How to Help Your French Employer File Work Authorization on ANEF

The single biggest bottleneck in the French employee visa process is not your documents, your qualifications, or the consular appointment. It is getting your employer to correctly complete their autorisation de travail filing on the ANEF portal. This filing is legally the employer's responsibility, but in practice, if your employer is a small or mid-sized business that has never sponsored a foreign worker, they will not know how to do it without your help.

No government website, expat blog, or free resource adequately explains this employer-side process from the employee's perspective. Here is what you need to know to guide your employer through it successfully.

Why This Falls on You

French immigration law assigns the work authorization filing exclusively to the employer. The employee cannot create an ANEF employer account, cannot submit the dossier, and cannot communicate with the DREETS on the employer's behalf.

But here is the reality for most non-EU workers being hired by French SMEs:

• Your employer has never heard of ANEF
• They do not know what an autorisation de travail is or why they need one before you can apply for a visa
• They assume this is "your visa paperwork" and expect you to handle it
• When they discover they must file, they are overwhelmed by the portal and the document requirements
• If left entirely to their own devices, there is roughly a 40% chance they will submit an inconsistent or incomplete dossier that triggers a Motif 10 return

The successful strategy is not to do their filing for them (you legally cannot), but to prepare everything so thoroughly that all they need to do is log in, upload what you have assembled, and click submit.

The 5-Step Employer Filing Process

Here is the complete sequence your employer must follow on ANEF. Your role is to prepare the inputs for each step.

Step 1: Create or Access the Employer ANEF Account

Your employer needs an account on the ANEF platform (administrationdesétrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr) tied to their company's SIRET number. If they already have an account for other administrative purposes, the same credentials work. If not, account creation takes 24-48 hours for verification.

What you prepare: Nothing directly, but confirm with your employer that they have their SIRET number, an active email address, and access to a computer. Offer to be on a video call during account creation if they are hesitant.

Step 2: Initiate the Autorisation de Travail Request

Inside ANEF, the employer selects "Demande d'autorisation de travail" and begins filling in the dossier. The form asks for:

• Company information (SIRET, NAF code, convention collective applicable, number of employees)
• Position details (job title, ROME code, salary, contract type CDI or CDD, start date)
• The candidate's information (your name, nationality, passport number, current address)
• Whether the position is on the Metiers en Tension list for their region

What you prepare: A single reference document containing every piece of information the form will ask for, so your employer can copy-paste or transcribe directly. Include: your full legal name (as on passport), nationality, passport number and expiry, the exact job title, the ROME code that matches (look this up on the France Travail ROME directory), the proposed gross monthly salary, the convention collective name and IDCC number, and whether the role is on the shortage list.

Step 3: Upload Supporting Documents

The employer must upload several documents as PDF attachments:

What you prepare: Your documents (CV formatted to highlight relevance to the ROME code, diploma copies with certified translations, passport copy). For the employer's documents, prepare a checklist with exact instructions: "Download your URSSAF attestation from [URL]. It must be dated within the last 6 months. Download your Kbis from Infogreffe. It must be dated within the last 3 months."

Step 4: Justify the Hire (Labour Market Test or Exemption)

This is the make-or-break section. The DREETS evaluates whether hiring you instead of a French or EU worker is justified.

If the role IS on the Metiers en Tension list: Your employer simply declares the FAP code and region. No France Travail posting, no candidate log, no rejection justifications needed. This is the fast track.

If the role is NOT on the list: Your employer must prove they tried to hire locally first. This means:

• Posting the job on France Travail for at least 21 consecutive days
• Keeping a detailed log of all applicants received
• Providing objective, professional reasons for rejecting each local candidate
• Optionally showing additional postings on APEC, Indeed, or sector-specific job boards

What you prepare: Check the May 2025 shortage occupation Arrete for your employer's specific region. If the job qualifies, prepare a brief note: "This position [job title] corresponds to FAP code [X] in region [Y] and is listed on the Arrete of May 21, 2025. Labour market test exemption applies." If it does not qualify, remind your employer at least 4 weeks before they plan to file on ANEF that they must post the job on France Travail NOW, so the 21-day period is complete before submission.

Step 5: Submit and Track

Once submitted, ANEF generates a reference number. The DREETS has a processing target of 2-8 weeks depending on regional caseload. The employer may receive requests for additional documents (called a "demande de pieces complementaires") which must be answered within the deadline stated.

What you prepare: Set up a shared tracking system with your employer (even a simple shared spreadsheet) showing: submission date, reference number, expected response window, and a reminder to check ANEF weekly for status updates or document requests.

The Cross-Referencing Step That Prevents Motif 10

Before your employer hits submit, every document must tell the same story. Here is the consistency check:

Salary: The gross monthly figure on the contrat de travail, the figure entered in the ANEF form, and the convention collective minimum must all be consistent. If your contract says EUR 2,400/month gross, ANEF must say EUR 2,400, and the convention collective minimum for that role must be at or below EUR 2,400.

Job title and ROME code: The title on the contract must correspond to the ROME code entered on ANEF. If the contract says "Cuisinier" but the ROME code you chose is for "Commis de cuisine," the DREETS may flag a mismatch.

Dates: The proposed start date on the contract must be realistic given processing times. If the contract says "start June 1" but the ANEF filing happens on May 15, the DREETS knows this is impossible and questions the seriousness of the dossier.

Company information: The SIRET on the Kbis must match the SIRET on the ANEF account. The company name and address must be identical across all documents.

What Happens After Approval

When the DREETS approves the autorisation de travail, both you and your employer receive a digital certificate via ANEF. This certificate is the key that unlocks your consular visa application.

Your next steps (no longer requiring employer involvement):

1. Book your VLS-TS visa appointment at the French consulate or TLScontact/VFS Global in your country
2. Assemble your personal visa dossier (approved work authorization, signed contract, passport, photos, accommodation proof, financial evidence)
3. Attend the consular appointment (2-4 week processing time)
4. Receive your visa and travel to France
5. Validate your VLS-TS online within 90 days of arrival
6. Attend your OFII appointment for medical exam and CIR signing

Who This Approach Works For

• Workers with willing but inexperienced employers
• Any SME hire where there is no HR mobility team
• Situations where the employer has agreed to sponsor but has not started the process
• Workers in shortage-listed occupations (fastest path once employer files correctly)
• Anyone who wants control over their own immigration timeline rather than waiting passively

Who This Approach Does NOT Work For

• Workers whose employer refuses to file (you cannot force them; consider legal advice)
• Cases where the employer has been flagged for previous URSSAF non-compliance (they need to resolve this with a lawyer before filing)
• Change of status applications (filed by the employee, not the employer, on a different ANEF section)
• Passeport Talent applicants (different process, different criteria)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal for me to help my employer with their ANEF filing?

Yes. You cannot log into their account or submit on their behalf, but there is no prohibition against providing them with information, documents, checklists, or guidance. Many employees effectively prepare the entire dossier and hand it to the employer for upload and submission.

What if my employer asks me to pay the sponsorship tax?

The employer tax (taxe sur l'emploi de main-d'oeuvre etrangere) is legally the employer's obligation, not yours. However, in practice, some employers negotiate this into the compensation package, particularly for lower-salary positions. If your employer asks, understand it is negotiable but not legally your obligation.

How do I find my job's ROME code?

Use the France Travail ROME directory (https://candidat.francetravail.fr/metierscope/). Search by job title in French. Each result shows the ROME code (format: letter + 4 digits, e.g., G1602 for "Personnel de cuisine"). Verify that the description matches your actual role responsibilities.

What if the DREETS requests additional documents after submission?

Your employer will receive a notification on ANEF. They typically have 15 days to respond. Immediately prepare whatever is requested and send it to your employer for upload. Common requests: additional proof of recruitment efforts, clarification of salary calculations, or updated financial attestations.

Can I attend the ANEF submission with my employer in person?

ANEF is entirely online; there is no in-person submission. But you can absolutely be on a video call walking your employer through each screen, or sit beside them at their computer as they complete the form.

What if my employer starts the filing but abandons it halfway?

An incomplete ANEF dossier saved as draft has no legal effect. It simply expires after 30 days of inactivity. If your employer loses momentum, the most common reason is confusion about what to upload next. Re-engage them with the specific next document they need rather than the entire remaining process.

The Complete System for This Problem

The France Employee Visa Guide dedicates its largest section to this exact challenge: equipping employees to manage the employer-side filing. It includes a printable employer cheat sheet (designed to be handed directly to a French HR manager or business owner), a Motif 10 prevention checklist for cross-referencing all figures before submission, and field-by-field guidance for every ANEF screen.

This is the specific problem where no free government resource helps, because the French government's documentation assumes the employer already knows what they are doing. When they do not, and when you are the one with the most to lose, you need a system that bridges both sides of the process.

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