Foreign companies service
As a foreign company, do you wish to hire an employee in France? Carry out your procedures with the Foreign Companies service.
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For whom?
- Employer
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What situation?
Your company is based abroad, without an establishment in France, and you wish to hire an employee. You are wondering about the reporting requirements for this hiring and about the payment of your contributions.
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Why use it?
This service allows you to register all your administrative procedures: company registration, declaration of employment and cessation of activity, declaration and payment of social contributions.
Which employers are concerned?
When your company does not have an establishment in France and you hire an employee on French territory, they are mandatorily covered by the French Social Security scheme. Therefore, you must declare them and pay the associated contributions in France, in order to finance their social protection (family benefits, reimbursement of healthcare expenses, etc.).
These formalities are carried out through the Urssaf's Foreign Companies service.
Good to know
On March 1, 2024, the role of social representative for a foreign firm was withdrawn (except for the pharmaceutical industries). If you are a social representative and have questions about this change, contact the Urssaf Foreign Companies service team.
However, the following are excluded from the Foreign Companies service:
- Monegasque companies, which must be declared to the Urssaf Provence Alpes-Côte d'Azur;
- non-professional organizers of live performances who employ occasional artists or technicians: they must be declared and their contributions paid to the Guso (dedicated service for occasional shows);
- bullfighting professionals (matadors from Spanish and Portuguese bullfights, banderilleros, picadors, sword handlers and assistants). They must be declared to Urssaf Languedoc-Roussillon.
Important
If the head office of your company is located abroad, but one or more of your establishments are in France: you declare and pay your social security contributions and levies under common law conditions to the body (Urssaf or CGSS) to which each of your establishments belongs for the employees you employ on French territory.
Which employees are concerned?
The employees concerned include all individuals covered by the French Social Security scheme who are employed by a foreign company not established in France.
All situations where French Social Security legislation applies are relevant, especially when:
- the employee works permanently on French territory and falls under the French scheme;
- the employee is sent temporarily to France and does not benefit from the secondment procedure (no maintenance under a foreign scheme), and therefore falls under the French scheme;
- the employee carries out their activity in France, notably in several European Union Member States, and is affiliated with the French scheme based on their residence in France. This employee may have, among their employers, an employer established in France or only employers not established on French territory. In this case, employers not established in France must submit the declarations and pay the Social Security contributions through the Foreign Companies service.
If your company is based in a European Union country or Switzerland, and your employee is in one of these situations:
- seconded onto French territory;
- working in several Member States;
- working on behalf of other employers;
You should contact the Urssaf International Mobility service, which will determine the legislation applicable to your employee.
If your company is located in a country that has signed a bilateral Social Security agreement with France, it is advisable to refer to the terms of the agreement. For more information, contact the Centre for European and International Liaisons for Social Security (Cleiss).
Good to know
Freelance sales representatives (VRP multicartes) employed in France by foreign companies must also be declared to the Foreign Companies service.
How to register for the Foreign Companies service
Registration for the Foreign Companies service is mandatory.
Simply create your personal space on the Foreign Companies Service website (urssaf.eu) by visiting “My space.”
Then, complete the EO form to obtain your SIRET number.
Afterward, you can carry out other formalities such as the declaration of employment.
For simplicity, you can declare and pay your mandatory social protection contributions in one go and in a simplified manner by using the Foreign Companies Title (TFE).