Expat Community > France

mharp142
Joined 2005
Posts: 3

Seeking info on becoming a travailleur independent in France

19 years ago

Bonjour a tous,

I'm trying to gather information on becoming a travailleur independent in Frances and would appreciate advice from others who have gone through this experience.

This summer I transferred from my NYC-based advertising agency to our Paris office for a 3 month extended business trip. The plan was for me to join the Paris office immediately on a tourist visa and then the long-term carte de sejour paper work would be started as soon as I arrived, so that once my business trip was about to expire, my visa would be ready to go.

Unfortunately for me, it's been a difficult time in Europe for the client I was working on, so my contract was not extended beyond the 3 month period and the funding is not available for the Paris office to sponsor my work visa in France.

I've returned to NYC temporarily to figure out next steps, but am determined to return to Paris as quickly as possible, even if I must use my own means to do so---my girlfriend is a French citizen and still in Paris, so it's been a challenge.

Potential Options I've researched:

Artist's Visa or Travailleur Independent (freelance work visa): I've been approached by my company and other advertising agencies about freelance opportunities available in Paris, but I will need to already have a work visa in order to be able to take advantage. I'm also a freelance photographer and would like to set up my visa so that I could legally do freelance work in both areas (i.e., Marketing Consulting / Photography).

I've gotten conflicting information from the consulate and multiple US & French-based attorneys, can you please shed some light on whether you think this is a viable option for me? Or at the least, recommend immigration attorneys that I could consult?

To better help you respond to my question, I have included some more details on how I meet the criteria for travailleur independent as I understand them below.

Thank you in advance and I hope to hear from you soon.

Michael

Housing
My girlfriend owns her apartment in Paris and I'll be staying with her.

Financial
I can prove that i have the financial means to support myself for one year

Health Insurance
I currently have health insurance through my company in the US and probably could continue to get it through them for at least 6 months by taking a leave of absence from the company

Professional Credentials
I have an extensive portfolio and tearsheets for my photography and strong resume for my advertising experience.

But-will I need a list of committed clients in France? I do not have any guarantees at the moment, unfortunately.

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