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How Remote People and EasyStart take the friction out of international hiring in France
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The talent problem companies are not solving fast enough
France is facing structural talent shortages in several of its most strategically important sectors. In tech, life sciences, and renewable energy, the gap between open roles and qualified local candidates has widened steadily. According to France Strategie, nearly 60% of companies in the digital sector reported difficulty filling technical positions in 2025, a figure consistent with trends observed across the EU.
For companies operating in these sectors, the local talent pool is often insufficient. The practical response, for many, is international hiring. Bringing in candidates from outside the European Union has become a genuine operational strategy.
The challenge is that most companies are not equipped to execute it. International hiring from outside the EU introduces a different category of complexity: work authorisation, visa procedures, administrative timelines, and compliance requirements that sit outside most HR teams’ core competency.
Two questions surface immediately when a non-EU hire is on the table. The first is employment structure: how does the company legally employ someone who is not yet in France and has no existing right to work there? The second is immigration: what permit does that person need, how long will it take, and who manages the process?
These questions often go unanswered until they become urgent. By the time a candidate has accepted an offer, the company is already behind.
What an EOR does, and where immigration comes in
An Employer of Record is a third-party entity that employs a worker on behalf of a client company. In France, the EOR holds the employment contract, manages payroll, handles social contributions, and ensures compliance with French labour law. The client company directs the work. This structure removes the need to establish a local legal entity before making a hire, which is particularly relevant for companies entering France for the first time or scaling faster than a traditional entity setup would allow.
Remote People operates as an EOR across 150+ countries, with a dedicated infrastructure for France. For companies looking to bring talent into France quickly and compliantly, an EOR removes one major obstacle: the legal employment structure.
But employment structure and immigration are not the same problem. This is where EasyStart operates. As an immigration and global mobility firm based in France, EasyStart manages the end-to-end immigration process for non-EU talent: work permit applications, visa procedures, prefecture filings, and the full administrative chain from country of origin to first day on the ground.
The two functions are structurally complementary. EOR handles employment. Immigration handles the right to work. Neither replaces the other. Both are required for a non-EU hire in France to be executed properly.
Where things break down in practice
The French immigration system for work permits is administratively demanding. Procedures run through the OFII (Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Integration) and through regional Prefectures, and both are under significant pressure. Processing times can be long if misunderstood, documentation requirements are precise, and errors or incomplete files are costly in terms of delay.
For HR and People Ops teams without prior experience of French immigration procedures, the process is opaque. Many rely on general information found online, informal advice, or providers without deep local expertise. The result is frequently the same: lost time, incomplete applications, and candidates left waiting while positions remain unfilled.
Mapping the workflow from offer to first day
When EOR and immigration are handled in parallel rather than sequentially, the timeline compresses significantly.
The correct sequence for a non-EU hire into France looks as follows. The EOR establishes the employment framework, drafts a compliant French contract, and confirms the employment relationship. Simultaneously, the immigration provider maps the applicable work permit category, prepares the file, and initiates the consulate (or OFII) and Préfecture procedures. The two workstreams run in parallel, and the candidate’s arrival is coordinated around the permit timeline.
The key variable is how quickly the workflows are mapped and initiated after the hiring decision is made.
For teams that arrive with a clear brief and complete documentation, EasyStart’s average onboarding timeline from country of origin to first day in the company is 41.8 days. To contextualise that figure: the national average for international work permit procedures in France sits at approximately 200 days as of 2026. The gap is explained by process management, procedural knowledge, and the ability to anticipate and resolve blockers before they become delays.
EasyStart maintains a 100% success rate on work permit applications it manages, across all sectors and candidate profiles.
For HR and People Ops teams, the practical implication is that 60 to 70 hours of internal time per case is recovered. Time that would otherwise be spent navigating procedures, chasing prefectures, and managing a process that sits outside most teams’ operational toolkit.
What this means for companies hiring in France
International hiring in France is not inherently slow or uncertain. The friction comes from treating employment and immigration as separate, sequential problems rather than a single coordinated workflow.
The combination of an EOR and a specialist immigration provider removes both blockers at once. The EOR provides the legal employment infrastructure. The immigration provider manages the right to work. Together, they create the conditions for a non-EU hire to be executed at a pace that matches business needs, not administrative timelines.
For companies in tech, life sciences, or renewable energy that are competing for a narrow pool of qualified candidates, the ability to move fast and with certainty is not a marginal advantage. It is often the deciding factor in whether a hire happens at all.
Hiring internationally in France? Let's talk.
Book a free 15-minute call. We'll map your situation and tell you exactly what's needed to get your hire on the ground.
- Work permit strategy confirmed in your first call
- 41.8-day average from offer to first day
- 100% success rate on applications we manage
- Dedicated English-speaking advisor
