Hiring a Japanese Chef in France: Work Permits, Shortage List, SMIC

France hires foreign cooks through a procedural system built around a work authorisation that the employer applies for. The good news for 2026 is that cooks appear on France's shortage list in at least some regions, which can remove the need to advertise first. This guide explains the standard route, where the list helps, and what the employer pays.

1. A market that shrank

Japan's agriculture ministry counted about 3,390 Japanese restaurants in France in 2025, down roughly 1,290 from 2023. Among the ten countries with the most Japanese restaurants, only China lost more in absolute terms, and in percentage terms France's fall (around a quarter) was the steepest.

Japan's foreign ministry counted 36,023 Japanese nationals living in France as of 1 October 2025, the tenth largest Japanese community abroad.

A contracting market cuts both ways for employers. There may be experienced cooks available from restaurants that closed. But the restaurants that remain are competing for customers who have more choice, which makes kitchen quality and authenticity more important, not less.

2. The routes, side by side

3. The standard route: work authorisation for a salarié

For most kitchens, this is the route. The employer applies for a work authorisation (autorisation de travail) online through the ANEF platform. According to the government's business portal:

• Labour market test. Before applying, the employer must have published the job with France Travail for three consecutive weeks within the previous six months, with no suitable candidate applying.
• Exemptions. The advertising requirement does not apply if the job is on the list of shortage occupations (métiers en tension) for the region, or in a few other cases, such as candidates with a master's degree paid at least €2,800.53 a month.
• Pay. At least the SMIC or the collective agreement minimum, whichever is higher.
• Processing. Typically two months from submission.

Once the authorisation is granted, the cook applies for a long-stay visa at the French consulate, then validates it or obtains a residence card in France.

The SMIC rose on 1 June 2026 to €12.31 gross an hour, €1,867.02 a month for a 35-hour week (from €12.02 and €1,823.03), after inflation passed the 2% trigger that requires an automatic increase. If your collective agreement sets a higher minimum for the grade, that higher figure applies.

4. The métiers en tension list and cooks

France's shortage occupation list was updated by an arrêté of 21 May 2025, which replaced the 2021 list. It is set region by region, based on recruitment difficulty and the presence of non-EU workers in the occupation. For jobs on the list in a given region, employers can recruit non-EU workers without first posting the job offer.

What we could confirm from official pages:

• The government's summary of the 2025 list names cuisiniers (cooks) and aides de cuisine among the occupations covered, alongside hotel and restaurant jobs.
• The Centre-Val de Loire regional prefecture lists cuisiniers, kitchen assistants, restaurant servers and hotel employees for that region.

What we could not confirm: the full regional annex on Légifrance was not accessible when we checked, so we cannot state officially which other regions, including Île-de-France, list cooks. Trade press reports that Île-de-France includes cooks, but we have not seen that in an official source. Check the annex of the arrêté of 21 May 2025 for your region before relying on the exemption.

5. Talent passport and EU Blue Card

The talent passport family (carte de séjour pluriannuelle "talent") is a multi-year residence card, but its categories are built around degrees and high salaries:

• Qualified employee (salarié qualifié): a diploma at least equivalent to a master's obtained in France, and gross annual pay of at least €39,582. This rarely fits a cook.
• EU Blue Card (carte bleue européenne): either three years of higher education or five years of professional experience at a comparable level, and gross annual pay of at least €59,373. For contracts of two years or more it is issued for the contract length, up to four years.

The Blue Card's experience alternative is the interesting one. An executive chef with long experience at a senior level, paid at or above €59,373, could in principle qualify without a degree. It is worth discussing with an adviser for a head chef role in a high-end restaurant. For a line cook, it is not realistic.

6. Working holiday (PVT)

France and Japan have had a working holiday agreement since 2000 (provisionally from December 1999), and Japan's foreign ministry lists a maximum of 1,800 visas a year. According to the French Embassy in Japan:

• Applicants must be 18 to 30 when applying (up to the day before their 31st birthday).
• The visa lasts one year from the date of departure, and can only be issued once.
• Holders may work, but cannot extend their stay or change status while in France.
• It is valid for metropolitan France only.

The rule on changing status is the one that matters to employers. A cook who arrives on a PVT and works out well cannot switch to a salarié permit from inside France. They will need to go back and apply through the standard route, so plan the timing if you want to keep them.

7. What it costs the employer

On first admission for a job lasting more than three months, the employer pays a one-off tax to the state, declared with VAT returns. The amounts published on the government's business portal:

For a cook on a permanent contract paid €2,300 a month gross, that is €1,265. Add relocation help, flights and the first weeks of housing, which are not required but are usually decisive. See our relocation package guide and our breakdown of overseas hiring costs (in Japanese).

8. Step by step

1. Check the métiers en tension annex for your region. If cooks are listed, you can skip the France Travail advertising period.
2. If not listed, publish the job with France Travail for three consecutive weeks and keep the records.
3. Agree terms with the candidate: gross pay at or above the SMIC and collective agreement minimum, hours, housing help. Our employment contract checklist covers the essentials.
4. File the work authorisation on ANEF. Allow about two months.
5. The cook applies for the long-stay visa in Japan.
6. On arrival, complete the residence formalities, and pay the employer tax with your VAT return.

For comparison with neighbouring countries, see our guides to Germany and Switzerland. To reach Japanese cooks already in Europe, you can post a job on WashokuJob.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. French rules and thresholds change; check the linked service-public and ministry pages, or consult an adviser, before acting.