When in Paris, I asked myself, "Could I live here?" I met a few people who said certain cafes in the city hire native-English speakers and Americans, without work permits.
As someone without a university degree, or any legitimate means of getting a job or work permit, the only feasible way to "live" in Paris is to work "off the books".
Is this possible and does anyone have any advice?
Billy
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5 Comments On Working in Paris?
Billym,
Two sets of regulation may apply regarding foreigners working without permits : rules regarding residency, and rules specifically regarding holding a job.
First of all, as for the immigration set of rules, they’re pretty much the same as in the US : in order to be allowed to live and work here you have to be sponsored by a French company or a company based in France. This company will have to be able to prove that you’re the only one fitted for the job, and that it couldn’t find anybody else qualified enough for this task within the local workforce.
Now, being illegal in France does not get you in trouble, as long as you stay out of it : what I mean is that the cops cannot arrest you and deport you as long as you don’t commit any offense. This explains why there are illegals here just living their lives for years and years, going unnoticed and avoiding being caught.
As for working in France, any employee, foreigner or not, has to be ‘declared’, which means, his or her employer should officially notify social security administrations about a new worker. This is very important here, more than in the US I think, and therefore, it is much more enforced : to hire someone ‘au noir’ (without declaration) is a major offense here, and any employer that does it faces big penalties and sometimes a jail sentence.
And this is why the only jobs ‘au noir’ that you will find are usually low paid and low qualified ones : just like in any part of the world, most illegal workers are to be found either on construction sites, or in restaurants’ backrooms.
I don’t know what your qualifications are, but believe me, you’ll never find any relevant French company to hire you without a permit.
CRC
I agree with you. In the US we are very tight about filling out tax papers for a new worker. The only exception is construction and agricultural work for illegal Mexicans. Some of these workers do quite well. We are pretty open to giving them green cards and work permits (they are indeed taking jobs no American wants to do).
My only hope there would be restaurant work, I imagine. Even so, it may be difficult to find.
Billy
yeah, agriculture too, I forgot about that. If you don’t know what to do this summer / fall, you may go to southern France to pick fruits or grapes. That should be easier to find.
CRC
CRC95: Thanks for those posts. It is very informative to find out how these kinds of things work over there in LaFrance. It seems so logical and straight forward. I would think that our politicians would have learned something from all the "junkets" that they take. Thanks again and keep them coming. Donerail
Yes I was wondering about the 5 days one could work out of every 90 days. Is this true. Can I only work 5 days, than have to wait 90 days before I can be permitted to work 5 days again.