	Yes, applied for by the employer
"Temporary worker" card	Fixed-term contract	Length of the contract, 1 year at most	Yes, applied for by the employer
"Talent, qualified employee" card	Master's degree and €39,582 gross a year	Up to 4 years	No
"Talent, EU Blue Card"	Degree and €59,373 gross a year	Up to 4 years	No

Talent cards avoid the work authorisation. Their salary thresholds, however, remain high. Most visitors therefore aim for the "employee" or "temporary worker" card.

The work authorisation, the first step

Every visitor to employee status change starts with the employer. They file a work authorisation request online, on ANEF. Then the prefecture's foreign labour unit examines it and issues its decision.

The administration checks several points:

• The labour market situation: a shortage occupation, or a vacancy advertised for three weeks without a suitable applicant.
• The salary: at least the minimum wage, €1,867.02 gross a month since 1 June 2026, or the collective agreement floor.
• The employer: social security duties up to date, with no conviction for illegal employment.
• Your profile: a post linked to your qualifications or experience.

Moreover, a visitor enjoys no exception to the labour market test. Recent master's graduates from French universities escape it, but visitors do not. For a visitor, a shortage occupation therefore helps a great deal. The list in force dates from an order of 21 May 2025, region by region.

When the prefecture refuses to examine the file

The main obstacle remains practical. Some prefectures refuse to examine a visitor to employee status change. They rely on the undertaking not to work, or they demand a return home for an "employee" visa.

The courts have nevertheless qualified that position. The Douai administrative court of appeal thus held, on 8 April 2021, that the prefect could not refuse to examine the work authorisation on that ground alone. Other courts have followed the same line.

That case law remains divided, however. The Paris administrative court, for example, adopted a stricter reading of the labour code in December 2022. The outcome therefore depends heavily on your prefecture and on the quality of the file.

In practice, a refusal to examine can be challenged. It counts as an unfavourable decision, open to appeal before the administrative court within the time limits. Our article on residence permit refusal details the remedies.

When to file your application

In a visitor to employee status change, the calendar matters as much as the substance. Article R.431-5 of the CESEDA sets the filing window:

• Permit applied for on ANEF: between the 120th and the 60th day before your visitor card expires.
• Other procedures: within the two months before expiry.

So file between four and two months before the permit ends. A complete file opens a certificate of extended processing. Our article on the residence permit receipt explains that document.

Be careful: that certificate extends your visitor card, with its limits. It therefore does not allow you to start work.

Working before the new card: the risks

During a visitor to employee status change, the temptation to start straight away remains strong. Yet the consequences can be costly.

• For you: breaching the undertaking justifies a refusal to renew, or even an OQTF removal order.
• For the employer: hiring a foreign national without authorisation exposes them to five years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine per employee.
• For the file: earlier payslips prove illegal work, and the authorisation becomes very hard to obtain.

Remote work for a foreign company raises the same question. According to several decisions, paid activity remains professional activity, wherever the employer is based. So wait for the new card, or for a document that allows work.

How much does the status change cost?

A visitor to employee status change comes at a price. According to service-public.gouv.fr, a first "employee" card costs €350: a €300 tax plus a €50 stamp. Late filing adds a €180 regularisation fee.

The employer also pays a tax to OFII, the French immigration and integration office. For a contract of a year or more, it reaches 55 % of the gross monthly salary, capped at €2,567.15.

What if the prefecture demands a visa?

A return home sometimes remains the safest route. The employer then obtains the work authorisation. You next apply for a long-stay "employee" visa at the consulate.

That option delays the visitor to employee status change. On the other hand, it avoids a refusal combined with an OQTF. A lawyer compares both routes with you, according to your prefecture and your profile.

Finally, other status changes exist. Our guide to the student to employee status change covers a neighbouring case. To start a business, read our article on the visitor to entrepreneur status change.

When to consult a lawyer

Consult before signing, and above all before starting work. A lawyer checks that the post, the salary and the calendar hold together. They also prepare a letter if the prefecture refuses to examine the file.

If you are refused, they challenge the decision before the administrative court. An immigration lawyer answers within 20 minutes. The official conditions appear on the service-public visitor card page.