Post Study Work Permits for Indian Students in France 2025

No matter what your reason is, if you are looking to study abroad, you are also aspiring to look for full-time employment after completing your education. Studying and working in the same country as France can add precious experience to your resume and help you find a permanent place in the country.  

Finding jobs after completing your studies within the same country can be difficult. For this reason, several major study-abroad destinations like France allow their international students to look for jobs within a specific amount of time. This article explains the rules and guidelines as pertinent for Indian students studying in or planning to study in France.

Also Read: 

• Part Time Work Options in France
• Explore Universities in France
• Campus France - What is it?

Post Study Work Permit on France Student Visa 2025

There are different kinds of student visas available in France and each kind of student visa has built-in eligibility for post-study work permissions. Here’s a quick look at the same.

Simply put, international students who are planning to take up small and short-term courses in France cannot stay in France. Only students who are taking up long-term courses like bachelor's and master's and have a Visa de Long Sejour Etudes or Long Stay Study Visa for France get permission to stay in the country after completing the course.

Tenure of a Post Study Work Visa in France 

Non-European international students, especially Indian students who do not have a work contract or promise of employment can apply for an Autorisation Provisoire de Séjour (APS - temporary resident permit). This post-study work permit is valid for 12 months and can be renewed only once (only for Indian students as per the Bilateral agreements on professional mobility). This means Indian students with a master's or bachelor's degree can remain in France for a maximum of 2 years to look for work or start their own business. 

A student, upon completing studies in France, must as per the immigration rules of the country, leave France. She/he can, however, apply for a residence permit for France if she/he has paid employment. This is applicable for both bachelor's and master’s programmes and students will have to apply for a work permit.

What is important to understand is that this extended residence permit allows a student only to take up part-time employment of up to 964 hours – as allowed to students already studying in French Universities. This relates to about 60% of full employment. If a student, with a work permit, is able to find employment that is more than 1.5 times the minimum wage guarantee, she/he must then apply for a Work Permit. So when deciding on which country to study in, keep these advantages of French opportunities in mind.

Those who hold a ‘passport talent’ residence permit along with the ‘EU Blue Card’, can get an EU long-term residence permit after staying for uninterrupted stay for five years in the EU. Also, candidates need to reside in France continuously for the last two years.

Working in France After Your Studies

Non-European international students willing to live and work in France after the completion of their studies must have a work contract or promise of employment along with getting paid one and a half times the minimum wage, i.e. €1,398.69 gross (after the deduction of CSG and CRDS) per month as of October 2024. 

Without a contract of employment, students can request an APS - temporary resident permit or Autorisation Provisoire de Séjour. The APS, however once renewable, allows Indian students to stay in France for a total of 24 months to look for work. Students having either a professional bachelor's or master's degree or in the state of starting a company can apply for the same.  

Students on an APS can work on the same conditions as with their student visas, i.e. working up to 20 hours per week. 

Related Reads

• French Student Visa Guide
• Student Guide to France