Published on: March 03, 2025 | Article No: 309 | By: @rprasanth_kumar
Completing a PhD in France is a significant achievement, but for non-EU graduates, it also comes with administrative challenges. One major concern is maintaining legal residency while transitioning to the job market. Fortunately, France provides two main options for extending your stay and accessing unemployment benefits. Understanding these pathways can help ensure a smooth transition without unnecessary delays or complications.
Residence Permits after a PhD in France
For non-EU PhD graduates in France, the end of a doctorate often coincides with the expiration of a residence permit. To remain in France while seeking employment, there are two key options:
- Renewing the Carte de Séjour Passeport Talent – Chercheur residence permit, based on chomage.
- Applying for an APS or Carte de Séjour Recherche d’Emploi ou Création d’Entreprise residence permit.
Another option is doing a post-doctorate in France. In this case, you can renew the Carte de Séjour Passeport Talent – Chercheur before its expiry date.
Option 1: Renewing the CdS Passeport Talent – Chercheur
This option is available only to those already holding a Passeport Talent – Chercheur permit and whose research activity was funded under a CDD work contract (such as a doctoral contract). This allows for access to unemployment benefits while job searching.
Required Documents:
- Attestation de l’employeur destinée à France Travail from the employer to France Travail (formerly Pole Emploi). It’s usually given on the last day of the work contract.
- Avis de situation individuelle document provided by France Travail. This is given after registering with France Travail as officially unemployed.
Key Considerations:
- This permit enables continued residency for the duration of unemployment benefits.
- Holders can receive Allocations de Retour à l’Emploi (ARE) payments from France Travail.
- Family members can continue to benefit from CdS Passeport Talent Famille.
Option 2: APS or Carte de Séjour – Recherche d’Emploi ou Création d’Entreprise
This job search or business creation residence permit is available to those holding a Master’s degree or higher (including PhDs) from a French institution. It can be renewed again for people from certain countries with bilateral agreements with France. Here is a complete guide about this residence permit, APS & CdS RECE: French Job Search Or Business Creation Resident Permit.
Key Considerations:
- Allows employment without requiring separate work authorization (work permit).
- Does not grant family members the Passeport Talent Famille benefits.
- Bypasses the labor market test, meaning employment authorization is not restricted by sector-specific unemployment rates.
Unemployment rights for PhD Graduates
After a PhD or Post-Doc position, a person is eligible for the unemployment benefit Aide au Retour à l’Emploi (ARE) under 3 conditions:
- Have completed 130 working days or 910 hours,
- Involuntarily lost your job (end of contract, termination by mutual agreement, etc), and
- Be actively looking for a job. More details in Unemployment: What are the eligibility conditions for receiving chomage in France?.
To claim unemployment benefits from France Travail, obtaining an Attestation de l’employeur from your employer is crucial. Also, your residence permit must be valid when submitting an application with France Travail. To obtain an Attestation Employeur
- If your employer was non-university-based, request the certificate from them.
- If employed under a doctoral contract, ATER, or research contract, request it from your university’s HR department.
Important:
- Resignation does not give access to unemployment benefit.
- France Travail registration should be immediate after your contract ends.
- Delays beyond 12 months may result in benefit refusal.
- Register online or by phone before contract termination (declare availability once contract ends).
- There is a 7-day waiting period before unemployment benefits begin. Payments start only after the first appointment with France Travail and are not retroactive.
- You can use the France Travail simulator to find out how much unemployment benefit you will receive.
Special Cases: Public Sector Employment
- If your employer was a self-insured public institution, France Travail might reject your claim.
- In such cases, submit the rejection document to your former employer to claim benefits directly.
How to register for Unemployment benefits?
Documents required for France Travail registration,
- Your Passport and a valid residence permit (if non-EU citizen).
- Your Carte Vitale with your social security number is essential for online registration, or an Attestation de droits from Ameli.
- Your professional background: Pay slips, Attestation de l’employeur destinée à France Travail from the employer, etc.
- An updated resume (CV).
- A French bank account RIB to allow France Travail to pay unemployment benefits if you are eligible.
The online registration for France Travail via M’inscrire, me réinscrire consists of several steps.
Step 1: Your Personal Information
- Provide your address, phone number, email, family situation, social security number, etc.
- At the end of your online registration, France Travail will send you an email with a link: Confirm my email address.
Step 2: Your Personal Account
- If this is your first registration, this step allows you to create your job seeker account with your personal information and email address. Choose your username and password.
- If you are re-registering, log in to your personal account. Your request will be pre-filled with your existing information. Check your email address.
- Your reason for registration (the event that triggered your registration with France Travail) must be indicated. Examples include searching for a first job, licenciement économique, resignation, end of a fixed-term contract (CDD), etc.
- If you are looking for additional work, select Other registration reasons and specify your situation if you wish.
Step 3: The type of contract and working hours you are looking for (Permanent contract (CDI), fixed-term contract (CDD), full-time or part-time).
Step 4: Your professional activities over the past five years.
- France Travail will pre-fill known activities and you just need to verify and validate them.
- You can also add any missing or ongoing activities.
Step 5: Events and/or leaves over the past five years (training, sick leave, unpaid leave, etc.).
Step 6: Any special situations to report, such as receiving RSA (social benefits), a retirement pension, or disability pension.
Step 7: Your income tax situation in France.
Step 8: Your bank details (RIB). To receive your benefits or financial aid (ARE), if eligible.
- You must provide the RIB of a bank account for which you are the account holder or co-holder.
- It is no longer possible to authorize another person to receive your unemployment benefits.
- If you are re-registering, check that your bank details are up to date.
Step 9: Your skills, qualifications, and means of transportation. This information will help your advisor better support you.
Step 10: The job you are looking for. Specify the job you want to work in, salary expectations, and preferred job locations.
Once you have confirmed your registration request, check your email to ensure you have received an acknowledgment from France Travail.
A step-by-step tutorial in French is available on Inscription à France Travail: le « pas à pas » pour s’inscrire en ligne.
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Common problems with residence permits
A prevalent problem faced by non-European Researchers: The Carte de Sejour and the CDD job contract often expire on the same day or very close to each other. This creates a chicken-egg type of situation for the researchers.
- A valid residence permit is required to register with France Travail and claim chomage.
- A valid attestation from France Travail is mandatory for renewing the Carte de Sejour Passeport Talent Chercheur.
Possible solution with a real example: Recently, Dr. Sharbatanu Chatterjee completed his Phd and faced the above problem. So, he requested a renewal of his Carte de Sejour Passeport Talent Chercheur online via ANEF website. Instead of the convention d’accueil, he uploaded the following letter.
Response from ANEF: Based on the request letter, ANEF issued an Attestation de prolongation de l’instruction valid for 3 months. This gives sufficient time to complete the France Travail registration and apply for chomage.
Final Decision from ANEF: As the 3-month extension resolved the situation and there was no valid contract to complete the process, the renewal application was closed. However, the researcher can resubmit a renewal application after obtaining the unemployment attestation from France Travail.
Excellent step-by-step explanation of how to extend your residence permit after defending your PhD! I might also add, for those in the Paris area – there is a France Travail worker assigned to Welcome Desk CIUP (Cité U) who can give you a rendez-vous and even help you fill out the form and all.
Hello Sharbatanu,
valid points. Thanks a lot for your feedback.
Cheers,
Prasanth
PS: If my articles and answers are helpful, please leave your feedback on Trustpilot
I would also like to add that there is an extremely common problem that arises when the end of the PhD contract and the titre de séjour is on the same date, in which case it is difficult to get all the documents in time *while having a valid titre de séjour* in order to apply for the renewal based on Aide au Retour à l’Emploi (ARE) rights. I personally wrote a letter to my préfecture explaining that I need a few more weeks in order to get the documents of my rights to ARE ready, and they granted me a 3-month attestation de prolongation d’instruction, which is usually enought to gather necessary documents.
Hello Sharbatanu,
Yeah, it is a very common problem. I will add these experiences too. Thanks a lot for your feedback.
Cheers,
Prasanth
PS: If my articles and answers are helpful, please leave your feedback on Trustpilot
Very informative and useful information. Thanks sir
Definitely I will share your website with my research group.
Best wishes
Manjeet SINGH
Hello Manjeet,
Its my pleasure. If my articles and answers are helpful, please leave your feedback on Trustpilot
Cheers,
Prasanth