Student Job Rules in France: Hour Limits, Contracts, and Where to Find Work

How many hours you work depends on your nationality

EU, EEA and Swiss students in France work under the same rules as French citizens, no special authorization and no hour cap tied to student status. Your residence document already covers you, according to Service-public.fr .

Non-EU students hold a different limit. Your student residence permit or long-stay visa marked "étudiant" (VLS-TS) doubles as a work authorization for up to 964 hours a year, 60% of the legal full-time work year, according to Campus France . Algerian students fall under a separate bilateral agreement with a lower annual cap, check your specific permit rather than assuming the 964-hour figure applies to you.

The 964-hour cap explained

The cap runs by calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December, not from your visa issue date or academic year start. Split those hours across employers and months as you like, as long as the yearly total stays under 964. Going over the limit risks your right to renew your residence permit, and your employer faces fines for employing you without proper authorization.

Internships required by your degree program don't count toward the 964 hours, as long as they're part of your curriculum and covered by an internship agreement (convention de stage) with your school.

A quick example

A non-EU student works 15 hours a week at a cafe near campus from September through June, then increases to 30 hours a week for six weeks over the summer. Across the year this totals roughly 555 hours during term plus 180 hours over summer, well inside the 964-hour annual cap, leaving room for occasional extra shifts before hitting the limit.

Typical student contracts

• Fixed-term contracts (CDD), the most common format for retail, hospitality and tutoring jobs.

• Jobs étudiants through CROUS, positions inside your own university such as library desks, exam supervision or student welcome points, capped at 670 hours across the academic year and 300 hours over summer, according to Campus France .

• Apprenticeship contracts (contrat d'apprentissage or de professionnalisation), open to some master's students and combine paid work with your course.

Minimum wage and pay

France's minimum wage (SMIC) rose to 12.31 euros gross an hour from 1 June 2026, following a mid-year adjustment tied to inflation, according to the Ministry of Labour . Most student jobs pay at or close to this rate, expect deductions for social contributions to bring your net pay below the gross figure on your payslip.

What's on your payslip

French payslips (bulletins de salaire) break social contributions down line by line, health insurance, pension and unemployment insurance all appear as separate deductions. Your employer calculates and withholds these automatically each month, so your net pay lands noticeably below the gross hourly rate you agreed to. Keep every payslip, you need them both to prove your working hours and, for non-EU students, to support your residence permit renewal.

Where to find student jobs

• Jobaviz, the CROUS-run job platform built for students, lists positions vetted for student-friendly hours.

• Your university's career service (bureau des stages et de l'emploi) posts jobs open to students, often including the on-campus CROUS roles.

• France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) lists part-time and seasonal roles open to anyone with the right to work in France.

• Local shops, cafes and restaurants near campus often hire directly, walk in with a CV rather than waiting for an online listing.

Keep proof of your hours

Ask your employer for payslips (bulletins de salaire) every month and keep them. If you renew your residence permit or apply for a change of status later, the prefecture asks you to show you stayed under your annual hour limit, and payslips are the easiest way to prove it.

Before you accept a job offer

1. Check your residence permit or visa states "étudiant" and confirm it doubles as your work authorization.

2. Ask your employer for a written contract stating your hourly rate and expected hours.

3. Track your hours yourself in a simple spreadsheet from your first shift, don't rely on memory by December.

4. If you already work another job, add up your total hours across all employers, the 964-hour cap applies to your combined work, not per job.