France: ICT salary threshold and work authorisation exemption for UK service provision

Decree No. 2026-1001 of 26 October 2026 comes into force on 30 October 2026. It changes many rules at once: the pay threshold for ICT permits, the work authorisation exemption for certain British posted workers, the EU Blue Card, and the deadlines for the French authorities to respond to applications. It also covers a change of employer for a foreign employee, the right to remain in France after involuntary unemployment, and the extension and adaptation measures needed for the French overseas territories.
We are devoting a series of Flash Info and articles to it.

This first issue covers two points: the salary threshold for ICT seconded employees, ICT trainees and the other ICT categories, and the work authorisation exemption for employees of British companies posted to France to provide a service.

ICT pay and UK service providers: two obligations to build into your processes now

✅ A salary threshold applies to all four ICT permits: The “ICT seconded employee”, “mobile ICT seconded employee”, “ICT trainee” and “mobile ICT trainee” permits now require an annual gross salary at least equal to the reference average annual gross salary, to be set by order (arts. R. 421-38 A and R. 421-51 A of the CESEDA, the French immigration code). The aim is to align these permits with the managers and specialists covered by EU Directive 2014/66. The amount will be set by a separate order, not yet published. Our article on intra-corporate transferees (ICT) explains this status in detail.

✅ An employee of a British employer can be posted without work authorisation, subject to seven conditions: all of them must be met (art. R. 5221-2, 22°). They include a service provision, a maximum of 12 months in total, one year of similar services for that employer and three years of experience in the sector. The eligible sectors will be set by a separate order, not yet published. We cover the seven conditions in a dedicated article.

ICT and UK service provision: four points to check now

• List your employees and trainees on ICT permits. As soon as the order is published, compare their annual gross salary with the reference threshold.
• Check that the posting is genuinely a service provision: intra-group mobility is excluded from this exemption.
• For flows involving a British employer, wait for the order that sets the eligible sectors before dropping a work authorisation application that is being prepared and has not yet been filed.
• Have your ICT cases that are being prepared or due for renewal checked by an immigration expert before any filing.