VisaRéunion employers must use the island’s own shortage-occupation list
Current guide: the June 2026 territorial list affects recruitment evidence, but does not grant a visa, remove employer checks or replace the worker’s residence permission.
Official source date: 2026-06-18
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Use the territorial list rather than a mainland occupation table
Employers recruiting foreign workers for Réunion should check the island’s specific shortage-occupation order before deciding which labour-market evidence accompanies a work-authorisation application. The order dated 9 June 2026 was published in the French official journal on 18 June and became effective on 19 June. This is a current guide to that operative list, not a newly issued November announcement.
The order’s first annex identifies four professional families: construction and geological study, measurement and technical-diagnostic management; administrative, accounting and financial management excluding lawyers; human-resources and recruitment management; and commercial management, purchasing and marketing. Its second annex maps those families to the operational occupation classification known as ROME.
Use both annexes when documenting the proposed role. A company’s preferred job title may not match the classification used in its application, and a broad commercial label does not establish the result. The official order is the resource for checking the Réunion list; an occupation appearing in another region’s or overseas department’s list should not be assumed to have the same treatment here.
A shortage occupation addresses one part of the application
Service Public’s guidance on granting work authorisations explains the general employment condition: the proposed job must appear on the applicable shortage list or normally have been advertised for three consecutive weeks during the six months before filing, without a suitable application. It expressly identifies separate lists for Réunion and other named overseas departments.
That distinction matters when planning recruitment. A qualifying shortage classification can address the labour-market evidence requirement, but it does not turn an offer into an approved immigration document. Outside the list, an employer should establish whether advertising or another applicable exemption is required before submitting an incomplete application.
The same guidance identifies other cumulative checks: employer compliance with social obligations, the conditions for practising a regulated occupation and pay at least at the statutory minimum or the higher applicable collective-agreement level. It also requests a social-contributions payment attestation less than six months old. The occupation list does not waive these employer, professional or pay requirements.
Establish the worker’s existing rights before choosing a route
Service Public’s work-authorisation resource distinguishes foreign employees whose existing residence document already permits the intended employment from those requiring a separate employer application. European Union, European Economic Area and Swiss workers fall under a different framework from the ordinary non-European authorisation process. Algerian nationals also have separate rules and should not be assessed solely through the general page.
For an existing resident, examine the exact document and its conditions before choosing an application. The official resource explains that some residence categories allow employment without a separate work-authorisation request. That exemption is based on the relevant status, not on a recruiter’s assertion that an occupation is in shortage.
The employer-verification guidance also describes checking the authenticity of the employment-authorising residence document with the prefecture at least two working days before hiring, subject to its stated France Travail registration exception. Keep that verification distinct from the substantive work-authorisation decision. Completing a document-authenticity check does not create rights the underlying status does not grant.
Budget the employer charge and check current procedural changes
The French tax administration’s employer-tax notice provides a separate budgeting resource. For employment contracts of at least 12 months it describes a tax of 55 per cent of gross monthly salary, subject to a ceiling based on two and a half times the statutory monthly minimum wage. Use the official calculation notice and current wage values rather than apply a fixed historical example to every appointment.
Visa and residence-document charges, where applicable, are separate from that employer tax. The sources reviewed do not establish a single combined Réunion recruitment fee or a guaranteed approval time. The practical next action is to identify the worker’s status, match the duties against the island’s annexes, assemble the required employer evidence and use the official online work-authorisation service where required.
A separate decree dated 26 October, published on 29 October 2026, changes provisions on foreign workers and certain residence categories. Service Public flags changes effective from 30 October and says its detailed page is being updated. Verify current renewal and notification instructions before relying on older procedures. The June occupation order itself does not set an application closing date or authorise work while a decision is pending. Plan against the proposed start and the individual’s document expiry, obtaining the required permissions first.
