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France work visa requirements for Pakistani citizens

For Pakistan passport holders · Checked 2026-08-15

Route with conditions

A French employer can hire you from Pakistan, but the employer must first get a government work permit for your exact job — usually by proving no candidate already in France could fill it — before you can even apply for the visa.

What the employer must have

  • Apply online for a work permit (autorisation de travail) before the worker's visa application; the decision takes up to 2 months and silence counts as refusal.
  • Unless the job is on France's official shortage-occupation list (metiers en tension) or an exempt permit type applies, the employer must first advertise the job for 3 consecutive weeks and show no suitable candidate in France applied.
  • Pay at least the legal minimum for the permit type; the multi-year 'Talent — qualified employee' card requires a gross annual salary of at least EUR 39,582 (reference amount set by arrete of 21 Aug 2025).

What you must do before you leave

  1. After the employer's work permit is approved, apply for a French long-stay work visa (the France-Visas portal / French embassy in Islamabad handles this step).
  2. Before leaving Pakistan, register with the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (Protector of Emigrants, now also online via e-Protector) and obtain the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) — required under the Emigration Ordinance 1979 and checked by FIA immigration at the airport.
  3. If a recruiting agent is involved, it must be a BEOE-licensed Overseas Employment Promoter (OEP); if you found the job yourself, you register as a 'direct' emigrant.

Things to watch

  • France has no quota or lottery, but there is also no general low-skilled route: without a shortage-list job or a high salary, the labour-market test is a real barrier in practice.
  • The 'Talent — qualified employee' card (EUR 39,582+) requires a master's-level degree obtained in France, so it mainly fits people who studied there; the EU Blue Card variant requires a substantially higher salary (a multiple of the EUR 39,582 reference; check the exact current figure on the official French pages).
  • The visa-application steps here follow France's Service-Public pages, and the BEOE requirements follow the government-linked MRC Pakistan and MOFA pages; france-visas.gouv.fr and beoe.gov.pk have the current forms and procedure.
  • Never pay an agent who 'sells' a French job offer or work permit: only the employer can file the autorisation de travail, and Pakistan's FIA repeatedly arrests gangs charging Rs 0.8-1 million for fake Europe job visas. A real French employer never asks you to pay for the permit.

What you may lawfully be charged

THE MOST A LICENSED AGENT MAY LAWFULLY CHARGE YOU as a service charge is PKR 15,000 (PKR 6,000 if you found the job yourself and only need the paperwork done). You do not hand it over — you deposit it in a bank and the agent is paid only after the Protector of Emigrants confirms you reached the job. Anything he spends on your ticket, medical or visa must come with a signed, stamped receipt.

Rule 15 and 15A, Emigration Rules 1979 (SRO 1058(I)/2023). Charging more is punishable by up to 14 years — Section 22(a), Emigration Ordinance 1979.

⚠️ Never pay anyone for a job offer or a visa on this route. Legitimate employers and licensed agents do not charge workers for jobs.

Official sources

This describes the immigration system, not your personal case, and not this specific vacancy.

Common questions

Can a Pakistani passport holder work in France?

A French employer can hire you from Pakistan, but the employer must first get a government work permit for your exact job — usually by proving no candidate already in France could fill it — before you can even apply for the visa.

What does an employer in France need before hiring a Pakistani worker?

Apply online for a work permit (autorisation de travail) before the worker's visa application; the decision takes up to 2 months and silence counts as refusal. Unless the job is on France's official shortage-occupation list (metiers en tension) or an exempt permit type applies, the employer must first advertise the job for 3 consecutive weeks and show no suitable candidate in France applied. Pay at least the legal minimum for the permit type; the multi-year 'Talent — qualified employee' card requires a gross annual salary of at least EUR 39,582 (reference amount set by arrete of 21 Aug 2025).

What must a Pakistani citizen do before leaving to work in France?

After the employer's work permit is approved, apply for a French long-stay work visa (the France-Visas portal / French embassy in Islamabad handles this step). Before leaving Pakistan, register with the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (Protector of Emigrants, now also online via e-Protector) and obtain the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) — required under the Emigration Ordinance 1979 and checked by FIA immigration at the airport. If a recruiting agent is involved, it must be a BEOE-licensed Overseas Employment Promoter (OEP); if you found the job yourself, you register as a 'direct' emigrant.

What should Pakistani workers watch out for with France job offers?

France has no quota or lottery, but there is also no general low-skilled route: without a shortage-list job or a high salary, the labour-market test is a real barrier in practice. The 'Talent — qualified employee' card (EUR 39,582+) requires a master's-level degree obtained in France, so it mainly fits people who studied there; the EU Blue Card variant requires a substantially higher salary (a multiple of the EUR 39,582 reference; check the exact current figure on the official French pages). The visa-application steps here follow France's Service-Public pages, and the BEOE requirements follow the government-linked MRC Pakistan and MOFA pages; france-visas.gouv.fr and beoe.gov.pk have the current forms and procedure. Never pay an agent who 'sells' a French job offer or work permit: only the employer can file the autorisation de travail, and Pakistan's FIA repeatedly arrests gangs charging Rs 0.8-1 million for fake Europe job visas. A real French employer never asks you to pay for the permit.

Should I pay an agent for a job in France?

No. Never pay anyone for a job offer, a visa, or a place on a list. Legitimate recruitment for this route does not require the worker to pay for the job itself. Verify any agent against the official registers linked on this page.

Other countries Pakistani citizens can work in

All work visa guides

30 live France vacancies for Pakistani workers

From job boards and overseas-employment registers. We do not yet hold Pakistan's own national register for this country, so these are not nationality-filtered.

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