Immigration Insights — Sending talent to France
Complex challenges
Immigration statuses in France are complex, creating challenges for Global Mobility and HR teams and their international workers. For business lines, managers and candidates, setting up an intra-group movement is often overlooked, but it can be a simple way to remain compliant and in control.
Rules and regulations
Intra-corporate transfers (ICT) apply to non-EU nationals temporarily transferred to a French entity of their organisation. Occupying a management position or providing expertise in France is subject to a raft of regulations including the Immigration Code, the Labour Code and the Social Security Code—so an ICT is not simply governed by immigration law alone.
Labour legislation
An employee on an ICT assignment is, first and foremost, a posted worker. From a labour point of view, they are sent by their employer to carry out a temporary assignment as part of a workforce loan or international service provision between entities in the same group. The ICT worker is maintained on contract and payroll in their country of origin—and has no subordinate relationship with the French host company. This raises the question of applying and verifying compliance with a core set of rules applicable upstream. The set of rules for the foreign contract includes eleven provisions from the French Labour Code and is binding on both the employee and the employer located abroad. This can have consequences for the host entity as they are co-responsible for factors including minimum wage, working hours and overtime compensation, public holidays, paid vacation, payslips, applicable CBAs, and medical examinations.
Social protection
The importance of social protection law shouldn’t be underestimated, as employers must ensure their ICT employees are adequately covered during their stay. Who pays social security contributions? In which country are they paid? And how do you register a foreign company in France—and apply for bilateral social security Certificates of Coverage?
Holistic approach
Managing an ICT immigration file means dealing with so much more than immigration law. The entire legal and administrative framework that applies to posted workers demands attention to detail and being ahead of any changes in legislation. We’re here to help you devise, diagnose and deliver your intra-group methodology for mobility in France, beyond the fundamentals of immigration compliance.
If you’re looking for a partner who understands Global Mobility in France, we would love to support you and your teams. Simply drop an email immigration.france@staging.santaferelo.com. Or contact Vincent de Graauw, Immigration Manager for France—an expert in the complex labour codes and legislation linked to intra-group postings.
Vincent de Graauw
Immigration Manager France
Santa Fe Relocation
vincent.degraauw@SantaFeRelo.com
