Working in France
For Pakistan passport holders · Checked 2026-08-15
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
- 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.
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 — exact figure not verbatim-verified this session).
- france-visas.gouv.fr and beoe.gov.pk both returned HTTP 403 to automated checks this session; the visa-application side is described from Service-Public pages, and BEOE requirements from government-linked MRC Pakistan and MOFA pages.
- 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.