FAQ Residence permit area
Residence permit "job search/business creation"
Who can apply for the “job search/business creation” residence permit (RECE)?
At the end of your studies and after obtaining a French higher education diploma, you can apply for a temporary “job search/business creation” residence permit to look for a job in France or create your own business. A certain level of education is required. The application for a RECE card is made either before the expiry of your residence permit, or abroad, at the consulate of the country of residence, and within a maximum period of 4 years after obtaining the diploma.
Researchers who have completed their work are also eligible to apply.
Can I request an appointment at the GATE for this type of residence permit?
You must make an appointment online on the your Prefecture website. If you have any questions about what you need to provide, or if you want to check your file, you can go to PISA at the GATE. An agent will guide you through the process.
What parts do I need to provide?
Students:
- votre passeport,
- birth certificate
- 3 photos
- your valid “student” (or “student-mobility programme”) residence permit
- your diploma obtained during the year or a certificate of successful completion from the selection board
- proof of health insurance, proof of address of at least three months old
Please note: Don’t forget to bring the original documents and their photocopies
Your residence permit will cost you 49 euros in tax stamps, you can buy an electronic stamp online with your payment card or in a tobacconist’s shop, on a dedicated terminal, and pay it in cash. If you apply from abroad the cost is 79€.
Researchers:
If you have completed your research, you will need to bring the following documents with you:
- your passport
- your birth certificate
- 3 photos
- your valid “talent researcher passport” (or “mobility programme researcher”)
- confirmation by the research organisation of completion of research work
- proof of health insurance
- proof of a project to set up a company in a field corresponding to your research (if this is your objective),
- proof of residence of at at least 3 months.
Please note: Don’t forget to bring the original documents and their photocopies
Your residence permit will cost 269 euros in tax stamps, you can buy an electronic stamp online with your payment card or in a tobacconist’s shop, on a dedicated terminal, and pay it in cash.
When is the change in status to be made?
You have 12 months to find a job or start your own business. If your situation changes, don’t wait until your residence permit expires to do so.
You have found a job
- If you have a permanent (CDI) or fixed-term (CDD) employment contract, with remuneration at least equal to one and a half times the minimum wage (i. e. approximately €2,281. 82 gross monthly in 2019), you can apply either for a “salaried employee” or “temporary worker” temporary residence permit (the employment situation in France is not opposable to you), or a multi-year “talent – researcher passport” residence permit if you are engaged in a research activity.
Your employment contract will have to be validated by the DIRECCTE (regional directorate of Enterprises, Competition, Consumption, Labour and Employment) in the case of an application for a “salaried employee” or “temporary worker” residence permit. This is not necessary in the case of a “talent passport” residence permit. - If you have an employment contract with a gross annual salary of more than €36,509. 20, you can apply for a multi-year “talent passport” residence permit, mentioning “qualified employee” or “innovative company”.
You have started a business
If you have set up a business or developed a self-employed activity whose viability you can justify, you can apply for a temporary residence permit with the mention “entrepreneur/self-employed person” or a multi-year residence permit with the mention “business start-up passport”.
Who can apply for a “job search/business creation” residence permit?
Students who have resided in France with a student residence permit (such as a VLS-TS or a residence permit mentioning “student”) and who have obtained one of the following French higher education diplomas :
–a bachelor’s degree
– a Master’s degree or equivalent (such as an engineering degree, a degree from an institute of political studies (IEP),a higher degree in accounting and management, a veterinary degree, etc. ),
– a Specialized Master
– a Master of Sciences (Msc) accredited by the Conférence des grandes écoles
Researchers who have resided in France with a “passeport talent” residence permit mentioning “researcher” and who have completed their research work.
Attention: some students are not concerned by the residence permit for job search/business creation. Including:
- Algerian students. They are subject to other rules
- students are nationals of countries that have concluded migration flow agreements with France. They may continue to apply for a provisional residence permit (APS).
Which countries are concerned and for how long?
-
- Benin, Burkina Faso, Mauritius, Tunisia, Lebanon (6 months renewable once);
- Cap Vert, Congo (9 months) ;
- Gabon (9 mois,renewable once) ;
- Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia (12 months).
For more information :
