VisaFrench Polynesia workers must separate work-permit and residence-renewal filing windows
The employment service identifies an earlier renewal window for continued work permission, while the High Commission handles the separate right to remain.
Official source date: 2026-10-30
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Two permissions require two calendars
Foreign employees in French Polynesia should check their work-authorisation renewal before waiting for the residence-card renewal window. The employment service, SEFI, says the employer must lodge an eligible work-permit renewal during the third month before expiry. Its instructions link timely submission of a complete file to a receipt extending the original work authorisation for three months. This current procedural guide explains an established requirement, not a new October rule.
SEFI warns that filing late, from the second month before work-permit expiry, no longer produces that extension. If a new permit has not been obtained by the original expiry date, the employer must stop the employee’s work. A residence application progressing on another timetable should therefore not be mistaken for continued work permission. Record the expiry dates of both documents and ask the employer to begin the work-renewal procedure in its own prescribed window.
Residence permission follows the High Commission’s separate procedure
The High Commission’s non-EU guidance says a person taking up residence must request the relevant residence document within two months of arrival, or before the long-stay visa expires, even where they possess a long-stay visa described as equivalent to a residence permit. Existing residents are directed to request renewal during the two months before their residence document expires. These residence instructions do not replace SEFI’s earlier work-renewal requirement.
The same page distinguishes employee and professional residence categories from study and visitor categories. A visitor residence card requires sufficient resources and health cover and does not authorise professional activity. Use the High Commission’s category-specific instructions and listed forms for the right to remain, while the employer handles the applicable employment authorisation. Where the two expiry dates differ, follow both calendars rather than assume one application automatically preserves the other permission.
EU nationality does not remove the local work-authorisation question
The High Commission’s EU-national guidance expressly says a person wishing to undertake salaried work in French Polynesia must obtain authorisation from the territorial government. A European passport should therefore not be treated as sufficient proof of access to a particular job. French Polynesia’s local employment regime requires its own assessment rather than an assumption based on working in mainland France.
The High Commission’s separate page on other local formalities also states that the employment-authorisation provisions apply to EU nationals and foreign spouses of French citizens. It identifies SEFI as the competent employment authority. Employers recruiting someone who appears exempt from an entry visa must still resolve the employment question. Before fixing a start date, identify the person’s nationality, residence basis, employer and intended duties and obtain the specific authority’s instructions for that combination.
A business project has a different authorisation route
The territorial Economic Development Agency’s investor guide distinguishes salaried work from non-salaried commercial, industrial and craft activity. For the latter, the identified foreign-businessperson card applies to relevant non-EU nationals. The guide says applicants must establish lawful residence and have sought or obtained the residence permission allowing the regulated activity. Incorporating a business or arranging an investment does not itself resolve those immigration steps.
The same official guide explains that certain foreign investments, including specified fishing, aquaculture, audiovisual, telecommunications and property transactions, require prior investment authorisation. These are separate decisions from an employee’s work permit. Use the agency to establish the project’s investment requirements and the competent employment or residence authority for personal permission. A proposed business owner should not copy an employee-renewal checklist or assume a residence card marked visitor permits management activity.
Confirm the file, charges and appointment channel before expiry
SEFI identifies the Labour Market Protection Unit for file preparation and clarification. Confirm the current checklist and any payable amount through that unit. The reviewed guidance establishes neither a universal work-renewal charge nor a guaranteed decision date; do not substitute mainland French fees.
The High Commission’s current contact and opening-hours resource identifies an appointment channel for entry and residence enquiries. Use it to resolve the residence side before the document expires, with passport, existing permissions and proposed activity details available. Employers should preserve the complete-file receipt and verify precisely what it extends. The practical test is whether the person has both a lawful basis to remain and the required authorisation for the particular work throughout the period concerned.
