How to Verify Employee Work Authorisation in France: QR Code Guide

A valid-looking residence permit is not proof of the right to work. Since 2026, checking the authenticity of every non-EU permit through a QR code scan is a sanctionable requirement, and skipping it is a compliance failure on its own. The autorisation de travail is your company's legal responsibility, so the fine lands on employer, not the employee.

Here is exactly how to verify employee work authorisation in France, and what to file afterwards.

Which employees you need to verify

EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals work in France freely. For them, you only check an identity document.

Everyone else needs an autorisation de travail. That means non-EU hires holding a VLS-TS, an "employee" or "temporary worker" card, a Talent Passport, or a work authorisation certificate. Each of these carries a QR code you must authenticate.

The 3 Step Process

Step 1: Scan the QR code

France now offers two official tools to authenticate permits digitally

 
• Contrôle Travail portal : The desktop route, also used for the pre-hire declaration to the prefecture.
• France-Auth mobile app : scan the QR code on the permit or work authorisation certificate directly from your phone.

Both read the code and confirm the document against government records in seconds. Do this before the first day, not after.

Step 2: Send the prefecture authenticity request

The QR scan does not replace the older legal duty for new hires. You must still request confirmation of authenticity from the prefecture of the place of employment.

Prefecture verification timing rules

Step 3: File and retain the receipt

Save the verification receipt and keep it for at least 5 years. Store it in the personnel file next to a copy of the permit. In an inspection, your request plus the prefecture's acknowledgement is what proves you did the check.

The reality is that inspectors now cross-check Contrôle Travail data directly, so a missing receipt is easy for them to spot.

Why this matters: the cost of getting it wrong

Administrative fines run from €20,750 to €62,250 per unauthorised worker, with criminal penalties up to €30,000. Both figures apply per person, not per incident. Repeat offenders can be banned from hiring foreign workers for up to five years.

Honestly, the verification itself takes minutes. The exposure comes from doing it inconsistently across a growing team, or forgetting to re-verify at renewal. (That second one trips up more HR teams than the initial hire.) For the full penalty framework, see our guide to France employer immigration fines.

Building it into your process

Verification is not a one-time task. You repeat it at every permit renewal and whenever a role, salary, or work location changes. Tie each check to your onboarding and renewal workflows so nothing slips.

Avertissement : les règles en matière d'immigration changent assez fréquemment ; veuillez vous renseigner auprès de sources officielles ou nous contacter pour obtenir les dernières informations avant de prendre toute décision.