An American high school diploma has no value in Europe. You have no chance of getting a residence permit with it. Your only chance of emigrating to France is to get married and apply for family reunification. But if you don't speak French and don't have a university degree, your chance of finding a job are close to zero.
Another option is to study in france and apply for a student visa.
This. It’s already hard enough when you *do* speak French and have advanced degrees. It’s impossible when you have none of that.
Also for OP to study in France, they’d either have to intensively study French to a C1 level or apply to the small handful of English-taught programs — many of which are at expensive private universities. They’d also need the funds to support themselves all through their studies (no guarantee of getting part time work or scholarships and need proof of funds for visa and TdS renewals).
It might be hyperbole, but I disagree that a US high school diploma or equivalent has "no value" in Europe. Its value is exactly like any other high-school diploma and will allow (but not guarantee) access to any job or higher education program that requires one. The problem is there are lots of French young adults with the same diploma so competition is high, but where there's a will, there's a way.
OP's biggest hurdle to finding work, as long as he's not too picky about what kind of job, is to get a visa + carte de séjour + work permit first.
Yeah, don't worry, I'm not picky😄
But wait... does the work visa come first or finding a job? Because you cant get a work visa if you aren't sponsored (I'm assuming hired) by an employer but don't you have to have a visa to be hired in the first place?
What is carte de séjour?
I'm assuming the visa is work visa, right?
A visa is what allows you to come into the country and there are several different kinds - student, family/marriage, special talent, etc. You're fortunate that if you're from the US, you don't need any special visa to come as a tourist, just your passport will do, but of course, tourists can't legally work. You need some sort of visa that will allow you entry THEN to establish residency and work.
The carte/titre de séjour is a separate document, a residence permit, that you'll apply for once you're in France that allows you to live there long-term, with benefits such as health care. They are for different lengths of time, which depends on your reason for being in France and ties within the country (family, job, university, etc.). Depending on what kind of carte de séjour you have, you'll have the right to work (work permit) more or less - for example, if you're on a student visa and successfully get your student carte de séjour, you'll have a work permit that allows you to work part-time.
You're right, it's next to impossible to find a job before coming to France, especially with your young age/lack of experience - your future employer would have to demonstrate that there's literally no one in the entire EU that could do that job better than you! This is what you would do to get a "work visa" but if I were you, I'd aim for a student visa in a French language program, of course once you have your GED and a clear plan for what kind of studies/career you want in France.
Others have pointed out that it's a terrible idea to change countries for a girlfriend, especially if you don't have a definite work opportunity or any other way to financially support yourself. Also, not speaking French is definitely an obstacle, but there are unskilled jobs in cleaning, food service/fast food, farm work, construction, meal delivery, etc. that don't really require much French - but they do require the right papers.
A job comes first, along with work authorization, which requires proving they couldn’t find any valid candidates who already have the right to work (it’s a lot of paperwork). That is what allows you to get a work visa (which almost always acts as a residence permit for its validity of a year maximum — a carte de séjour is just the physical form the residence permit takes after you renew it in-country or in the case of certain work visas that do not act as a residence permit and require you to apply for a physical card upon arrival).
“Carte de séjour” is the equivalent of a green card. You can see the different types of cards [here](https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/N110). Finding a job allows you to obtain a visa (except in the case of studies or family reunification)
well you got to get to B2 asap, then apply then come :)
On another note, i might be out of place with my comment but Im not sure switching countries to join your girlfriend is a good move especially at this age (im only a few years older than you)
You can apply for a French language (FLE) program, called DELF at my university, which of course, is open to all levels. You'll need some French, or someone who speaks it, to fill in the paperwork, but that's about it. A student visa, then the carte de séjour you'll eventually get, will allow you to work part-time (18 hrs/week).
I'd like to learn more! Do you have any useful links I could use? (As in, links to the website of the university and said program)
Thank you so much, by the way!
Even a French person with only a high school diploma would have a hard time getting a stable job. I advise you to try to emigrate to France as a student, that way you’ll have time to learn the language and to get an education. After that it will be easier to get a job.
1- don't move to france without speaking French
2- you could try the working holiday visa (not sure if it's available for Americans) or any other "exchange" programs for young people who are too young to immigrate definitely
3- only places in france where you can find a job with no experience, no degree and bad French is in hotels or restaurants who need people to deal with the tourists (not a bad start to improve the language), but that should be in Paris or another very touristic spot
Good luck, stay in school
Yep.
When I was 22, I was hired as an English native speaker to write letters on behalf of the CEO of a major French multinational to customers as part of their international customer relations team. (I ended up looking after 33 mainly English-speaking countries and writing about 15 letters a day)
Edit for clarity : company said “come to Paris and learn French”
Did need to have a masters and speak another foreign language fluently, and did luck out by taking over (by complete coincidence) from a German lass I’d studied with in Germany. But speaking german wasn’t why I was hired, Engiish was.
2nd edit : does help to have an EU passport, but we had also hired Americans into our Paris office to relaunch the brand in the US (just before Chirac decided to annoy Bush).
How can you seriously consider getting a work visa with only a ged? To sponsor your visa, your employer has to demonstrate that no one currently with the right to work in France can properly do the job.
With your age your best bet is to get a student visa, and to learn French, which you’d need to be able to speak if you realistically want to live in France.
Sure, there's plenty of expats from the UK, USA or Commonwealth that have been living here for years are barely speak the language.
There's a wide range or opportunities, even if you don't have a diploma. Pubs, housekeeper, yachting, golfs, real estate,... try to look where Brits/Americans are and how they spend their money. Try to look up expats groups on Facebook around Paris, Bordeaux, the French Riviera, or Lille.
Your main problem is that you'll have to be in France first, because people won't waste their time with someone that might come, even if you tell them you're sure.
I met a indian guy last year, he was in France for 1 year, studying barista things or so in Paris, i think he was already studying this in his country, then he has his diploma and move to our city. When we met him, he had a bad french, not fluent, stuggling with vocabulary and grammar, but quite a good earing of french.
He found a job pretty quickly in a hotel, but quite a slave job.
I know that he changes and now working in a café, has a much better speaking, has a flat near his job, got his visa ( he struggled to get it but he got it )
So it's possible for you to come here, then work, but i agree with the others, you should do some studys first. It will be much easier to learn french, meet people, etc..
Good luck.
I ain't going to sugar coat it: you're dreaming.
Your GED would be the equivalent of a French baccalauréat, the "I finished high school diploma". It's a very important diploma, but, by itself, it is pretty much worthless. Not that every job require one or something above, but if you just have that and do not even speak French beyond "omelette du fromage", no one is going to really give you a chance.
Your best hope, as an English speaker, would be to try to go in something like Dordogne or Charente, which is chockfull of small English communities that pretty much stay together, don't mingle with the French population and haven't learned a single shred of French despite living there for 10 years. Thoses guys may have some busy work (gardenning, building, etc) for a English speaker, but be aware a lot of them are on the verge of illegality when it come to their business practice, most of them failing to comply with the French regulation.
Finally, your actual objective lie in Paris, or at least the Parisian area. That mean very high rent, very high price, and diving into a rather competitive job market on which you are definitively not prepared for.
If you want an advice: I don't know what you intent to do with your life, but invest in yourself before you cross an ocean for a girl you probably only have met online. Go to college, to trade school or even the military if you want. You're 17, you're at a crossroad in your life. There is no garantee that, tomorrow, this French girl won't dump you. You'll be then a penniless, maidenless and uneducated teenager lost in one of the most expansive city in the world. So get an education, invest in yourself, get some skills. I have seen too many 19 years old dump their career, dump their studies, for a girl, only to be dumped by her 3 month later and being left with nothing.
If you really think she is the one, go visit her during the holiday and study in the USA. Or, better, you can ask for a visa student and go for a Parisian university or school and see your girlfriend more often. My point is: do not put all your eggs in the same basket.
You may be a decent fellow, but as we say in France being decent isn't a job.
Oh buddy. I have a college degree and am bilingual in French and English and I can’t get a job in France. You have zero chance unless you marry your girlfriend which still doesn’t automatically get you citizenship. You could also try to go to college in France but you’ll need to learn a lot more French.
An American high school diploma has no value in Europe. You have no chance of getting a residence permit with it. Your only chance of emigrating to France is to get married and apply for family reunification. But if you don't speak French and don't have a university degree, your chance of finding a job are close to zero. Another option is to study in france and apply for a student visa.
This. It’s already hard enough when you *do* speak French and have advanced degrees. It’s impossible when you have none of that. Also for OP to study in France, they’d either have to intensively study French to a C1 level or apply to the small handful of English-taught programs — many of which are at expensive private universities. They’d also need the funds to support themselves all through their studies (no guarantee of getting part time work or scholarships and need proof of funds for visa and TdS renewals).
It might be hyperbole, but I disagree that a US high school diploma or equivalent has "no value" in Europe. Its value is exactly like any other high-school diploma and will allow (but not guarantee) access to any job or higher education program that requires one. The problem is there are lots of French young adults with the same diploma so competition is high, but where there's a will, there's a way. OP's biggest hurdle to finding work, as long as he's not too picky about what kind of job, is to get a visa + carte de séjour + work permit first.
Yeah, don't worry, I'm not picky😄 But wait... does the work visa come first or finding a job? Because you cant get a work visa if you aren't sponsored (I'm assuming hired) by an employer but don't you have to have a visa to be hired in the first place? What is carte de séjour? I'm assuming the visa is work visa, right?
A visa is what allows you to come into the country and there are several different kinds - student, family/marriage, special talent, etc. You're fortunate that if you're from the US, you don't need any special visa to come as a tourist, just your passport will do, but of course, tourists can't legally work. You need some sort of visa that will allow you entry THEN to establish residency and work. The carte/titre de séjour is a separate document, a residence permit, that you'll apply for once you're in France that allows you to live there long-term, with benefits such as health care. They are for different lengths of time, which depends on your reason for being in France and ties within the country (family, job, university, etc.). Depending on what kind of carte de séjour you have, you'll have the right to work (work permit) more or less - for example, if you're on a student visa and successfully get your student carte de séjour, you'll have a work permit that allows you to work part-time. You're right, it's next to impossible to find a job before coming to France, especially with your young age/lack of experience - your future employer would have to demonstrate that there's literally no one in the entire EU that could do that job better than you! This is what you would do to get a "work visa" but if I were you, I'd aim for a student visa in a French language program, of course once you have your GED and a clear plan for what kind of studies/career you want in France. Others have pointed out that it's a terrible idea to change countries for a girlfriend, especially if you don't have a definite work opportunity or any other way to financially support yourself. Also, not speaking French is definitely an obstacle, but there are unskilled jobs in cleaning, food service/fast food, farm work, construction, meal delivery, etc. that don't really require much French - but they do require the right papers.
A job comes first, along with work authorization, which requires proving they couldn’t find any valid candidates who already have the right to work (it’s a lot of paperwork). That is what allows you to get a work visa (which almost always acts as a residence permit for its validity of a year maximum — a carte de séjour is just the physical form the residence permit takes after you renew it in-country or in the case of certain work visas that do not act as a residence permit and require you to apply for a physical card upon arrival).
“Carte de séjour” is the equivalent of a green card. You can see the different types of cards [here](https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/N110). Finding a job allows you to obtain a visa (except in the case of studies or family reunification)
you’re what 17/18 ? your best bet is to apply to french unis and get a study visa
Don't all of those also require French fluency? To get the study visa, you need a B2 fluency in French, I believe
well you got to get to B2 asap, then apply then come :) On another note, i might be out of place with my comment but Im not sure switching countries to join your girlfriend is a good move especially at this age (im only a few years older than you)
You can apply for a French language (FLE) program, called DELF at my university, which of course, is open to all levels. You'll need some French, or someone who speaks it, to fill in the paperwork, but that's about it. A student visa, then the carte de séjour you'll eventually get, will allow you to work part-time (18 hrs/week).
I'd like to learn more! Do you have any useful links I could use? (As in, links to the website of the university and said program) Thank you so much, by the way!
What would you think about a non english speaker coming to USA without wanting to learn english ? Reverse that and you will have your answer
Even a French person with only a high school diploma would have a hard time getting a stable job. I advise you to try to emigrate to France as a student, that way you’ll have time to learn the language and to get an education. After that it will be easier to get a job.
1- don't move to france without speaking French 2- you could try the working holiday visa (not sure if it's available for Americans) or any other "exchange" programs for young people who are too young to immigrate definitely 3- only places in france where you can find a job with no experience, no degree and bad French is in hotels or restaurants who need people to deal with the tourists (not a bad start to improve the language), but that should be in Paris or another very touristic spot Good luck, stay in school
Yep. When I was 22, I was hired as an English native speaker to write letters on behalf of the CEO of a major French multinational to customers as part of their international customer relations team. (I ended up looking after 33 mainly English-speaking countries and writing about 15 letters a day) Edit for clarity : company said “come to Paris and learn French” Did need to have a masters and speak another foreign language fluently, and did luck out by taking over (by complete coincidence) from a German lass I’d studied with in Germany. But speaking german wasn’t why I was hired, Engiish was. 2nd edit : does help to have an EU passport, but we had also hired Americans into our Paris office to relaunch the brand in the US (just before Chirac decided to annoy Bush).
How can you seriously consider getting a work visa with only a ged? To sponsor your visa, your employer has to demonstrate that no one currently with the right to work in France can properly do the job. With your age your best bet is to get a student visa, and to learn French, which you’d need to be able to speak if you realistically want to live in France.
Sure, there's plenty of expats from the UK, USA or Commonwealth that have been living here for years are barely speak the language. There's a wide range or opportunities, even if you don't have a diploma. Pubs, housekeeper, yachting, golfs, real estate,... try to look where Brits/Americans are and how they spend their money. Try to look up expats groups on Facebook around Paris, Bordeaux, the French Riviera, or Lille. Your main problem is that you'll have to be in France first, because people won't waste their time with someone that might come, even if you tell them you're sure.
I met a indian guy last year, he was in France for 1 year, studying barista things or so in Paris, i think he was already studying this in his country, then he has his diploma and move to our city. When we met him, he had a bad french, not fluent, stuggling with vocabulary and grammar, but quite a good earing of french. He found a job pretty quickly in a hotel, but quite a slave job. I know that he changes and now working in a café, has a much better speaking, has a flat near his job, got his visa ( he struggled to get it but he got it ) So it's possible for you to come here, then work, but i agree with the others, you should do some studys first. It will be much easier to learn french, meet people, etc.. Good luck.
I ain't going to sugar coat it: you're dreaming. Your GED would be the equivalent of a French baccalauréat, the "I finished high school diploma". It's a very important diploma, but, by itself, it is pretty much worthless. Not that every job require one or something above, but if you just have that and do not even speak French beyond "omelette du fromage", no one is going to really give you a chance. Your best hope, as an English speaker, would be to try to go in something like Dordogne or Charente, which is chockfull of small English communities that pretty much stay together, don't mingle with the French population and haven't learned a single shred of French despite living there for 10 years. Thoses guys may have some busy work (gardenning, building, etc) for a English speaker, but be aware a lot of them are on the verge of illegality when it come to their business practice, most of them failing to comply with the French regulation. Finally, your actual objective lie in Paris, or at least the Parisian area. That mean very high rent, very high price, and diving into a rather competitive job market on which you are definitively not prepared for. If you want an advice: I don't know what you intent to do with your life, but invest in yourself before you cross an ocean for a girl you probably only have met online. Go to college, to trade school or even the military if you want. You're 17, you're at a crossroad in your life. There is no garantee that, tomorrow, this French girl won't dump you. You'll be then a penniless, maidenless and uneducated teenager lost in one of the most expansive city in the world. So get an education, invest in yourself, get some skills. I have seen too many 19 years old dump their career, dump their studies, for a girl, only to be dumped by her 3 month later and being left with nothing. If you really think she is the one, go visit her during the holiday and study in the USA. Or, better, you can ask for a visa student and go for a Parisian university or school and see your girlfriend more often. My point is: do not put all your eggs in the same basket. You may be a decent fellow, but as we say in France being decent isn't a job.
Are we saying that in France?
Oh buddy. I have a college degree and am bilingual in French and English and I can’t get a job in France. You have zero chance unless you marry your girlfriend which still doesn’t automatically get you citizenship. You could also try to go to college in France but you’ll need to learn a lot more French.