Immigration: New Year sudden developments
… further to a particulary active last quarter of 2012!
Cancellation of August 11, 2011 decree, settling a list of 14 shortage occupations
By a judgment of December 26th 2012 (CE, 26 décembre 2012, CGT, req. n° 353288), the “Conseil d’Etat” (the highest administrative jurisdiction) canceled the list of 14 shortage positions for foreigners non nationals of the EU, EEE or Switzerland.
The decree of August 11th 2011 setting this list has been cancelled after the General Labor Confederation (CGT in French) appealed against on grounds of illegality. Judges agreed and stated that the decree had been adopted with an irregularity in the procedure.
Therefore, the previous decree, establishing a list of 30 shortage positions comes into force again.
Cancellation of payment of the OFII tax at the French consulate in the country of residence for long stay visa valid as resident permit.
Since fall 2012, some consulates website indicated that starting from January 1st 2013, the OFII tax due for issuance of resident permit would be payable at the French Consulate, in addition to the visa fees (€99).
This decision had been reviewed by the Budget bill for 2013, before the new rule could enter into force on January 1st. Applicants for the long stay visa valid as a resident permit will keep paying the two taxes separately:
- The visa fees (around €99) when submitting the long stay visa application at the consulate
- The OFII tax (€241) to be paid when the applicant completes the OFII medical exam in France;
Budget bill for 2013 – published in the Official Journal of the French Republic (OJFR) on December 30th 2012 – changes some financial measures of the Code of Entry and Residence of Aliens and the Right to Asylum (CESEDA). Hereafter is an overview of the provisions regarding foreign employees:
IMPORTANT DECREASE OF THE TAXES DUES BY THE FOREIGNER TO THE IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION OFFICE (OFII) IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A RESIDENT PERMIT.
Since 2012, the tax to be paid for issuance of the first residence permit, has been aligned to a common amount of €349 and no longer depends on the work status (exception for student and trainee). In 2013, there is a general decrease from €349 to €241 (for any resident permit collected from January 1st 2013).
Besides, foreigner applying for the European Blue card resident permit will now have to pay the same tax as everybody (there was an exception in 2012 over this kind of application).
INCREASE OF THE TAX DUE BY THE EMPLOYER TO THE IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION OFFICE (OFII)
For foreign employees coming to work in France more than 3 months, employers had to pay 50% of the salary to the OFII – within the limit of 2,5 time the French minimum wage (SMIC).
From January 1st this tax raises to 55% of the salary to the OFII – within the limit of 2,5 time the French minimum wage (SMIC).
In addition, the tax due by the employer has slightly changed, following the last increased of the French minimum wage (SMIC) on January 1st 2013 (monthly gross salary grew from €1425.67 to €1430.22).
NB: Employers of Romanian and Bulgarian Nationals are now exempted from that tax.
And also in 2012, as a reminder:
INCREASE OF THE MINIMUM WAGE REQUIRED FOR THE EUROPEAN BLUE CARD
With a ministerial order published on November the 1st, annual gross salary required for the European Blue Card moved from €51 443 to €52752, meaning that the monthly gross wage increased from €4287 to €4396 (cf. arrêté NOR : INTV1236923A of the 17th of October 2012)
AS A REMINDER, SINCE OCTOBER LIST OF SHORTAGE OCCUPATIONS HAS BEEN INCREASED FOR ROMANIAN AND BULGARIAN NATIONALS
NB: Romanians and Bulgarians still need to obtain a work permit until January 1st 2014. But, for some occupations, there is a simplified and quicker procedure.
Starting from the 1st of October, 291 positions (instead of 150) are exempted from completing a labor market search. This is applicable for employers seeking to hire Romanian and Bulgarian nationals with a local hire in France.
Complete list with the list of 291 jobs
