New Work Permit Application Online Platforms Forthcoming

The situation

Starting April 1, 2021, the Labour offices (DIRECCTE) will no longer process work permit applications for foreign nationals and instead, employers will need to submit work permit applications on a new online system.

A closer look

Details of the new platforms include:

• Organization of platforms. Five of the platforms will handle work permit applications based on the assignee/employee’s physical work location in France (except for seasonal workers). The platform based in Avignon will handle seasonal workers exclusively. The platform located in French Guyana will handle overseas territories (except La Réunion island, for which the platform has not yet been identified).
• Website not yet open. The website dedicated to the submission of work permit applications is not yet active. The email address of each platform has not yet been announced.
• Required documentation. There will be some changes for the documentation required for the processing of work permit applications. However, the government has not yet announced the new document list.

Impact

• Process change. Starting April 1, 2021, employers will need to submit work permit applications online on the relevant platform.
• Harmonized processing times. This reform should harmonize work permit processing times, which currently vary considerably between regional labor offices. Some districts will see reduced processing times while processing times in other districts may increase.  

• Transition period. A transition period during which affected work permit processing times will increase due to implementation of the platforms.

Background

This reform is part of a broader digitization of public processes in France, including immigration and civil services, which the government has been working on the last few years. Specifically, the authorities announced the digitization of Talent Passport residence permit applications in November 2019 (which is now scheduled to take place across all prefectures mid-April).

Through this change, the government also seeks to move monitoring of foreign workers from the regional to the prefecture level to better localize services.

Looking ahead

The government is expected to provide more details and clarification on the online platform in the coming weeks.

Fragomen will closely monitor and report on this situation, particularly platform availability and email addresses, document requirements and impact on processing times; and details on the forthcoming digitization of Talent Passport residence permit applications.

Fragomen in France is Fragomen France AARPI., operating as an immigration consultancy/law firm in France. This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions or require assistance with the extension declaration, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or email [email protected].