In the United States, when there is ambiguity about a tax law, if enough accountants and people ask about, the IRS will give guidance which then means people will have to, at least from that time forward, act accordingly. For example, when crypto came into its own some years ago, the IRS gave guidance for how to deal with it. That guidance is publicly listed on an official government website so everyone knows.
Just a few days ago, Emma Pearson of The Local wrote a very helpful article sharing new guidance on remote working in France. While I am unclear as to why the French Tax office would choose to “exclusively clarify to The Local” a rather important tax rule, instead of publishing and publicizing it themselves on a government website, we are grateful for Emma’s work regardless, as the guidance is clear.
This is the key quote:
“The French tax authorities (DGFiP) consider that work is carried out in France when it is physically performed from French territory, regardless of the employer or location of the clients. So if you’re an employee or freelancer working for a company based abroad, but physically carrying out your tasks from France, this constitutes work carried out in France for tax purposes.”
Our position at TAIP for many years has been that since we have guided many people through successful visa applications in which a letter from employers stating that the applicant was remote working, that as far as immigration authorities are concerned, remote work in France is legal. That is still our position. The ruling of the tax authorities cannot overrule another equivalent (or possibly higher) department of the government: immigration. A ruling or clarification would still need to come from there.
However, this clarification from the tax authorities makes such visa applications now impractical, as once you get here, the tax authorities play an oversized role in your ability to stay in France. Various attestations, including the P-237 which I had to submit for my French citizenship application, all need to come from them and you want to be in their good graces. You couldn’t be in their good graces in the face of this new clarification.
Practical Effects
What does this mean for you? Here are some scenarios we have considered as of today, when we are officially amending our advice on visitor visa applications:
Current Visitor Working Remotely
Our advice is for you to transition to a Profession Libérale visa, freelancing in the field you already work in. This may be straightforward in some fields. For example, if you are a bookkeeper, you could simply set up a French bookkeeping practice with this visa, and your now-employer could then transition to using a foreign contractor. On the American side, this will be relatively painless, as they don’t have to enter the French labor market. They are simply hiring a foreign freelancer. The tax implications are on the freelancer. You can start working on the paperwork now (we have courses and consultations to assist), and then when renewal comes, you can simply apply for a “change of status” and present your application then.
Hopeful Visitor Who Wanted to Work Remotely
As we noted above, this door is now officially barred so you’ll have to consider Passeport Talent or Profession Libérale as alternatives, and our website is full of advice on both.
Person Who Decides to “Risk It For the Biscuit”
Okay, so you’ve done your own French taxes for years, and you’ve correctly reported your foreign-sourced income. There’s no real way for the tax authorities to know you work remotely, as we’ve always noted (there are no tax authority digital police roaming around, no matter what the Karens say…or believe!). But your long-term future in France doesn’t offer solid possibilities. To get a ten-year card you will need to prove financial anchorage in France, which you can’t do with mostly (or entirely) foreign-sourced income (N.B.: we have seen exceptions to this principle made for retirees). The bar is even higher for citizenship. So, you can potentially get away with this indefinitely, but you’ll be stuck with only ever getting one-year cards forever. Not a pleasant prospect.
Reflections
Other nations like Croatia and Spain have created much more progressive visas in which immigration and the tax authorities work together, so there could never have been any ambiguity about visas because one department considered remote working legal and the other illegal. That’s neither good nor bad, as every country has a right to run itself as it sees fit, but it’s unfortunate for those who would like to live in France but don’t wish to start a business, get into a relationship with a French person, or have the particular set of skills that would lead a French company to pay a one-time bounty + a percentage of every paycheck indefinitely just to hire you when they could hire a European. This ruling from the tax authorities excludes many people from France who would otherwise have come to the country, paid into the economy, possibly learned French, and made friends (and maybe found a spouse).
In a time of global uncertainty, such a stance cannot be considered welcoming from a country that prides itself on hospitality and showcasing its treasures. And why the tax authorities have chosen to effectively speak for French immigration, I’ll never know. However, it’s not our duty to like official rulings, but to comply with them and advise our clients to do so, as we always have here on TAIP.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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Hi Stephen, thanks for this update. The French are always keeping on my toes…
Just today I’m 4 months out from the expiration date of my first visitor visa. I was going to start my renewal application for another year of Visitor status, but now I’m questioning the best way to move forward. I believe I read in your article on applying for Profession Libérale that one cannot switch from Visitor to PL unless they’ve renewed at least once with Visitor status. What would you advise for folks in my situation who may not yet be eligible to apply for PL? Should I just renew as Visitor and prepare to apply for PL in 2026 or take another route?
Heather
Yes, I would advise you just renew as a visitor (since you can’t apply for change after only one year) and then you’ve got a year to plan your PL approach.
Thanks Stephen!
This really is a frustrating turn of events–thank you for writing up this clear and cogent summary! I had two questions:
1. For someone with VLS-TS Visiteur status who has *not yet renewed* their visa, would they still need to wait until the second renewal to apply for the change to Profession Libérale status?
2. Are there known “consequences” for spending that extra (required) year in non-compliant tax circumstances as a remote worker on a Visiteur visa?
Malinda
1. Yes, you always have to renew visitor at least once before switching.
2. No, there are no “consequences” (though digital Karens dream there are). There is no way for France to know you are working remotely. As we say, this is more about preparing for a long-term future in France, which you can’t do if you’re effectively disobeying tax law for years and years.
Thank you so much! This is a really helpful reply that helps me plan.
Hi guys- I have my appointment on the 17th next month and am in a total panic. I followed the exact procedure you guys have vouched for here- disclosed my job and income, letter from my employer and a French guarantor…I am at such a loss right now..Where do I go from here? Is there a loophole? Should I even go to the appointment in July?
Thank you guys a million!
Peyton
Peyton
You’re one of those people caught in the middle. You could request to change your appointment type and do a different visa classification instead, but I wouldn’t rush it and would go for August instead.
Don’t panic! There’s a path for you; we just have to figure out what it is. Feel free to use the contact us form to reach out.
Love this blog and thank you for helpful guidance.
Question for you – if someone applies and gets Profession Libérale visa, and if they lose their remote work during residency renewal process, are there any options to avoid rejection? Can someone claim passive income to substitute remote work or would a person be required to apply for a brand new VLS-TS visa?
Serge
You are misunderstanding how the PL visa works. It is a license for you to freelance, not for you to get a remote job. If you don’t have any freelancing clients when it comes time for renewal, you will get rejected. A rejection of a renewal for a PL visa will have a negative effect on future visa approvals. It may not prevent you from getting a visa, but it will not be looked at favorably.
Again, PL is not a license for you to get a remote job, but a license for you to freelance. You could ostensibly freelance for another company, but you should not look at the PL visa as a way to get a remote job. That’s not what the visa is intended for and you will fail in your application and almost certainly fail in your renewal if you choose to go this way.
We have consultations to help you reframe this. Feel free to use the contact us form.
Hi Stephen, Thanks, as always, for taking the time to help us all understand the inner workings of French Bureaucracy! I entered France on a VLS-TS visitor visa end of March, and am currently in the process of submitting my application for l’Assurance Maladie — would I still select “no professional activity,” or would I select “Professional activity” and specify that it is with a US Company, remotely, with US clients? It seems that now that they consider any work done while my butt is in France “professional activity,” that I would select that, but as I understand it, if I were employed by a French company, they would be doing this process for me, etc. Am I understanding this correctly?
Sarah
I think select no professional activity in France for now and you’ll get your card. As a rule, do not give the French more information than they are asking for nor information they are not expecting to receive (“I work professionally, but remotely for an American company”). For purposes of your specific case, just act in the rubric of status quo ante and then figure out long-term what you want to do regarding your visa.
Hello! Funny how life works, huh? I just applied for my au pair visa on June 30th but did not find out about this new law until today (July 9th). What I cannot figure out for the life of me: can Americans with a French AU PAIR visa work remotely for an American company? Part of my confusion is not being able to figure out if an au pair visa and “visitor” visa are the same thing. If it matters, I would still have a US address.
Carrie
Because the au pair visa implies a right to “work” I think you can safely work remotely and not worry. The au pair visa and visitor visa are NOT the same thing.
My visa service sent me the following today when I asked about this new news by The Local:
Yes, we have heard this concern recently, and I would like to reassure you:
we have received official confirmation from the French prefecture and the French consulate in London that remote work is still permitted with a VLS-TS, provided that all other visa conditions are met (in particular, not working for a French employer or generating income from a French company and having no impact on the French market).
Adam
We acknowledged this in this article that you may still be able to get a visa, but the French immigration authorities do not control tax policy and there is clearly some internal battle going on here. This represents a new stage in which the previous ambiguity no longer exists. You may get a visa and maintain one for years without detection, but if you plan for a future in France with either the ten-year card or citizenship, you won’t have the tax records to make your case.