Working during your studies.

International students have the right to work while studying in France as long as they are enrolled in an institution that participates in the national student health-care plan.

Students who are not nationals of EU member countries must also hold a valid residency permit.

The right to work applies to all students, including those who are in France for the first time, those who are enrolled in the first year of a university program, and those who are enrolled full-time in a language school.

The law allows students to work 964 hours in a given year, which corresponds to 60% of full-time employment for the year.

Remember that you can’t expect to meet all of your expenses by working part-time, so you must have other means of support.

France has a national minimum hourly wage, known as the SMIC. The SMIC presently stands at € 9,53 gross per hour worked since January 1, 2014, before mandatory withholding for social benefits. Withholding reduces the worker’s net wage by about 20%.

You are no longer required to obtain temporary employment authorization (APT, Autorisation Provisoire de Travail) in order to work part-time while enrolled. (Exception: Algerian students are still covered by the Franco-Algerian agreement of December 27, 1968.)

Sources.

• Campus France
• Service-Public