OYE!!! Calm down!

I left France.... land of milk and honey and all that.

At least Dennerlymum and Shirtback know what they're talking about. Not like the rest of you wastrels. Haven't you got anything better to do than give out opinions and pick on me? thought not.

To the OP, apparently China is a great place to teach ESL. Bon courage.

I didn't know anybody in France who relied on ESL teaching as their main family source of income, most of the people who did it had other halves in better paying jobs. CDD's, low pay and being messed about.....

I taught in Grenoble. First language school after 2 CDD contracts said thanks but we can't offer you a permanent position. Second language school no permanent contract as the person I was covering came back from maternity leave(after a few years). Third language school - yes I'm sure after you complete your second CDD we will be able to offer you a permanent contract - you guessed it no permanent contract. Their excuse was that they couldn't afford a permanent contract and the promise they gave wasn't a firm promise.

Other things to be careful of are length of contract i.e. they offered me my first CDD until before christmas and the second CDD started after Jan 1st. If I hadn't completed my contracted hours(due to lack of lessons) they docked this from my final wage. I now know they aren't allowed to do this. Time off for funerals - no chance unless immediate family, time off for birth of your child - the bare minimum and they forgot to mention that I was eligible for two weeks unpaid.

Now I drive transfer busses to ski resorts for more money that what I was getting paid.

For me the TEFL industry has not been an enjoyable one apart from teaching the students and the other teachers. I once worked for someone who called himself 'honest ****', that alone should have set off alarm bells straight away!

Sounds about right.

The ELT 'profession' has never been a profession and never will be. Sad, because a lot of time and money go into becoming a skilled and creative EFL teacher, but that's the reality.

I truly appreciate the responses on this thread, thank you.

I spoke to the representatives at the French Embassy about my case. They recommended two options - the Auto-Entrepreneur (now known as Micro Entrepreneur) or the Profession libérale visa.

The former doesn't allow me to work locally. I make more than the amount stated for self-services, 35,000 euros per year as a Freelancer. As EuroTrash pointed out, I think the taxation would also be a concern.

An acquaintance who lives in Paris suggested that it just means I can’t work for a French company/school. But I can work for German ones, Spanish ones and American ones - pretty much anyone. I just can’t work for a French company, because that’s not the visa I hold. He doesn’t see how the French government is going to ask me not to work here, and then turn around and ask me why was I not paying taxes. Likewise, I could work for schools that would want me based on my skill set than my visa status as that would no longer be an issue.

I'm not sure whether I want to tread the former path. Hence, I'm inclined to Profession libérale. I could teach in local schools, pay my taxes and work remotely for my clients.

Apurva.

Hello, do you mean local secondary education schools, not language schools for adults? You said in an earlier post that you're "eager to learn the French language". Unfortunately, from my experience simply in coaching teenagers whose English teachers hadn't sufficiently explained the quirks, IMO you have to have thorough knowledge of French grammatical terms in order to explain English Grammar to them. They are only interested in speaking when they need to prepare the Oral at the Bac....
Maybe you should start a new thread on "Micro-Entreprise or Profession Libérale, which to choose?" and those in-the-know with give advice.
Good luck!

Apurva, this is sounding very strange indeed...

Let us be clear.. if you are living in France and working in France you are subject to French employment law and french tax law. You can't be employed by a non-french registered business and work in France to avoid taxation. All businesses in France are registered in France and usually are a french subsidiary if it is an international company.

If you want to live in France and you are not French, you are subject to immigration law.

If you want to live in Germany and tutor french people living in France. Well, good luck with that.

I think that's a pretty fair assessment.

Thinking back (& it was a long time ago), I can only recall one colleague who wasn't part of a dual-income family & who was living solely from teaching. & IIRC, her main gig was at the university.

I was a single parent when I was teaching ESL in France, & as I already mentioned, it took several jobs/contracts & state aid to make ends meet. I do remember other colleagues asking/wondering how aforementioned colleague & I managed.

I don't understand that at all either, PF. I think OP/his acquaintance have got hold of the wrong end of the stick

Hey Shirtback!

TBH, he is sounding like one of my kids - they are clever and good at sounding knowledgeable even when they are talking complete and utter bollocks. They would have recognised the look on my face when I read Apurva's post.

Bonjour Apurva

It's probably a question of terminology, but I'm not seeing the visa possibilities that you mention

Which category would you qualify for:
Quel visa, pour quel séjour ? - La France en Inde / France in India ?

Thank you, petitefrancaise for being clear. I don't think I would go about whatever the distant acquaintance has got going for himself. I don't think I want to end up in any kind of hot mess financially or with respect to immigration laws. :/

Hey Shirtback, I would qualify for Long Stay Businessperson’s Identity Card.

In simpler terms, all I want is,
a. Maintain my freelance clientele/Establish myself as an Entrepreneur
b. Be allowed to work if I want locally

Hope that makes sense.

In post #19, you said that you were "inclined to Profession Libérale".
As you said yourself, your present income would exceed the upper limit of the turnover allowed for an "Entrepreneur".
Unless you start a new thread for advice as to which business structure to choose, I would try to consult a French "Expert-Comptable" (= Chartered Accountant) for professional advice, as it's not a decision you can make lightly. They aren't simply experts in Accounting, but in all the legal, fiscal, administrative, social, .... aspects of businesses.