Glossary
Expat (expatrié)
In the social-status sense, a person who works abroad without still being covered by their home country's social protection scheme, and who contributes to the scheme of their host country.
In the social and legal sense used by CLEISS, an expat is a worker who works abroad without being posted: they no longer fall under their home country's social protection scheme and stop contributing to it, becoming subject to the scheme of their country of activity instead. Unlike posting, expatriation is not, in principle, time-limited.
It is precisely because an expat loses their affiliation to the French scheme that they can choose to voluntarily join CFE to keep cover modelled on that of Social Security — something a posted worker gets automatically, without having to think about it. The actual status depends on the employment contract and the host country, not simply on how one perceives their own situation.
Example
An employee who signs a local contract with an employer based in Hong Kong and now contributes to the Hong Kong social protection scheme is, in the social-status sense, an expat — not a posted worker, even if their original company remains French.
Also searched as: expat status · expatriation
To go further: CFE guide: who can join (French)