[DirtyMelodies]

I'm a flight attendant based in Toronto, Canada. I absolutely love my job. Recently, speaking with colleagues, I learned that many fellow FAs use their airline discounts to commute from other countries. So those people are Canadian (or legally allowed to work in Canada, at least) but live in other countries, and build their schedule in a way that allows them to commute for long work periods (hotels are paid for on layovers) before heading back to the country where they rent a place.

My question is, if I was to move to Paris, would I need a visa? Considering I don't work in France (my income would exclusively come from working in Canada), and that I would regularly fly out of the country to go to work (which also implies I wouldn't stay 90+ days in a row in France)... I'm just wondering if I'd need a visa or other immigration papers. If so, what kind of visa would best suit my needs?

 

[Bevdeforges]

Have you asked your commuting colleagues what their visa status is? Because it's not a matter of where your income comes from, but rather where you are resident. (France's criteria for tax residence include being "normally" resident in France, which you would be.)

Here in France, there has been some hassle over airline personnel who live in France (thanks to the EU mobility rules) but who work for bargain airlines in Ireland and elsewhere, because the employees are on Irish work contracts (considerably less constraining to the employer). I'm not sure how the situation was worked out, but in this situation the workers definitely did NOT have the visa issue. Unfortunately, you do.

The 90 day thing is only for tourists on Schengen visas (i.e. the stamp in the passport) and that rule seems to include a provision that you can only be in the Schengen area for 90 days total out of any rolling 180 day period - so basically you have to stay out of France at least as long as you are in France.

It may be possible to do what you want, but be advised that you'd most likely fall under French tax rules - and that would open up the question of your cotisations (social insurances), which could become a very sticky issue. Check into the details a bit of where and how your colleagues are set up outside the country.
Cheers,
Bev