Question about not having a degree

[melodyman]

My company is thinking about moving me to France, I have a very specific set of skill for the work that we do, a certification from my company but although I attended college I did not graduate, I have been doing what I do in IT for more than 15 years, will that be an issue when they try to obtain my work visa?

Thanks in advance

[Bevdeforges]

The French immigration system isn't nearly as stuck on university degrees as they are in the US. What your company will have to do is to justify transferring you over hiring someone already available in France and/or the EU.

They are allowed to reference your prior experience with the company - which gives you an "in" over someone they would have to hire off the street, since you are already familiar with your employer's environment, business and policies.

Other than that, it's a matter of how well your company's French office can handle the bureaucrats.
Cheers,
Bev

[frogblogger]

Just an added point on this, there are certain types of work - regulated professions - where a qualification is required in France, but equivalence of studies and qualifications from abroad is not necessarily recognised,or additional requirements are imposed. This even applies to nationals from other EU states. It is irrelevantwhether you are working for a French company, or for a subsidiary/branch of an international company.

Here is a summary of EU law on this:

The situation with regard to recognition differs depending on whether practice of the profession concerned is regulated in the host State, that is, if practice is conditional upon possession of one or more vocational training qualifications delivered in that State, or whether practice of that profession is not subject to any specific national regulation.

European Community legislation provides for automatic recognition of qualifications though the application of sectoral directives for various relevant professions, mainly in the medical or paramedical sectors. For other regulated professions, the European Commission has adopted two directives, 89/48 CEE and 92/51 CEE, establishing a general system for the recognition of qualifications. These directives allow all fully qualified persons to gain recognition of professional qualifications obtained by them in their country of origin in order to practice the regulated profession in another member State. However, these two directives do not establish a system for automatic recognition of qualifications and the migrant may be subject to “compensatory measures” if the training he or she has received differs substantially from that required to practice professionally in the host country. Each member State has a limited number of regulated professions. All information on these professions and on access procedures may be obtained from the point of contact and from information regarding the application of directives.

If a profession is not regulated in the host State, approval of qualifications and of professional standards is the remit of the employer. However, individuals may encounter difficulties in gaining recognition of their professional qualifications at their true value and may find it difficult to find work at a professional level corresponding to their qualifications. In this event, he or she may appeal to information centres in the host country. Indeed, in each European country, national information centres associated with the NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centres) network or, in some countries, information centres that have been assigned exclusively to provide information on recognition of professional qualifications, are authorised to answer questions and issue accreditation of qualifications.

(From the CIEP site)