The Karl Waheed law firm specializes in international mobility law and is a partner of the Invest in France Agency. It advises and assists multinational organizations on compliance with French immigration and labor regulations. In 2006, the French government asked the firm to assess the impact of these regulations on the mobility of multinational assignees. The firm’s recommendations were then broadly adopted in the groundbreaking Expatriate Employee status. Founding partner Karl Waheed offers an update on conditions for companies and their international employees in France.
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Work and residence permits made easy
Posted by Invest in France Agency in Reforms; February 22, 2011
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“We are the only country in the European Union that shares a border with you: French Guiana!”
These were the words chosen by the IFA’s Managing Director, Serge Boscher, to open his speech to Brazilian investors gathered at the Hôtel Bristol in central Paris on December 14, 2010. Jointly organized with the Brazil Chamber of Commerce in France and under the distinguished patronage of Brazil’s Ambassador to France José Mauricio Bustani, this meeting of the “Brazilian Investors Club” in France was attended by some 50 experts and decision-makers from the two countries. The event was an opportunity to unveil France’s latest advances in labor law, taxation and mobility for foreign executives.
“After obtaining a visa and registering with the French Company Register, I finally got my hands on my ‘Skills and Expertise’ residence permit… but it was a bit of an obstacle course for me to become legal in France,” admits Li Ruizhi, CEO of CITS (China International Travel Service), which has been in Paris since 1992 and currently employs seven people. Despite a few “small hitches”, the IFA and its partners (Atout France, the French tourism promotion agency and the OFII, the French Office for Immigration and Integration) did everything in their power to ensure that she didn’t wait any longer than necessary for her “Skills and Expertise” residence permit which she herself describes as a “real door opener”. This new three-year renewable residence permit is just one of the latest incentives France is offering to foreign nationals coming to work in the country.
The Chinese president’s trip to France ended successfully on Saturday, November 6 with the conclusion, in just 48 hours, of contracts totaling around €15 billion. Hu Jintao’s visit, coming a few days before France assumed the presidency of the G20, was an important opportunity to strengthen economic relations between the two countries, particularly as France, which hosted 8% of all Chinese investment projects in 2009, is currently only the fourth largest recipient of Chinese investment in Europe after Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia.
Education and research hubs working hand-in-hand with industry
Posted by Invest in France Agency in Innovation and R&D; November 5, 2010
“Brains.., that’s what we came to France for.” “A large number of well-trained graduates.” These comments made by Frederic Turner, Managing Director of Genzyme France, and Ingo Wassum-Paul, Chairman and CEO of Siemens Transmission & Distribution, are perfect examples of what makes France so attractive to foreign companies: its excellent education system.
And while France is now ranked 15th in the latest Global Competitiveness Index (2010-2011), it is in part because of its education system, which is ranked 11th for quality of education in mathematics and sciences and 5th for its business schools. Incidentally, 17 French business schools this year are listed in the Financial Times’ 65 best Masters in management programs. The result is a highly qualified workforce, given that 41% of the French 25- to 34-year-olds hold a tertiary education degree according to the OECD report Education at a Glance 2010. That puts France above the OECD average (35%) and ahead of the United Kingdom.
It’s been approved, signed and ratified: the City of Light is now to become a Greater City of Light. Last May 27, the French Senate passed a bill giving the green light to the ‘Greater Paris’ project. The goal? To create the most attractive city in the world for businesses. How? First, by promoting the assets Paris already has. After all, it is already Europe’s leading economic region in terms of GDP, and according to the 2009 Fortune Global 500, it is home to more headquarters of the world’s largest 500 companies than any other city, bar Tokyo…
Enhancing France’s economic attractiveness: An interview with David Appia, Chairman & CEO of the IFA
Posted by Invest in France Agency in Events; June 3, 2010
By Jonathan Gregson in La Baule – As Chairman and CEO of the Invest in France Agency (IFA), David Appia had several reasons to be pleased with the outcome of the 8th World Investment Conference held in La Baule, in France, from June 2-4, 2010. Firstly, the findings of the latest European Attractiveness Survey conducted by Ernst & Young showed France retaining its position as the second most popular foreign direct investment destination in Europe after the United Kingdom.
“The survey allows us to see how we stand in relation to competitors”, he says, “and our relative market share increased slightly last year”.
More importantly, the survey ranked France top among European nations in terms of R&D activity, an area in which he says “the strategic stakes are very high.” Moreover, the job content of foreign investment projects in France is much higher than in other European countries such as Germany. That, he believes, says a lot about the attractiveness of France – even during this recent period when global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) have slowed down…
Electric vehicles in France change up a gear
Posted by Invest in France Agency in France and its regions, Green, Sectors of excellence; May 6, 2010
“Plug your car in here” by RachelH on flickr
Shai Agassi, the founder of Better Place and a former number two at SAP, is not one to beat about the bush: “France is going to lead the way in Europe for electric vehicles”. And all the evidence is there to support his view: electric vehicles are well on the way to becoming a part of the industrial landscape in France. The potential is huge, as electric vehicles could account for 10% of all cars on Europe’s roads by 2020.
By adhering to the guidelines set out in 2007 by France’s “Grenelle” Environment Round Table Talks, one objective of which is to reduce the average emission level of French cars from 176 g to 130 g of CO2/km by 2020, France is making great strides towards “clean” transport for private individuals…
‘Turnkey Termination’
Posted by Invest in France Agency in Reforms; April 12, 2010
France has a simple and effective contract termination procedure called ‘termination by agreement’ (‘rupture conventionnelle’) that meets the needs of employers and employees alike. This new procedure for terminating contracts by mutual consent has proved to be very successful. In 18 months, nearly 250,000 agreements have been signed – over 600 per day! Employers and employees are clearly convinced by this new type of “amicable divorce”, which offers both flexibility and security.
Termination “flexicurity”
‘Termination by agreement’ has the advantages of flexibility, security and simplicity. The employee can receive unemployment benefits and the employer does not need to provide a reason for the termination. Both parties agree on an end date for the contract and no specific advance notice is required. A termination payment is made equal to what would be provided as a redundancy payment…
