From student to employee in France: what salary do you need?
Enter the annual salary offered: the calculator shows whether the job escapes the labour-market test and which talent cards are within reach.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Status change after the RECE card: annual threshold
€33,606.36
Your contract meets the salary condition
| Talent: skilled employee (French master’s) | €39,582 · ✗ |
| EU Blue Card | €59,373 · ✗ |
| Talent: medical professions | €41,386 · ✗ |
| Talent: company officer | €67,213 · ✗ |
| Blue Card length | 24 months |
| Talent card stamps | €350 |
Thresholds set by the order of 21 August 2025 (reference salary) and the minimum wage of 1 June 2026. The talent card needs no work authorisation; the family follows with the talent-family card.
Thresholds and sourcesMoving from a student card to a work permit is called a change of status (changement de statut), and the rule depends on your degree. With a two-year diploma, the employer obtains a work authorisation and the labour-market test applies (the job must be advertised first), unless the role is on the shortage-occupation list. With a master's, a professional bachelor's (licence professionnelle) or an equivalent degree earned in France, a job related to your studies escapes that test if the pay reaches one and a half times the minimum wage: €2,800.53 gross a month since the 1 June 2026 increase, with the minimum wage itself at €1,867.02. For the job-search card, pay must be strictly above that figure. A post at €36,000 a year, €3,000 a month, clears the bar but remains €3,582 short of the skilled-employee talent card. The job-search card costs €150, the employee card €350 on first issue. You apply in the two months before your student card expires.
What the calculator compares
It turns your annual salary into a monthly figure and compares it with €2,800.53, one and a half times the gross monthly minimum wage (Smic). It also shows the talent card thresholds, because a well-paid graduate can skip the employee card altogether. The rules come from the official page on working after your studies and the job-search and business-creation card page (both in French).
| Salary offered | Card to apply for | Work authorisation |
|---|---|---|
| above €2,800.53 a month, job linked to studies | Employee or temporary worker | yes, without labour-market test |
| from €39,582 a year, French master’s | Talent: skilled employee | no |
| from €41,386.48 a year | Talent: medical professions | no |
| from €59,373 a year | Talent: EU Blue Card | no |
Two-year diplomas and bachelor's degrees
Without a master's or professional bachelor's, the change of status goes through a work authorisation requested by the employer and the labour-market test, unless the job is on the shortage-occupation list (métiers en tension). Nationals of countries with a migration agreement with France have their own occupation lists. During your studies, the page on student work sets the 964-hour annual limit. The legal basis is sections L422-8 to L422-14 of the CESEDA immigration code.
Limits
Algerian students fall under the Franco-Algerian agreement and cannot apply for the job-search card. The calculator does not check the link between the job and the degree, nor the type of contract: the prefecture decides on the documents.