France - Intra-corporate transferee (ICT) - European Commission

Where and how to apply	You must apply for a long-stay visa at the French Embassy or Consulate in your country of origin. For stays of less than 12 months, you are issued with a long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour - VLS-TS) which you need to register online on the official dedicated website, within the first 3 months of your arrival in France. For stays of one year or more, you are issued a long-stay visa and within the two months of your arrival in France, you must go to the prefecture of your place of residence to apply for a residence permit. Non-compliance with this requirement may lead to the withdrawal of your permit.
Documents required	The conditions required depend on whether you are employed by a French company or if you are temporarily seconded to a French entity. If you are employed by a French company belonging to the same group and intend to obtain the “passport talent” residence permit with the mention “employee on assignment” (“salarié en mission”), you should: prove a seniority of at least 3 months within the group of your employer in France; prove that your mission to France is linked to an intra company transfer; present an employment contract of more than three months with the French company employing you, and belonging to the same group of your employer; earn a gross salary equivalent to or higher than 1.8 times the minimum full time monthly gross French wage (SMIC), i.e. 2,738.2 euros gross per month. If you are temporarily seconded to a French entity belonging to the same group of your employer, and intend to obtain the multiyear residence permit “seconded employee ICT”, you should: prove a seniority within the group of at least 3 months; prove that your mission to France is linked to an intra company transfer; prove sufficient resources in compliance with the French regulations and a salary adapted to the type of position, to the length of the mission and to the place of the mission; prove that you carry out higher management functions and your employer has asked you to carry out a high level senior management or expert assessment mission. OR you hold a higher education qualification and your employer has asked you to follow a training course in a group company or entity. This training session is designed so that you can develop as a professional or gain the methods and techniques required by companies. The applicable fee for each permit is 260 EUR.
Duration of validity of permits	The “passport talent” residence permit with the mention “employee on assignment” (“salarié en mission”) is valid for 4 years and renewable if the mission is not finished. The multiyear residence permit “seconded employee ICT” is valid for the duration of your mission, within a maximum of 3 years (non renewable).
Appeals	You can appeal a refusal of a French entry visa to Consulate in your country of origin. Within two months after being notified of the refusal to be issued a visa, you can send a letter to the Consulate detailing your motivations for applying for a visa, with the required documents and any documents that might support your application attached. You must also attach a copy of the refusal letter. If the informal appeal is rejected, you can appeal to the Commission for Appeals Against Visa Application Refusals within two months of the date of notification of the decision. If the Commission rejects the appeal, or if, despite the positive opinion of the Commission, ministers confirm the visa refusal, you may, within two months, submit a request for annulment before the Administrative Court of Nantes, which is responsible in the first instance for litigation on visa refusal. An administrative appeal may also be submitted to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. More on appeals of visa decisions. Refusal of residence permits may be appealed before the prefect, a hierarchical appeal may be made to the Minister in charge of immigration or an administrative appeal may be made to the Administrative Tribunal of competent jurisdiction, within two months of notification of the decision. More on administrative and hierarchical appeals.
Further information	More on appeals against visa refusals More on visa application to France More on settling in France More on coming to France More on working in France More on non-EU workers

Procedures for seconded third-country national employees ICT in another EU country coming to France

Where and how to apply	Mobility procedure for 90-day or less stay If you are seconded to a company located in another EU country on the same grounds as the one described for the multiyear residence permit “seconded employee ICT”, you can work in France using the residence permit obtained in the first EU country. The company in the first EU country is responsible for notifying your mobility project to the prefecture of the region where the French company is based. The first company has to fill a predefined form notifying the short-term mobility (90 days or less) of a seconded ICT employee allowed to stay in another EU Member State in France (see here). This form gathers your personal information, the modalities of your work in France, information about the hosting company, and the estimated dates of your period of mobility in France. The form has to be submitted either electronically or by postal service by the company in the first EU country to the relevant prefecture. Upon the reception of your form and the required documents, the prefect registers the notification and sends a confirmation receipt, by email or postal services, to the company in the first EU country. You can start working in France upon the reception of this receipt. Mobility procedure for stay longer than 90 days For a mobility longer than 90 days, you have to apply for a multiyear residence permit “mobile seconded employee ICT”. You don’t need to apply for a visa first. You can directly submit your application for the residence permit to the prefecture of the region where the French company is based, showing proof of sufficient personal resources to cover your living expenses during your stay in France.
Documents required	To support your mobility project, whether short-term or long-term, you need to provide: a work contract / assignment letter detailing your missions and salary; the residence permit issued in the first EU country as ICT employee; any documents attesting that the company in France and the one in the first EU country belong to the same group.
Other information	The competent prefect may reject your mobility project within 20 days of the reception of your notification if: you represent a danger to public order, public security, or public health; wage conditions proposed in the home or EU country during your secondment are not equal or in accordance with those in France for the same occupation; the hosting company in France and the one employing you in your home country do not belong to the same group; your travel documents are not valid; you have used fraudulent means to obtain the documents you used to support your mobility notification; the maximum duration of your stay has been reached. The prefect notifies the company of the first EU country of his decision. If you are already in France, you are informed of the prefect’s decision, and required to cease your professional activity and leave French territory.
Procedure and required documents for family members	If your mobility period is longer than 90 days, your spouse and children above 18 are admitted for residence under the same conditions and procedure, with direct access to work in case of a long-term mobility. They receive a residence permit “mobile seconded employees ICT (family) which expires at the end of your mobility period in France. Your children under 18 are admitted onto the territory without a residence permit. The company in the first EU country must join to the form notifying your mobility another form gathering the information of the family members joining you. They must provide: a copy of their travel documents; a copy of your residence permit “seconded employee ICT”; a marriage and/or birth certificate to attest of their quality as family members.
Further information	More on long-stay visas More on visa application to France More on settling in France