{"id":2123578,"date":"2026-09-18T00:10:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T22:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/2026\/09\/18\/british-hired-france-salaried-job-work-authorisation-refusal-challenge-brexit\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T00:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T22:10:23","slug":"british-hired-france-salaried-job-work-authorisation-refusal-challenge-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/09\/18\/british-hired-france-salaried-job-work-authorisation-refusal-challenge-brexit\/","title":{"rendered":"British Citizen Hired on a French Salaried Contract After Brexit: Work Authorisation, Employer Steps and How to Challenge a Refusal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since 1 January 2021, a British citizen who takes a salaried job in France is no longer an EU worker exercising free movement. You are a third-country national, and that single change rewrites the whole hiring sequence: before any French employment contract can lawfully start, your future employer must obtain an autorisation de travail<\/em> (work authorisation) for you, and you must hold the matching visa and residence permit. The contract alone authorises nothing. The good news is that the procedure is now fully online, decided on published criteria, and a refusal can be challenged \u2014 first by administrative appeal, then before the administrative court. The bad news is that starting work without the authorisation exposes both sides: the employer to administrative fines, criminal prosecution and the loss of social-charge relief, and the employee to dismissal and removal proceedings.<\/p>\n

This guide explains the salaried route only \u2014 the classic hire on a French payroll, whether on a permanent contract (contrat \u00e0 dur\u00e9e ind\u00e9termin\u00e9e<\/em>, CDI) or a fixed-term contract (contrat \u00e0 dur\u00e9e d\u00e9termin\u00e9e<\/em>, CDD). It does not cover setting up your own company or registering as self-employed, which follow different rules. It walks through who applies and how, which residence permit follows which contract, how to overturn a refusal, and what unlawful employment really costs, with the exact statutory texts and two recent Cour de cassation rulings that every British hire and every hiring employer should know. Where a French term appears for the first time, its English meaning follows in brackets.<\/p>\n

I. Can a British citizen still be hired on a French payroll after Brexit, and what must the employer obtain first?<\/h2>\n

A. Do you need an autorisation de travail before the contract starts, and who applies for it?<\/h3>\n

Yes, without exception for newly arriving British hires. The rule is stated bluntly in the Labour Code. Article L. 5221-2 of the Code du travail<\/a> (Labour Code) provides: “Pour entrer en France en vue d’y exercer une profession salari\u00e9e, l’\u00e9tranger pr\u00e9sente : 1\u00b0 Les documents et visas exig\u00e9s par les conventions internationales et les r\u00e8glements en vigueur ; 2\u00b0 Un contrat de travail vis\u00e9 par l’autorit\u00e9 administrative ou une autorisation de travail.” In plain English: to enter France to take paid employment, a foreign national must show the required documents and visas plus either an employment contract endorsed (vis\u00e9<\/em>) by the administrative authority or a work authorisation. For a British citizen arriving after Brexit, that means the employer-side step comes first and the visa second \u2014 reversing the reflex many hires have of signing the contract and sorting out paperwork later.<\/p>\n

The same requirement applies once you are already in France. Article L. 5221-5 of the Code du travail<\/a> provides: “Un \u00e9tranger autoris\u00e9 \u00e0 s\u00e9journer en France ne peut exercer une activit\u00e9 professionnelle salari\u00e9e en France sans avoir obtenu au pr\u00e9alable l’autorisation de travail mentionn\u00e9e au 2\u00b0 de l’ article L. 5221-2 .” Even lawful residence is not enough on its own: no salaried work without prior work authorisation. A British spouse who followed a partner to France on a family permit, or a student switching to employment, is caught by the same sentence.<\/p>\n

One narrow but important exception exists for British residents protected by the EU\u2013UK Withdrawal Agreement \u2014 those who were already lawfully resident before 1 January 2021 and hold a Withdrawal Agreement residence permit (carte de s\u00e9jour Accord de retrait du Royaume-Uni<\/em>). Their permit itself carries the right to work, and no separate autorisation de travail is needed. If that is your situation, the rest of this article is background reading rather than your procedure. Everyone else \u2014 every newly hired arrival from London, Manchester or Edinburgh \u2014 goes through the employer-led application.<\/p>\n

It is the employer who applies, not the employee. Since April 2021 the application is filed exclusively online on the ANEF platform (Administration num\u00e9rique pour les \u00e9trangers en France<\/em>, the Home Office’s digital portal for foreign nationals), through the employer’s account. The file is instructed by the DREETS (direction r\u00e9gionale de l’\u00e9conomie, de l’emploi, du travail et des solidarit\u00e9s<\/em>, the regional authority for economy, employment, labour and solidarity, formerly the Direccte), and the decision is taken by the pr\u00e9fet (prefect, the State’s representative in the d\u00e9partement). Your employer will need to upload your passport or identity document, your current residence document if you hold one, the draft employment contract, evidence that the vacancy was advertised to the French and European labour market, and company documents. The official English-language guidance describing each situation is published on the service-public.fr page on the autorisation de travail for foreign employees<\/a>, with the online application walkthrough<\/a> alongside it.<\/p>\n

On what grounds can the prefect say yes or no? The criteria are published and the employer should build the file around them from day one. Whether you are already in France or still in the United Kingdom, the administration examines the reality of the hiring company and the post, the suitability of your profile, the salary offered, and \u2014 the ground that sinks most files \u2014 the employment situation (situation de l’emploi<\/em>): if workers already present in France could fill the vacancy, the authorisation may be refused as opposable employment-market conditions. The salary must reach at least the SMIC (salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance<\/em>, the French statutory minimum wage) or the higher minimum set by the applicable collective agreement (convention collective<\/em>). As the service-public.fr page on how authorisations are granted<\/a> puts it, remuneration cannot be lower than the SMIC or the collectively agreed wage where that is higher. A British hire paid below the threshold, or hired for a post with no genuine economic substance in the company, will be refused \u2014 and the refusal will say so.<\/p>\n

The employer also carries a standing verification duty that many British-facing companies discover too late. Article L. 5221-8 of the Code du travail<\/a> provides: “L’employeur s’assure aupr\u00e8s des administrations territorialement comp\u00e9tentes de l’existence du titre autorisant l’\u00e9tranger \u00e0 exercer une activit\u00e9 salari\u00e9e en France, sauf si cet \u00e9tranger est inscrit sur la liste des demandeurs d’emploi tenue par l’institution mentionn\u00e9e \u00e0 l’article L. 5312-1 .” Before the first day of work, the employer must check with the competent local authority that the foreign hire actually holds a document authorising salaried work \u2014 unless the person is registered as a jobseeker with France Travail (the public employment service, formerly P\u00f4le emploi). Keep the prefectoral reply: it is the employer’s proof of diligence if the document later turns out to be forged (more on the forgery defence below). The UK side confirms the same starting point: the official gov.uk Living in France guidance<\/a> directs British citizens to check which visa or residence permit they need before moving, including for work, via the France-Visas portal.<\/p>\n

B. Which contract leads to which residence permit: salari\u00e9, travailleur temporaire, or a multi-year card?<\/h3>\n

The work authorisation and the residence permit (titre de s\u00e9jour<\/em>) are two separate documents, and the order matters: authorisation first, permit second. Once the prefect grants the autorisation de travail, the British hire applies for the long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (visa de long s\u00e9jour valant titre de s\u00e9jour<\/em>, VLS-TS) at the French consulate covering their UK home, enters France, and validates the visa online within three months. The contract type then dictates which card is issued at the pr\u00e9fecture.<\/p>\n

Hired on a CDI \u2014 the open-ended contract that is the normal form of employment under French law \u2014 you receive a one-year temporary residence card marked “salari\u00e9” (employee). Article L. 421-1 of the CESEDA<\/a> (Code de l’entr\u00e9e et du s\u00e9jour des \u00e9trangers et du droit d’asile, the Code on Entry and Residence of Foreigners and Asylum) provides: “L’\u00e9tranger qui exerce une activit\u00e9 salari\u00e9e sous contrat de travail \u00e0 dur\u00e9e ind\u00e9termin\u00e9e se voit d\u00e9livrer une carte de s\u00e9jour temporaire portant la mention “salari\u00e9” d’une dur\u00e9e maximale d’un an. La d\u00e9livrance de cette carte de s\u00e9jour est subordonn\u00e9e \u00e0 la d\u00e9tention pr\u00e9alable d’une autorisation de travail, dans les conditions pr\u00e9vues par les articles L. 5221-2 et suivants du code du travail .” Note the explicit chain: no prior work authorisation, no salari\u00e9 card. The same article adds a safety net many British families rely on without knowing it: if you are involuntarily deprived of employment (priv\u00e9 d’emploi involontaire<\/em>), the card is extended by one year, and at the following renewal the prefect decides on residence for a period matching the unemployment-benefit rights you have accrued. Losing the job does not automatically mean losing the right to stay \u2014 but you must register, claim, and document.<\/p>\n

Hired on a CDD, a seasonal contract or a short posting, the corresponding card is the “travailleur temporaire” (temporary worker) permit, tied to the contract’s duration. The logic is identical \u2014 prior authorisation, then the card \u2014 but the permit dies with the job unless a new authorisation and a change of status (changement de statut<\/em>) are secured. British hires on successive short contracts should therefore plan the CDI transition early rather than stacking temporary cards.<\/p>\n

After the first year, the system opens towards stability. Article L. 421-2 of the CESEDA<\/a> provides: “Par d\u00e9rogation \u00e0 l’article L. 433-6, l’\u00e9tranger qui sollicite la d\u00e9livrance d’une carte de s\u00e9jour pluriannuelle portant la mention “salari\u00e9” et qui est titulaire d’une carte de s\u00e9jour d\u00e9livr\u00e9e pour un autre motif b\u00e9n\u00e9ficie d’une carte de s\u00e9jour temporaire d’une dur\u00e9e d’un an portant la mention demand\u00e9e lorsque les conditions de d\u00e9livrance de cette carte sont remplies.” In practice, a British employee who completes a first year as salari\u00e9 and still meets the conditions can move onto the multi-year card (carte de s\u00e9jour pluriannuelle<\/em>), typically valid for four years. The bridge requires continuous employment, stable resources and, where applicable, evidence of integration \u2014 so keep every payslip (bulletin de salaire<\/em>), the employer’s attestations and proof of address from month one.<\/p>\n

Two further conditions deserve a frank word because they surprise British applicants. First, long-term settlement carries a language expectation. Article L. 5221-3 of the Code du travail<\/a> provides: “L’\u00e9tranger qui souhaite entrer en France en vue d’y exercer une profession salari\u00e9e et qui manifeste la volont\u00e9 de s’y installer durablement atteste d’une connaissance suffisante de la langue fran\u00e7aise sanctionn\u00e9e par une validation des acquis de l’exp\u00e9rience ou s’engage \u00e0 l’acqu\u00e9rir apr\u00e8s son installation en France.” If you present yourself as settling permanently, you must either demonstrate sufficient French or formally commit to acquiring it after arrival. Enrolment in French classes is not decorative; it is evidential. Second, if your British family joins you, their residence is a separate procedure (family reunification, regroupement familial<\/em>, or accompanying-family permits), each with its own resources and housing conditions \u2014 do not assume the salari\u00e9 card covers the household.<\/p>\n

A final boundary for high earners and intra-group moves: France offers a “passeport talent” (talent passport) multi-year permit for qualified employees, researchers, artists and certain posted profiles, with its own salary thresholds and a procedure that partly bypasses the standard labour-market test. If your package exceeds roughly twice the SMIC or your UK employer is posting you to a French subsidiary, ask your adviser whether the talent route fits better than the classic salari\u00e9 track. It is still employment, still needs prior authorisation in most sub-categories, and still ends in a refusal that can be challenged \u2014 which is where this guide now turns.<\/p>\n

II. What happens when the prefecture says no, and what does working without authorisation cost?<\/h2>\n

A. How do you challenge a work authorisation refusal: gracious appeal, hierarchical appeal, and the administrative court?<\/h3>\n

A refusal is not the end of the road, but the clock starts immediately, and the employer \u2014 as applicant \u2014 must act alongside you. The decision arrives as an express written refusal from the prefect, or as silence: if the prefecture has not replied two months after a complete application, the silence itself counts as an implied refusal (refus implicite<\/em>). In both cases the remedy ladder published by the administration is the same. As the service-public.fr guidance on refusals<\/a> states, within two months of the refusal you may lodge an administrative appeal (recours administratif<\/em>): a gracious appeal (recours gracieux<\/em>, asking the prefect to reconsider) before the prefect and\/or a hierarchical appeal (recours hi\u00e9rarchique<\/em>, asking the superior authority to overrule) before the Minister of the Interior. Where the prefect never answered, the two-month window runs from the date the implied refusal crystallised \u2014 two months after filing.<\/p>\n

These administrative appeals are free, require no lawyer, and above all buy a second look at the file. Most refusals turn on curable defects: a salary a fraction below the collective minimum, a vacancy advertised for too short a period, a missing company balance sheet, or a profile-match argument never properly made. The gracious appeal is the moment to cure: add the amended contract at the correct salary, attach the extended advertising evidence, file the accountant’s certificate on the company’s activity, and answer the employment-situation objection with specifics \u2014 regional shortage-list (liste des m\u00e9tiers en tension<\/em>) classification, failed recruitment attempts, specialised skills. If the prefect maintains the refusal, or stays silent for a further two months (a second implied refusal), the file moves to court.<\/p>\n

The judicial remedy is the appeal for excess of power (recours pour exc\u00e8s de pouvoir<\/em>) before the administrative tribunal (tribunal administratif<\/em>) of the prefecture’s area, to be filed within two months of the express or implied rejection of the administrative appeal. The service-public.fr page on administrative appeals<\/a> sets out the general framework. Before the tribunal, the employer’s lawyer typically pleads three lines: defective reasoning (d\u00e9faut de motivation<\/em>), error of fact (the salary, the advertising, the company’s activity were misread), and error of law or manifest error of assessment on the employment situation (the prefect applied the labour-market test mechanically to a shortage occupation). Tribunal proceedings take many months, so where the hire is urgent, counsel may combine the main appeal with an emergency suspension application (r\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9-suspension<\/em>) \u2014 admissible only if urgency is shown and a serious doubt about legality is raised. Success rates depend entirely on the file’s quality, which is why the ANEF application should have been built like a court exhibit from the start.<\/p>\n

Two warnings run alongside any challenge. First, you must not start work while the appeals run unless a provisional document expressly allows it \u2014 most refusal situations confer no right to work pending judgment, and working anyway converts a curable administrative dispute into unlawful employment with the sanctions described below. Second, a British national with no other residence basis who stays on after a final refusal may be served with an order to leave France (obligation de quitter le territoire fran\u00e7ais<\/em>, OQTF), often with a re-entry ban. The refusal challenge and the residence position must therefore be handled together: the lawyer checks whether a parallel residence application, a change of project, or a return to the UK with a fresh consular application is the safer course while the tribunal case proceeds. Readers facing the residence side of that equation can usefully compare our companion guide on when a British national becomes French tax resident and what happens when both tax offices claim you<\/a>, because taking up French employment normally shifts tax residence too \u2014 a second front the household should anticipate.<\/p>\n

B. What do unlawful employment and unlawful work cost the employer and the employee?<\/h3>\n

The prohibition is absolute on paper. Article L. 8251-1 of the Code du travail<\/a> provides: “Nul ne peut, directement ou indirectement, embaucher, conserver \u00e0 son service ou employer pour quelque dur\u00e9e que ce soit un \u00e9tranger non muni du titre l’autorisant \u00e0 exercer une activit\u00e9 salari\u00e9e en France.” No one may hire, keep in service or employ, for any duration, a foreign national without the document authorising salaried work. “For any duration” includes the trial period (p\u00e9riode d’essai<\/em>), the paid “test week”, and the friendly arrangement of starting Monday while the ANEF receipt is still pending. Labour inspectors (inspection du travail<\/em>), police and gendarmerie units establish the facts by report (proc\u00e8s-verbal<\/em>), and the consequences then fall in three layers.<\/p>\n

The first layer is administrative and financial. Article L. 8253-1 of the Code du travail<\/a> provides: “Le ministre charg\u00e9 de l’immigration prononce, au vu des proc\u00e8s-verbaux et des rapports qui lui sont transmis en application de l’ article L. 8271-17 , une amende administrative contre l’auteur d’un manquement aux articles L. 8251-1 et L. 8251-2 , sans pr\u00e9judice des poursuites judiciaires pouvant \u00eatre intent\u00e9es \u00e0 son encontre.” The immigration minister imposes an administrative fine for breach, on top of any criminal case \u2014 and the scale is severe: “Le montant de l’amende est, au plus, \u00e9gal \u00e0 5 000 fois le taux horaire du minimum garanti pr\u00e9vu \u00e0 l’ article L. 3231-12 .” Up to 5,000 times the hourly minimum garanti per foreign worker concerned, rising to 15,000 times for repeat offending. For a small company that hired one British developer without authorisation, the arithmetic alone justifies building the ANEF file properly.<\/p>\n

The second layer is criminal. Article L. 8256-2 of the Code du travail<\/a> provides: “Le fait pour toute personne, directement ou par personne interpos\u00e9e, d’embaucher, de conserver \u00e0 son service ou d’employer pour quelque dur\u00e9e que ce soit un \u00e9tranger non muni du titre l’autorisant \u00e0 exercer une activit\u00e9 salari\u00e9e en France, en m\u00e9connaissance de l’article L. 8251-1 , est puni d’un emprisonnement de cinq ans et d’une amende de 30 000 euros.” Five years’ imprisonment and a 30,000 euro fine, rising to ten years and 200,000 euros where the offence is committed by an organised gang (bande organis\u00e9e<\/em>). Knowingly using the services of an employer of an unauthorised foreign worker draws the same penalties. The Code offers one genuine shelter: the penalties do not apply to the employer who, faced with a forged document or a document fraudulently presented by the employee, declared the hire to social security, filed the single hiring declaration and verified the document with the competent authority \u2014 without intending to join the fraud and without knowing of it. That shelter is exactly why the L. 5221-8 verification letter must be requested and kept: diligence documented before the first payslip is the employer’s best exhibit.<\/p>\n

The third layer hits the company’s social-charge relief, and a March 2025 Cour de cassation ruling closed what some employers believed was an escape hatch. In Cass. 2e civ., 20 March 2025, appeal no. 23-15.729<\/a>, published in the Bulletin, an employer caught employing an unauthorised foreign worker had been subjected by URSSAF (the body collecting social contributions) to the cancellation of its contribution reductions and exemptions over several years, and argued for modulation of the penalty. The Court held: “Ainsi, l’employeur \u00e0 l’\u00e9gard duquel a \u00e9t\u00e9 constat\u00e9e l’infraction d’emploi d’\u00e9tranger non autoris\u00e9 \u00e0 travailler ne peut b\u00e9n\u00e9ficier de cette modulation de la sanction d’annulation des r\u00e9ductions et exon\u00e9rations de cotisations de s\u00e9curit\u00e9 sociale ou de contributions dues aux organismes de s\u00e9curit\u00e9 sociale.” No modulation for unauthorised foreign employment: the cancellation of relief stands in full, and it applies per worker. The payroll saving the company thought it had made evaporates, with interest and penalties.<\/p>\n

The employee’s side of unlawful work is less often explained, and a November 2022 ruling states it with unusual clarity. In Cass. soc., 23 November 2022, appeal no. 21-12.125<\/a>, a night watchman dismissed for lacking a residence permit claimed his wages for the suspension period. The Court recalled the statute word for word: “le salari\u00e9 \u00e9tranger a droit au titre de la p\u00e9riode d’emploi illicite, au paiement du salaire et des accessoires de celui-ci, conform\u00e9ment aux dispositions l\u00e9gales, conventionnelles et aux stipulations contractuelles applicables \u00e0 son emploi, d\u00e9duction faite des sommes ant\u00e9rieurement per\u00e7ues au titre de la p\u00e9riode consid\u00e9r\u00e9e.” The unauthorised worker is owed full wages and accessories for the whole illicit-employment period. And on the dismissal itself, the Court drew the line every British employee should memorise: the irregularity of the foreign worker’s situation “constitue n\u00e9cessairement une cause objective justifiant la rupture de son contrat de travail” \u2014 it necessarily constitutes an objective ground justifying termination \u2014 but it is not in itself serious or gross misconduct (faute grave ou lourde<\/em>). Consequences follow directly: the dismissal cannot be dressed up as a misconduct dismissal to deprive the worker of wages for a precautionary suspension (mise \u00e0 pied conservatoire<\/em>), and the employer who dismissed for “lack of residence permit” without invoking gross misconduct was ordered to pay the back wages. Unlawful does not mean rightless \u2014 but it does mean the contract ends, and any OQTF that follows is a separate fight.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

A British citizen can absolutely be hired on a French payroll after Brexit, and thousands are each year \u2014 but the lawful sequence is rigid: employer-led work authorisation on ANEF, decided by the prefect on published criteria with salary and labour-market tests, then the visa and the salari\u00e9 or temporary-worker card, then the first day of work, in that order. Skipping a step converts an ordinary hire into a three-layer liability of administrative fines, criminal exposure and cancelled social-charge relief, while the employee trades a career move for dismissal plus removal proceedings. The system does, however, offer genuine second chances: a well-evidenced gracious or hierarchical appeal within two months, then the administrative tribunal, cures most refusals that were ever curable. Build the first file as if it will be read by a judge \u2014 because one day, it may be. Check the permit, keep the prefectoral reply, pay at least the SMIC or the collective minimum, advertise the post properly, and never let anyone start before the authorisation lands.<\/p>\n

Need a quick opinion on your case.<\/h2>\n

Starting a French job as a British citizen, or hiring one, and facing a work authorisation refusal, a dismissal for lack of permit, or an inspection report? Get a telephone consultation within 48 hours with a lawyer of the firm. Call +33 6 46 60 58 22<\/a> or write via our contact page<\/a> with your contract, the ANEF decision and your residence documents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hired on a French payroll after Brexit? Your employer must get an autorisation de travail first. 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