Fact sheet: seconded employees
Date of update
Your employer based abroad sends you on a temporay mission to France?
You must apply for a residence permit if you are a national of a non-Member State of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland. British citizens must now also apply for a residence permit as provided below for any arrival after January 1, 2021. Specific requirements apply to Algerian citizens.
When the contract with the original employer remains in effect, employees are considered a seconded employee. They are sent to France for the exercise of a temporary mission in the context of intra-company transfer or a service provision.
Intra-company transferees
Where employees are sent to France under an intra-company transfer, they can obtain a multi-year “Intra-company transfer” residence permit (“Salarié détaché ICT”), subject to criteria.
Seconded employees are by definition not meant to remain in France. At the end of their 3 years under seconded ICT employee, they must either return to their country of origin, their assignment having come to a close, or request a change of status to another residence permit enabling them to exercise a salaried activity in France.
Other seconded employees
Foreign seconded employees who are not eligible for the “ICT seconded employee” residence permit can still perform work for their employer in France, under the “Temporary Worker” temporary residence permit, which entitles holders to engage in salaried activity. The employer must file an application for the said work permit in advance. The job situation will, however, be taken into account. Please have a look at our “work permit” fact sheet.
Helpful tip: Any employer located outside France planning to post an employee on French soil must submit, before the start of the mission to the Labour Inspectorate of the place where the mission is performed.
This declaration must be made through the dedicated teleservice, the SIPSI (also available in German, English, Spanish and Italian).
Which residence permit?
| Audience | Eligibility criteria | Residence permit issued | Length of residence permit |
| Employees transferred within a group Employer outside the EU (without a French contract) |
No employment contract is entered into with the host company in France. |
Multi-year residence permit ‘Intra-company transfer’"Salarié détaché ICT" | Up to 3 years, non renewable |
| Employees transferred within a group Employer outside the EU having posted an employee within the EU (no French or other EU Member State contract) |
For assignments of less than 90 days, the employer of the employee posted to France must give advance notification to the Prefect of the département where the host company is located (CERFA 15618*01) |
Multi-year residence permit ‘Intra-company transfer’"Salarié détaché ICT". | Up to 3 years, non renewable |
| Other posted employees |
Not eligible for multi-year residence permits due to their lack of seniority or their mission scope in France (i.e. different from a senior manager or expert position)
|
Temporary residence permit marked ‘Temporary worker’ | Duration of the mission, maximum 12 months Renewable under conditions |
| Intra-company interns | Employees transferred between companies to complete an internship within the same group for up to 12 months under an internship agreement. | "Intra-company interns" visa | 12 months maximum |
| Employee of Algerian nationality |
|
Certificate of residence " temporary worker" | One year, renewable |