France’s New Immigration Law Increases Restrictions on Intra-Company Transfers

Employers of foreign workers in France should take note of increased restrictions placed on Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) Work Permits (Secondment) pursuant to the implementation of France’s 2018 Asylum and Immigration Law, which will go into effect on March 1, 2019.

The ICT Work Permit (Secondment) provides an avenue of mobility for an employee from a company outside of France to be transferred to a company in France that belongs to the same corporate group.

Under the 2018 Asylum and Immigration Law, restrictions on the ICT Work Permit (Secondment) will be increased as follows:

  • Assignee must have at least?six (6) months?of seniority within the group companies outside of France (comparison:?changed from at least?three (3) months);
  • The maximum time period for the corresponding residence permit is?three (3) years?and such residence permit is nonrenewable (comparison:?previously the nonrenewable aspect for residence permits was not clearly stated); and
  • For an assignee to undertake a follow-up secondment, there must be a cool-off period of at least?six (6) months?where the assignee has resided outside of France (comparison:?previously there was no cool-off period requirement).

Employers of foreign workers in France should identify which current and potential employees may be affected by the increased restrictions in respect of ICT Work Permits (Secondment) and plan accordingly.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your Graham Adair representative.?For more frequent updates, please?follow us on?Twitter?(@GrahamAdairLaw).