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Work in France
At the end of every month, you start worrying again. How will you
pay the rent, the food, the insurances and so on. You may add, subtract,
divide, multiply : no choice. You urgently need to find a job. But
how to proceed? Do you have the right to it do it, where to go ?
Before any thing, you need to know that you have the right to work.
For that purpose, it is necessary to respect the regulations concerning
the access to the employment in France. We are going to propose
you a series of points to be remembered before beginning your search
for a job.
Scarce employment : In France,
the employment situation is difficult (at the moment, there are
almost three million jobless people). This country has undergone
such an increase in unemployment that the authorities were led "
to close " the access to job market to the new immigrants. It will
be difficult for you to have a paid activity. However, to know this
reality does not prevent you from having a small job during the
year or from working during the holidays, to improve your budget.
Abide by the law : With the
economic crisis, the number of jobs offered by the French market
has considerably decreased. To protect this offer against the abuses
of the illegal work, very strict laws have been implemented in employment.
Most foreign students are refused access to a paid activity, as
they cannot obtain of an APT (temporary Working license). This license
is an necessary condition to be allowed to work. Do not find yourself
in an illegal situation towards the French legislation.
Remark : the employment situation is not opposable to the students
of Laotian, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lebanese nationality who ask
for a temporary working license (ministerial decree of December
14, 1984, modified by order of April 8, 1991).
Studies and employment : If
you have come to France for your studies, it is necessary then to
dedicate the main part of your time for that purpose. The priority
is to obtain a diploma, to complete a training, which will be useful
to you and your country. This way, any paid activity should be a
means and not the end in itself. It is true that if you are not
grant holder and that your resources turn out insufficient, you
will be " forced " to find a means to complete your budget. But
be careful not to do to the detriment of your main objective : your
university success.
Studies and training courses
: For the French students, the training courses have become the
necessary springboard to the first job. A training course or temporary
job should be the occasion to live a professional experience. It
is a question of discovering how a French company works. To discover
the professional life will give a supplementary and significant
value to your diploma. This way, the training courses represent
a very effective means to experience on the ground your theoretical
knowledge. This experience translates your will to enter the job
market.
The French schools and university increasingly ask for it. Get ready
to assume this contact which will be precious to acquire this know-how
which made of France one of the first industrial powers.
As for the salary, there will be no miracles. The training periods
are not often paid more than 775 euros. There is a fixed ceiling
amounting to 30 % of minimum wage (about 1 080 raw euros).
Provisional authorization of work
: required parts and procedures
Conditions
The work of the foreign students is defined by various circulars
and by the order of December 14, 1984 of the Ministry of Employment.
The Prefect is the only one who can give his agreement, which depends
on the employment situation in France. On the other hand, the immigrant
worker must benefit from conditions of employments identical to
those of the French employees. Your temporary working license will
be systematically refused to you :
if you are a grant holder of the French government (BGF), except
during the period of the university holidays when your grant is
suspended ;
if you join an establishment not opening straight ahead in aid of
the student Social Security.
If you belong to none of the categories quoted above, you can seek
an APT.
The great majority of the foreign students should obtain a license.
However, in certain cases, the steps vary. Please, read attentively
the following points to know about your situation and which steps
you should follow.
In most cases
A temporary working license is compulsory. You must not accept work
before obtaining this license. You must not either exceed a certain
number of hours : 19.30 a week either 84.30 hours a month or 884
hours a year. The disrespect of these two conditions would entail
the immediate retreat of residence permit. Furthermore, legal proceedings
could be launched against your employer. Be careful : these limits
schedules do not allow full-time work more than three consecutive
months.
The nationalities that are not subjected
to license
The students from the European Economic Space (European Union +
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), of Andorra, Monaco, the Gabun and
Togo do not need temporary working license.
Algerian students
In application of the French - Algerian agreements, the Algerian
students can have a wage-earning activity just with their " student
" residence certificate as far as this professional activity remains
secondary in the studies. For the ministry of the Employment, this
exemption of working license works within the limits of a part-time
job whereas the Council of State considered that an Algerian student
can have an activity superior to a half-time without needing a temporary
working license, since this activity remains secondary in its studies.
Political refugees (OFPRA card holders)
New York convention : working license is necessary.
Geneva convention : exemption of license.
Particular cases
The medical students, in pharmacy as well as the associated attachés
can be exempted, under certain conditions, from the APT. They must
inquire with their university or with the personnel department of
the hospital where they intend to work.
Provisional authorization licence : steps
and documents
The request of Temporary Working License (APT) is made with the
local Direction of foreign workforce (DDMOE) of your place of residence.
Documents to be supplied (photocopies and originals) to complete
your file are generally :
1. a valid student residence permit. Be careful : the receipt delivered
by certain prefectures before obtaining of the definitive permit
is not valid for this step.
2. The student card of the current academic year (not to forget
the part guaranteeing that you benefit from a student social coverage).
3. A contract or a commitment of work established by your future
employer containing the following information : the working type,
the place where you will work, schedules, date of hiring, duration
of the contract, amount of the salary.
4. A documentary evidence of place of residence (receipt of gas
or electricity, telephone invoice…).
5. A stamped envelope with your name.
6. Two photos.
7. Particular cases :
the students with research allowances and those who follow a compulsory
training period paid at least 30 % of Smic must also supply a certificate
of research allowance or agreement of training period signed by
both the University and the company ;
the ATER (temporary Attached to education and research) must supply
the ATER contract delivered by the vice-chancellorship + the order
of appointment or the report of installation.
Your request must on no account be sent by mail. You must personally
go and hand it back to the service concerned to answer possible
questions. The temporary working license is valid six months and
must necessarily be renewed within the time limits.
The different jobs : Before choosing your job, you
must know your timetable (indeed, it is important that the working
hours do not encroach on the courses), your resistance to the work,
your capacities. Actually, you must make the best of your speciality
to lose little time and put your knowledge into practice. For example,
if English is your mother tongue, do not hesitate to give courses
of English. If you follow studies in musicology and know how to
play an instrument, you can give courses, etc.
A highly rythmical job
Maria Ochoa, 36 ans, cubaine, Agronomy university,
DEA.
" It was already two years since we had arrived at the
university in Montpelier. Once a week, we met to play the music
of our country, Cuba. Sometimes, we sometimes played on the
street to make a little money. Often the spectators asked us
for information on our previous history, on instruments…
It gave us an idea.
It was a long time since we wanted to go farther. We have so
created a typical association law 1901 with a view to making
people know our country, our culture.
At the beginning, that was not a real success, we received few
calls and we did not manage to find a room to create an event.
An evening, a friend, a teacher of Spanish, made us a brilliant
proposition : to go to the secondary school to speak about Cuba
to the pupils, they were about 90! During one hour, we spoke
about Cuba, in Spanish. The statement was interrupted with pieces
of music. The pupils sang in choir some known songs which we
had put in our list. It was extraordinary to be able to speak
about our country, about our music, in a class of Spanish.
Since then we have not stopped. We have worked out a leaflet
to present our association and regularly we send it to the teachers
of Spanish in schools and the secondary schools in the area.
It is really an experience to try because it is very gratifying.
It is also a good means to be made a little money. "
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Working throughout the year
Baby-sitting:
The perfect student job ! Not exclusively reserved for the girls
and can help you to improve your incomes. To have a regular income,
select the families which need a student to fetch their child at
school (at about 16 hour 16. 30) and look after him/her until the
arrival of the parents. Looking after him means in most cases giving
him a snack, making him do his homework, giving him a dinner, his
bath and finally leading him to bed up to sleep. Patience and diplomacy
are needed so. The payments vary from a family to another, but know
that the basic rate is about 6 euros an hour. Every big city possesses
its network of agencies the addresses of which are available on
Minitel. Leave announcements too in bakeries, supermarkets or simply
in your building. The Crous can also help you find a family.
Au pair - family assistance:
This job is reserved exclusively for the foreign students (girls
or boys) and under certain conditions :
be between 18 30 ;
be bachelor ;
have registered in an establishment to follow courses of language
or French civilization ;
send to the family of reception a medical certificate and certified
copy of diplomas (indispensable to obtain the agreement of the family)
;
be registered with the Social Security (special conditions).
To obtain, before leaving, the visa of studies with this status
(au pair student), it is necessary to present a commitment emanating
from the family of reception. This document will necessarily be
approved by the local Direction of the work and the employment,
the service of foreign workers. We advise you to contact, before
leaving your country, an organisation in France which will send
you all the details and the steps to follow. If you are already
in France, you must get a temporary working license, except cases
listed in the paragraph " steps ".
Generally, the au-pair job is obtained thanks to an organisation.
This one will ask you for expenses of registration (from 70 to 200
euros). The au pair job can be interesting in many respects. Indeed,
you settle at the same time problems of flat and employment. Furthermore,
it offers certain other significant advantages. Living in a typically
French atmosphere, you can seize this opportunity to perfect your
knowledge of the French language, to enjoy French cuisine. It is
also for you the guarantee not to be alone, while being able to
perfectly isolate you to revise your courses (you are accommodated
in a single room).
Families, which are strictly selected by experimented organisations,
sometimes take time to make you discover the region. However, certain
difficulties can appear (lack of experience in chores, impatience
towards the children, the difficulties of adaptation to another
way of life, etc.). You must know yourself if the experience is
to be a total success. Before involving, think well : will you have
the patience to stay with kids ? Will you stand the constraints
of the domestic life ? The work which will be asked you throughout
your stay will be the following one, in some variants near: child
minder, school support, chores etc. at the rate of five hours a
day with weekly rest day.
In return, the family of reception must ensure food, bed and pay
you a monthly sum about 280 euros. Sometimes, they will take care
of the payment of your traveling costs. You should benefit from
one day of rest a week, of one Sunday a month and of some hours
a day to follow your classes. These modalities can vary according
to families. Do not hesitate to clarify things from the beginning.
If you have the impression that the family does not respect its
commitments, you should refer at once to the organisation which
supervises of your file. It can possibly put you in another family.
This frame, which can seem rigid. to you, will favour certain seriousness
in your studies.
Family life
Yuria Fujimura, 27, from Japan, student in languages
at university Lille II, in Deug.
" When I was in Tokyo I filled a file to be an au pair.
As I had registered at the university of Lille II, I did not
want to spend days to find a flat and a job. The formula seemed
advantageous to me because it allowed me at the same time to
meet my financial needs, to have certainly a roof and to be
able to perfect my French. Once in Lille, that was not easy.
I had just finished Victor Hugo's miserable and I was afraid
of falling in a "Thénardier style" family.
I was relieved when discovering the wide smile of the French
couple which had come to welcome me at the station. The room
which was inside the house was arranged tastefully. I had free
access to the kitchen and to the bathroom, and to the other
rooms too.
I worked four hours a day. My task consisted in looking for
two children, five and seven-year-old respectively. I had to
look after them in the morning, go and fetch them at the school
in the evening, with preparing dinner and puting them to bed.
Sometimes, a few hours of ironing. I could easily work and study,
which was essential for me. My parents had paid so much for
the it., I did not want to disappoint them. So I had to succeed.
I was lucky enough to have a really kind family of reception.
I know that it is not always the case. Some people can take
advantage of our fragility as foreign students to exploit us.
In that case it is not necessary to hesitate to refer at once
to the body which found the job.
What was really pleasant, with my family, it is that it integrated
me into its daily life. I had dinner with them. I even learnt
some recipes. Sometimes, one left all together for a weekend
"discovery". Thanks to them and to the children who
were lovely, I made huge progress in French, which also permitted
me to be able to express correctly at my exams. I learnt many
things on the French society. In some days, I will leave and
even if I am not in the habit of showing my feelings, I believe
that I am going to be very sad. Who knows, I may see them again
one day. "
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Remedial courses :
At the end the autumn term (in December) the parents get into a
panic in front of the report of their dear baby. Driven to despair,
they decide especially subjects such as mathematics and languages
(English, Spanish, German). Then, it is the moment to try it ! According
to th subject and the level, you can ask up to 20 euros of the hour.
To find the " under-gifted pupil ", which will need your
help, leave your telephone number (and stipulate your speciality)
to the shopkeepers, run an ad in the newspapers (eg Paris Paname,
J'annonce etc.), and consult the CIDJ or the Internet site : www.studyrama.com
Distribution of leaflets :
Companies need students for their promotion. The work is easy, but
you will need a good pair of shoes and gloves in winter. You will
be normally paid on the basis of the minimum wage. To contact one
of these companies, do not hesitate to ask one of the students distributing
these leaflets. He will give you the address and the phone number
of his employer. You can also find this type of offer in the Crous.
Be careful : if you happened to throw leaflets instead of distributing
them know that the companies very often send people to watch you
!
Restaurants :
There are two types of restaurants : the traditional ones and the
fast food. Both require strong health (standing all the time) to
stay smiling in front of customers. The restaurants offers a relatively
large number of places. If you come from a country the cuisine of
which is represented in France, try first and foremost the restaurants
of your nationality. You will be certainly better supervised there.
The big chains of fast food (Mac Donald Donald, Burger King, etc.)
recruit permanently with schedules adapted to your timetable. To
work there go directly (without making an appointment) to the person
responsible for the restaurant. He will ask you to fill a file in
which you will mention your available funds.
Hotels :
Very good to work while studying ! Hotels are sometimes in search
of night desk clerks. Generally this job leaves you time to revise
your courses. Avoid the classes which begin at eight o'clock in
the morning. You will need to sleep !
Seasonal work
Entertainment parks :
A great majority of parks are closed in winter. You should so send
your application in March. To obtain a post it is necessary to be
bilingual (it is your case), a correct presentation, a big availability
in the weekends, the holidays and the school holidays, as well as
good health. Generally, you work surrounded with students. The work
is tiring but the atmosphere is nice.
Agricultural work:
You can, during a certain period of the year, participate in the
agricultural works (crops of fruits and grape harvests). Generally,
it is the grape harvests which is most successful with the students.
The work is certainly hard but the atmosphere, very friendly. From
September till October, it is the occasion to dive into the "
Broad mass of French people ", to eat fresh products and to
start appreciating good wines. For this type of job, the simplest
is to send an application to the employment agency of the region.
Note : this kind of job is to avoid for those that have problems
of back. Indeed, for these crops or the collection of bunches of
grapes, you are most of the time bent in two… you'd better
know !
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