Working in France After Graduation: The Job-Search Residence Card

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

France lets non-EU graduates stay on after a master-level degree to gain a first work experience or to create a business. The route is a one-year residence card, and the salary thresholds you meet when you later change status are higher than many students expect. This guide follows the Service-Public page on the card, which was marked as verified on 1 June 2026, and the official online procedure for the provisional authorisation (APS). Amounts are revised regularly, so confirm them with your prefecture.

Who it is for

The card is for non-EU graduates. The Service-Public page says EU citizens are not concerned, and that the card does not apply to Algerian students. The student permit you hold now is described in the student visa guide for France.

The "job search or business creation" card

If you live in France with a student residence card (or the student mobility programme card), you can apply when you have obtained, within the last 12 months, a diploma at least equivalent to a master's. The page names examples such as a professional licence, a specialised master's and a Master of Science labelled by the Conférence des grandes écoles.

Key facts:

• Duration: one year, not renewable.
• Where and when: at the prefecture or sub-prefecture of your home, in the two months before your student card expires.
• Cost: EUR 150, made up of EUR 50 stamp duty and EUR 100 tax.
• If you left France: you must have obtained the diploma in France and apply within four years of getting it. You then ask for a long-stay visa valued as a residence permit (VLS-TS) marked "job search or business creation", validate it within three months of arrival and pay a EUR 100 tax in stamps on top of the visa fee.

Working during the year

An employee on this card does not need the employer to obtain a work authorisation, provided the job relates to your studies and pays more than EUR 2,800.53 gross a month. The 60 percent working time limit that applies to students does not apply to you on this card. If your job does not meet the pay and subject conditions, ask the prefecture what applies before you accept it.

Changing status when the year ends

The page lists the pay thresholds for the next card, all gross:

• employee or temporary worker card, for a job related to your training: EUR 2,800.53 a month
• Talent card for a qualified employee: EUR 39,582 a year
• Talent card for medical and pharmacy professions: EUR 41,386.48
• EU Blue Card: EUR 59,373 a year

Because the first card cannot be renewed, plan the change of status from the first months. Employers can tell you whether their offer reaches these thresholds, and the prefecture decides which card applies to your job.

The provisional authorisation (APS)

Nationals of countries that have a migration-flow agreement with France can instead ask for a provisional authorisation of stay (APS) for a first work experience. The official online procedure is aimed at students holding a diploma at least equivalent to a master's, and it names the nationalities concerned: Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Georgia, India, North Macedonia, Mauritius, Montenegro, Serbia and Tunisia. The APS is free, lets you take any salaried job up to 60 percent of statutory working time (964 hours a year), and the processing time stated is three months from a complete file. The documents include your residence card, civil status proof, proof of address and the diploma or its pass certificate.

Practical plan

1. In your final year, check which of the two routes matches your nationality.
2. Keep the date of your student card expiry and file within the two months before it.
3. Ask your school for a diploma or pass certificate early.
4. When you search, look at offers that relate to your studies and pay above the threshold.
5. In the first months of the card, ask the employer whether a change of status is possible.

Where to look next

• Student visa for France
• Scholarships and student jobs in France
• How much it costs to study in France: our catalogue lists 5,718 programmes in France

Official sources

• Service-Public: Residence card or VLS-TS for job search or business creation
• Démarches simplifiées: application for the APS after studies

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.