Hi everyone I’m a qualified counsellor but know after advice on post that my qualifications won’t be recognised in France so I would not be able to work as a counsellor,I’m still wanting to buy and work in France so my question is what kind of jobs could I apply for English speaking as I don’t want to give up on my dream living in France xx
Do you have enough of a financial cushion to get a student visa and retrain in France? Have you looked at what you would needto do to get your qualifucations recognised here? And whether that is at all feasible?
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I would have thought a good command of the french language is the most important thing to have if you wish to work here,you will be dealing with french bureaucracy and all the paperwork that entails. You also need to be aware of all the new rules and regs since brexit regarding visas etc as you can’t now just rock up and work so easily.
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Thank you for advice I will look into things further
I was thinking of looking into retraining in France but unsure where to even start looking course to apply for or who to approach to find more information regarding this x
Perhaps the people who run this site could point you in the right direction…
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That’s a great link!
Lots of good information, however to the OP you need to layer over this the requirements for getting a visa. Which would make setting up an association less attractive as also have to show how you would gain an income and cover your healthcare,
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Since you say you need advice, and on the basis that you are free to ignore it with no offence taken, I recommend you get three years’ experience in the career you have recently qualified in, and save as much money as you can while doing so.
At the same time, decide whether working as a counsellor in a language, country and culture not your own is really a practical proposition. If you decide it is, then you will also need to study French intensively with the aim of reaching as close to fluency as you can (so that you can understand what your clients are telling you and advise them accurately).
By that stage, you will be in a position to assess whether emigrating to France to work is going to be possible, because you will know about your finances; visa requirements; requalifying; and about yourself and whether a move to France is a good idea.
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I got the impression there were all sorts of hoops to jump through regarding working if you need a visa which make it a bit of a vicious circle - something like it’s relatively easy to get a visa where you’re not allowed to work, but if you want to work you need a different visa and to have a job for which we have an actual need and your French has to be up to normal job requirements.
But I really know nothing about visas or cartes de séjour etc.
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The OP would need to speak and write french for the paperwork as english would not be allowed for written reports to other professional colleagues. If I had a euro for every time a doctor or medicalprofessional has tried their command of the english language on my family but only to remind us that in France all written papers must be in french because mistakes can easily be made by a non-fluent speaker. Porridge speaks some good information and you should never ever rely on just getting purely english speaking clients here because so many come and go and again would be linked into other areas of treatment given by french professionals. Do your research carefully regarding visas, the french authorities are now getting picky and also, remember France has a system of all workers/employers/self employed paying high social charges whether the money is earned or not, once in the system its hard to get out again.
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I emailed the lady but she said she couldn’t offer me any help thank you for replying though x
Thank you so much really appreciate your advice
Thank you i will make sure i research before committing,i might buy a holiday home and hopefully retire to France ,Im 50 so not many years to wait and that way I can carry on with my business at home then visit my new home on holiday
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Here are my thoughts about where you are…
To come and live permanently in France now you either need to have
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an unearned income in region of €1600 a month when you can get a renewable visitor visa as long as you promise not to do any work in France (even online remote work)
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develop a detailed business plan for something that earns about the same and apply for an auto entrepreneur visa. You could set up as an unregistered english only counsellor but I think would struggle to show you could generate the income required. Unless of course you currently have a healthy on-line business that you could continue to operate (paying taxes here) while you build up more clients here.
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get someone to offer you a job and be prepared to do the necessary to get you a work permit.
None of the options are easy
You don’t say how well you know France and what experience you have of living here. So I do think that perhaps some trial runs would be sensible. Outside July and August you can rent seasonal places at vaguely reasonable amounts. Perhaps as a starter plan a 2 month trip and sign up to intensive language while you are here?
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A long shot, in addition to Jane’s valuable points to consider…I assume you’ve not got any EU citizen parents or grandparents, and/or an EU citizen spouse, to potentially enable you to acquire EU citizenship and/or the right to live and work in the EU (and obviously France?).
It’s quite surprising, for example, how many people can find an Irish born Granny tucked away in the family tree somewhere…
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Yes, I have an Irish grandfather, my fathers father. Unfortunately, he didn’t marry my grandmother and although his name is on the birth certificate, he went back to Ireland shortly after my father was born. I discovered recently, just before my mother died, that he wanted to marry my grandmother, but the family ‘put a stop to it’, presumably because of prejudice towards the Irish, which in 1929 was very strong. A real shame. At some point, I intend to try to find out if I have any family in Ireland descended from my grandfather.
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Apologies for slight thread drift, but that’s a fascinating - and sad - family history, Hairbear. At the practical (ie EU passport) level, did you consider/research the possibility of going down the Irish citizenship route for yourself?
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That may not be a problem. There was no evidence that my Irish grandparents married, but the Department of Foreign Births Registration did not see this as an obstacle as many records were destroyed in the 1922 fire during the Civil War.
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That’s interesting @_Brian . They would have been married in the UK, and it would have been 1929 so the same may not apply here. Think I need a copy of the birth certificate.
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I didn’t consider it really as I thought them not being married would be a barrier. But from what @_Brian says, maybe not. It is sad really and the family covered it up. My father from birth was brought up by my grandma’s sister, who was married, and my grandma moved to the Isle of Man and worked there for several years before returning so my father never got to know his mother properly and didn’t realise his auntie was not his mother until he was an adult.