France — Work (Work permit (salarié card) — especially shortage occupations)

Main requirements

A job offer from a French employer, who applies online for your work authorisation before entry. The job must have been advertised for 3 consecutive weeks within the previous 6 months with the public employment service (e.g. France Travail) without a suitable candidate, unless it is on the métiers en tension list. Pay must be at least the SMIC (€1,867.02 gross/month per service-public, checked June 2026) or the collective-agreement wage. The métiers en tension list is set region by region by arrêté and changes, so check the current list first. For contracts of 12 months or more the employer also pays a foreign-hire tax (55% of one month's gross pay, capped at €2,567.15), itself a barrier to hiring from abroad. No answer from the prefect within 2 months means refusal.

Documents

Passport; contract or offer; degree and work certificates; professional licence if regulated; France-Visas form.

Language

The employer sets language needs for entry; French usually matters much more here than for the Blue Card. The salarié card falls under the integration contract (CIR), so since 2026 the first multi-year card (after year one) requires A2 French and a pass in the civic exam.

Costs and proof of funds

Visa at most €99 (per the embassy) + VFS €40; after arrival, validating a work VLS-TS costs €300 in tax stamps. No separate proof-of-funds amount is stated in the official source, but bring money for the first months.

Steps and timeline

Find an employer; job ad (if required) and online work-authorisation request by the employer; approval; long-stay visa via France-Visas and VFS Tehran; validate the VLS-TS within 3 months.

Iran-specific notes

Per the embassy, VFS Tehran appointments for work visas are booked on the VFS site (visa.vfsglobal.com/irn/fr/fra). The Tehran visa service was suspended in July 2025 and, per the embassy, has accepted files again since 14 June 2026; it can close suddenly, so check embassy notices before applying. The embassy warns only VFS gives appointments, VFS charges €40 and the official visa fee is at most €99; anyone promising a guaranteed visa is a scam. Some employers are more cautious with Iranians because of sanctions and payroll/banking issues. Finding an employer willing to run the advert and permit process for someone in Iran is hard; most Iranians use this route after studying in France.

After arrival (work while studying, post-study stay, permanent residence)

The first salarié VLS-TS or card lasts 1 year. If you're still employed, renewal gives a 4-year multi-year card, provided you have A2 French and pass the civic exam; file the renewal at least 2 months before expiry. A later resident card requires the civic exam and B1 French.