Professional immigration: 4 case studies

For more than 11 years, ITAMA has been assisting companies in their professional immigration procedures. Among the many problems encountered, here are 4 frequent situations:

• Hiring a foreign student on a permanent contract following an internship, with no waiting period between the two contracts.
• Ensuring startups stay attractive to foreign candidates because of the difficulty to retain employees in this environment.
• Obtaining the authorization to operate in France as a foreign investor, despite the complexity of this now dematerialized procedure.
• Guarantying compliance with French law when a foreign service provider seconds one of its employees to work for a French client.

Hiring a foreign student on a permanent contract following an internship

The issue

A final-year internship is sometimes considered as training for a job. This is particularly the case in the electronics industry, which recruits dozens of interns each year. In this situation, the internship naturally leads to an offer of permanent employment.

When the student is a foreigner, it is common for a late graduation to block the process of changing the immigration status and therefore the recruitment. Indeed, the status of foreign student does not allow the student to be employed full time on a permanent contract. This residence permit only allows you to work “on a secondary basis”, within the limit of 964 hours per year of validity of the residence permit.

In order to comply with current legislation, the host company must therefore request a change in status to hire the employee on a permanent contract. However, it is essential to ensure that there is no waiting period in between to prevent the young talent from being hired elsewhere, in violation of the law. Some less informed companies consider that a student residence permit allows them to work full time without changing their status.

How to avoid this situation?

To avoid this problem, ITAMA carefully studies each situation and suggests solutions that allow the signing of a permanent contract before the change of status. This approach avoids any waiting period for the company and the future employee.

Ensuring startups stay attractive to foreign candidates

The issue

Startups in the digital sector (neo-banking, neo-insurance, etc.) regularly face a shortage of talent. Many of them are therefore looking for their future employees abroad. This lack of qualified profiles makes it particularly difficult to retain employees, as companies are constantly competing for the talent available in the country. In this context, the profiles concerned tend to change employers several times a year. 

How can we ensure the long-term future of our recruitments?

In order to secure hires, ITAMA contributes to the elaboration of competitive packages in which future collaborators are oriented towards specific categories of residence permits. It is also advisable to include a financial penalty clause in employment contracts in case of departure after less than one year of service. If necessary, ITAMA also takes into account the problems linked to the spouse’s situation.

Obtaining authorization to practice in France for a foreign investor

The issue

As a foreign investor, it is sometimes difficult to obtain the necessary authorizations to create a business in France. This paradoxical situation can discourage many entrepreneurs. For more than a year, the dematerialization of certain procedures has aggravated this situation. This is particularly the case for foreign entrepreneurs wishing to create a company in France in the “entrepreneur/professional” category. The procedure is now as follows:

1. The investor applies for a business license online
2. Once this authorization is obtained, he can apply for an entrepreneur visa at the French consulate

The online application can be extremely discouraging. Warning messages such as “you must have a bank account in France to apply” can be very confusing. It is indeed impossible to open a French bank account without residing in France. However, at this stage, they cannot yet apply for a visa…

What solutions?

Considering the difficulties, ITAMA assists investors with all the necessary steps. First, the team helps to gather all the necessary documents to apply for a business license. In partnership with a network of experts (business lawyers and/or specialists in business creation), the consultants then coordinate the different steps of the process to ensure a smooth transition between the different stages. This support allows investors to obtain their entrepreneurial visas with complete peace of mind, to save time and above all, to be able to concentrate 100% on their project.

Guarantying the respect of the legislation to French customers as a foreign service provider

The issue

When a company providing services abroad sends its employees to work in France, it must guarantee its client strict compliance with the legislation in force. Indeed, both companies are liable in case of non-compliance. Understanding the French system and ensuring the compliance of the mission on all aspects of French regulations are real challenges: social security, labor law, paid vacations, number of hours worked, etc.. In order to guarantee strict compliance with the legislation, it is not uncommon for the French client to demand proof before the mission is launched. In case of failure to comply, the mission may be delayed or even cancelled. This situation can be very critical.

What guarantee ?

ITAMA guarantees the compliance of the mission, in partnership with its network of qualified partners. The entire file is studied to ensure that the service provider is aware of the obligations to be respected once on French soil (35 hours, right to Sunday rest, medical examination, etc.). Following this audit, and if necessary, the service provider is put in touch with the ITAMA partner network to ensure compliance with all related issues (tax support, labor law, choice of collective agreement, calculation of social security contributions, etc.). This 360° support guarantees compliance with French legislation and ensures the success of the secondment mission.

Are you concerned by any of these issues? Would you like to receive advice and support? Do not hesitate to contact us.