Who hasn’t dreamed of working with a laptop in one hand and a cocktail in the other on a beach on the Riviera or seated at the Café de Flore in Paris? With a few exceptions, everyone has dreamed of it, and some people still dream of it!

With the COVID-19 crisis, teleworking has become widespread in many sectors, particularly the digital industry, highlighting a new category of workers born with the web: digital nomads. Most often, they are under 35, looking for a balance between personal and professional life, and work in jobs such as developers, graphic designers, community managers, etc. They are generally self-employed but, for a minority, have salaried status. Needing only a computer and an Internet connection, they can work from anywhere, moving from one country to another according to the seasons (when the borders are not closed due to the pandemic!).

For those who choose to spend time in France, the question arises of the type of long-stay visa required. Is obtaining a work permit necessary? The answer is: it depends!

Indeed, with the advent of telework, several European countries (Spain, Croatia, Italy, etc.) and non-European countries (Cayman Islands, Indonesia, etc.) have introduced specific long-stay visas for freelance digital workers. France has yet to take such measures, and the Code for the entry and stay of foreigners and the right to asylum (the CESEDA) does not answer the possibility for foreigners to telework from France with a long-stay tourist visa. Therefore, we are in a gray area or in legal uncertainty. As it is often the case in such a situation, it is the French consulates who decide on a case-by-case basis whether or not to grant a particular type of visa.

However, from the experience of recent years, it can be inferred that a teleworker could be issued a long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) for visitors by the French Consulate under the following conditions:

• The foreign worker is an employee: in addition to fulfilling the general conditions necessary to obtain a visitor’s VLS, the foreign employee must provide the French Consulate with a letter from his/her employer explaining that he/she agrees to a period of telework from France (the employer must specify the start and end dates of telework), in addition to detailing the tasks that the foreign employee will carry out during this period. In addition, the employer must indicate that there will be no penetration of the French labor market by the employee and that the latter will carry out his/her work in France as he/she would have done from his/her company in his/her country of residence or nationality.

• The foreign worker is self-employed: in addition to fulfilling the general conditions necessary to obtain a visitor’s VLS, the self-employed foreign worker must explain to the French Consulate the reason for his/her stay, the dates of his/her trip, undertake not to canvass clients in France and not to enter the French job market during his/her stay. In addition, he/she will have to prove that the center of his business will remain in his/her country of residence or nationality and that he/she will carry out his/her work in France as he/she would at home in his/her country. The foreigner must be completely precise and transparent with the Consulate regarding the teleworking activity he/she intends to carry out during his/her stay in France.

Conversely, if the self-employed foreign worker intended to develop his/her business in France (build a clientele, offer commercial activities aimed, among other things, at French clients, etc.), and make France the center of his/her professional interests, even for a short period of time (a few months for example), he/she will then have to apply for a visa allowing him/her to work (such as a Talent Passport visa or a long-stay visa for entrepreneur / liberal profession, etc. ).

WARNING! This article cannot be considered a legal opinion and it is necessary to make an appointment for a consultation to obtain a legal opinion on your situation.

If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact us at secretariat@benihoud.com

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