Working while studying in France: 964 hours a year, the rules

Information checked on 11 September 2026.

Working while studying is often as much a necessity as a choice: paying the rent, topping up the money your family sends and, since July 2026, sometimes keeping your housing aid. France allows international students to work, but within a precise framework, with a ceiling on hours that the préfecture (the local state office) can look at when you renew your titre de séjour (residence permit). Here are the rules as set by the French Labour Code and Service Public (the official French government portal), the special cases, and where to look. If you are still at the start of the process, begin with our complete guide to the Campus France procedure.

The 964-hours-a-year rule

A non-European student holding a student residence permit can work up to 964 hours a year without applying for a work permit. This ceiling corresponds to 60 % of the legal annual working time (article R. 5221-26 of the Labour Code). Work remains a secondary activity: you are in France first and foremost to study.

The year does not run from January to December. According to Service Public, it starts when the VLS-TS (long-stay visa serving as a residence permit) is validated or when the residence card is issued. The example given: for a permit issued on 1 September 2025, the 964 hours run until 31 August 2026.

The ceiling is annual: you can work more during the holidays and less during exam periods, as long as the total for the period stays below 964 hours. It applies across all employers combined: if you hold two jobs, the hours add up. Keep your own count, backed by your payslips.

Exceeding the ceiling: what you risk

Service Public is explicit: a student who does not respect the 964-hour limit risks having their residence permit withdrawn and its renewal refused. At renewal, the préfecture also examines whether your studies are genuine and serious: a job that takes over from your classes can cost you far more than it earns. Working beyond the limit is only possible with a work permit requested by the employer, in cases linked to your course such as work-study (see below).

The conditions: the right permit and the employer's declaration

You need one of these two permits:

• a VLS-TS marked « étudiant », validated online after you arrive;
• a « étudiant » residence card.

The VLS-TS is validated on the ANEF website (France's online service for foreign nationals) within three months of arrival, and that validation is what starts your entitlement. Do it before signing an employment contract: see our guide to validating your VLS-TS.

You have no work permit to apply for. The employer, however, must send a named declaration to the préfecture of the department where it has its head office, at least two working days before hiring you. Without a reply from the préfecture within two working days of receipt, the check is deemed done. Many small employers are unaware of this formality: give them a copy of your permit and remind them. Failing to do it exposes the employer to a fifth-class offence, according to the Rhône préfecture.

Note: the student residence card does not allow you to be self-employed (auto-entrepreneur). The work allowed is salaried employment.

Algerian students: a separate regime

Algerian students fall under the 1968 Franco-Algerian agreement, not the general regime. According to Service Public:

• the permit required is the « étudiant » residence certificate (certificat de résidence);
• the employer must apply for and obtain a work permit before the job starts, online only;
• once the permit is obtained, the student can work at most 50 % of the annual working time practised in the sector or profession concerned;
• the employer's named declaration to the préfecture, two working days before hiring, also applies;
• the student residence certificate does not allow self-employment.

For an apprenticeship contract, the permit obtained allows work beyond 50 % as part of the studies. If you are Algerian, don't rely on general advice about the 964 hours: it does not apply to you.

Internships and work-study: what doesn't count the same way

Internships under an agreement

An internship carried out as part of your course, under an internship agreement signed with your institution, is not an employment contract: it requires no work permit (Rhône préfecture). The internship allowance is not a salary, and the 964-hour ceiling concerns salaried activity: an internship under an agreement is therefore, in principle, not counted towards that ceiling. If you combine a long internship with a job, have this confirmed by your institution's internship office.

Apprenticeship and professionalisation contracts

• Apprenticeship contract: possible if you have been in France for more than a year, a condition not required for a master's degree or a level I diploma recognised by the Conférence des grandes écoles. Once the contract is validated by the skills operator (Opco), the employer has no work permit to request, and you can work beyond 964 hours as part of your course.
• Professionalisation contract: also possible after more than a year in France; to exceed 964 hours, the employer must apply for and obtain a work permit.

Since July 2026, work-study has another advantage: it is one of the situations that keep your right to housing aid.

Pay, tax and the APL: what a student job involves

The minimum wage applies to you

International student or not, an employee is paid at least the SMIC, the French minimum wage. Since 1 June 2026, it stands at 12.31 € gross per hour, i.e. 1,867.02 € gross per month for 35 hours a week (Ministry of Labour). As an order of magnitude, 964 hours paid at the minimum wage come to about 11,870 € gross over a year: that is a ceiling, not a norm, and the net amount is lower.

Don't count on a future job for your visa file: the minimum resources, now 877.50 € a month, must be proven at the time of application. See our article on the minimum resources for a student visa.

Tax

From the age of 18, a tax return may be due, depending on your situation. For under-26s, wages from a student job are exempt up to three times the monthly minimum wage (5,405 € for 2025 income, according to etudiant.gouv.fr); only the part above that has to be declared. Internship allowances benefit from a separate exemption. Your situation also depends on your tax residence: if in doubt, ask the public finance centre (centre des finances publiques) in your city.

The link with the APL since July 2026

Since 1 July 2026, non-European students without a means-tested grant are no longer entitled to the APL (France's housing allowance), except in certain cases, including having a professional activity. The CAF (the family allowance fund) sets no threshold; according to the Ministry of Housing, quoted by franceinfo, one hour a week is enough. A small, regular job can therefore have a double effect: an income, and keeping your housing aid. Declare it to the CAF. It is all explained in our article on the end of the APL for non-European students.

Where to find a student job

Start with the institutional websites listed by Campus France:

• Jobaviz (jobaviz.fr), the official CROUS platform, with offers compatible with your studies;
• 1jeune1solution (1jeune1solution.gouv.fr), the French state's website, which offers, among others, jobs of 15 hours a week at most;
• the jobs section of etudiant.gouv.fr and the CIDJ (France's youth information centre);
• your institution: many universities hire their own students (libraries, reception, tutoring) and share local offers.

Be wary of offers that promise a lot for little, ask for a payment to « activate » a position or suggest working without a contract. Undeclared work gives you no payslip, no protection in case of an accident and no proof of activity for the CAF or the préfecture.

The compatriot network to find work faster

Many jobs are found through someone rather than through an ad. In your city's community on Compatri, there are compatriots already working in restaurants, retail, logistics or childcare, others who run a business or an association and hire, and many who know which employers declare their student staff properly. To activate this network without rushing it, see our article on the diaspora professional network.

You can join the community of your future city even before you arrive: that is the time to ask how students organise themselves locally, which sectors are hiring, which hours fit around classes. See joining your community before you leave. Algerian students will also find their compatriots on the Algerian diaspora page.

Compatri is neither a temping agency nor a legal service: if you have doubts about your right to work, contact the préfecture or your institution's international relations office.

Official sources

• Service Public: can a non-European student work in France?
• Légifrance: article R. 5221-26 of the Labour Code
• Rhône préfecture: foreign students' right to work
• Ministry of Labour: SMIC increase on 1 June 2026
• Étudiant.gouv: income tax for students
• Campus France: institutional websites for finding a job