Working in Bermuda as a French National: Permits, Pay, Taxes and Contributions

According to the official labour guide of the Labour Relations Section, a person who is not Bermudian, not a naturalised British overseas territories citizen considered to belong to Bermuda, not the spouse of a Bermudian and not the holder of a permanent resident's certificate must hold a work permit. The first application is made from abroad, unless the Department of Immigration authorises otherwise. It is the employer who files the application online, with a written contract (statement of employment) signed by both parties and information on family members. Filing by email or in person is not accepted, and work cannot begin before approval.

Working without a permit, with an expired permit or outside the authorised post exposes the worker and the employer to fines, deportation and a ban on returning to work in Bermuda for at least 12 months, according to the government. The holder may only take up the job stated on their permit. The guide working abroad recalls the points common to all countries.

The government distinguishes the standard permit (1 to 5 years), the short-term permit (up to 6 months), the casual permit (part-time work, at most 14 hours a week), the periodic permit for frequent visitors, and permits for new businesses, fintech and family offices, as well as the “global entrepreneur” and “intra-company” categories. Processing a complete file takes 20 working days for a standard permit and 4 working days for an urgent short-term permit. The published fees for a standard or periodic permit are $1,015 for one year (about €904), $2,530 for two years, $3,795 for three years, $5,040 for four years and $6,510 for five years (about €5,800). A short-term permit costs from $705 for up to three months to $1,070 for six months (about €953). The conversions are based on the ECB reference rate, the Bermuda dollar being at par with the US dollar.

The renewal application is filed at the earliest three months and at the latest one month before the permit expires, and the employee may keep working while it is processed. A police certificate covering the country of origin and the countries of residence of the previous two years is requested from first-time applicants. A level of English is required of most new applicants for a standard permit, except for nationals of English-speaking countries or holders of a diploma from an English-speaking institution.

Before hiring from abroad, the employer must advertise the post for at least eight days in a local newspaper and on the government's job website, and any Bermudian candidate who meets the requirements must be duly considered: Bermudians always have priority. The 2025 work permit policy, in force since 1 November 2025, adds closed and restricted categories: 48 categories are closed to foreign workers (for example administrative assistant, cashier, real estate agent, security guard, taxi driver) and 18 are restricted, with shorter permits and additional checks. The list is updated periodically.

A permit holder must in principle complete two years with their first employer. After that period, the policy updates provide that a change of job cannot be considered during the first six months of a new permit (against one year previously) or during the first three months of a renewed permit. A promotion is only possible on a renewed permit, with the Department's prior written authorisation. At the end of the permit, the holder has in principle 90 days to settle their affairs and leave; the employer pays for repatriation to the country of origin unless otherwise agreed. The policy changes regularly: to be checked before taking any steps.

The hourly minimum wage rose from $16.40 to $17.13 (about €15.26) on 1 September 2025 for all employees, full-time or part-time, according to a Ministry of Economy and Labour release of 25 August 2025. It will be reviewed every two years, with an increase capped at 2.5% a year and indexed to prices. The figures from the employment survey give a median gross annual income close to $71,000. The median reaches about $79,000 among 40 to 54 year olds and $41,000 among those under 25; it is about $85,000 for holders of a permanent resident's certificate, $84,000 for non-Bermudian spouses of Bermudians, $83,000 for other non-Bermudians and $68,000 for Bermudians.

Levels vary widely by occupation: senior managers and executives show a median of $120,533 (about €107,379), service and sales workers $42,698 (about €38,038). The table below shows the best and worst paid sectors. The incomes measured are gross, before contributions and payroll tax.

The Employment Act 2000 applies to all employees, whatever their immigration status. The employer provides a written contract (statement of employment) no later than one week after work begins, with an itemised payslip. Hours beyond 40 a week are overtime, paid at no less than 1.5 times the normal rate or compensated by time off, unless otherwise agreed in writing. The employee is entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest a week and a 30-minute meal break after five hours of work. The official guide lists ten public holidays.

• Vacation: at least two weeks (14 days) paid after one year of service, one week of which may be taken after six months.
• Sickness: at least eight days paid a year after one year of service; a medical certificate may be requested.
• Maternity and paternity: 13 weeks of paid maternity leave after one year of continuous service (unpaid before that) and five consecutive days of paternity leave (paid after one year).
• End of contract: the notice period is set out in the contract; there is no statutory retirement age in the private sector, but employers often apply a policy at 65.

The government states that individuals do not pay income tax. The main levy is the payroll tax, calculated on annual remuneration with a cap of $1,000,000 per person. The progressive employee share runs from 0.25% to 12.5% depending on the remuneration band. The employer share depends on the payroll. These scales are revised each year: the rates in force should be checked with the administration. The employer may withhold the employee share but is liable for the total. Returns are quarterly, due on 15 January, 15 April, 15 July and 15 October.

Three further levies are provided for by law for every eligible employee, from the first day: social insurance, a public pension available from age 65, health insurance (Standard Health Benefit) and the private pension, open from age 23 and 720 hours worked in the year. For each of them, the employer bears at least 50% of the cost and may deduct the rest from the salary; holders of a permit of six months or less are exempt from social insurance. As the contribution rates to the contributory pension fund are being revised, the weekly amounts in force can be read from the Department of Social Insurance. For health insurance, see the Bermuda healthcare system.

Payroll tax also applies to companies and self-employed workers. The sources consulted describe no status for a non-Bermudian self-employed worker without authorisation: the activity of a non-Bermudian comes under the Department of Immigration, which should be asked before any project. For remote work, the Work from Bermuda programme, launched on 1 August 2020, allowed people to live in Bermuda for a year while working for a non-Bermudian entity, with the possibility of a one-year renewal, without a local job; its current status should be checked with the government. Permission to reside on an annual basis ($275 for up to one year, $1,215 for up to five years) is the route offered to people who settle without a local job; its conditions, notably on carrying on an activity, are published by the Department of Immigration.

On the French side, CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) states that a seconded employee sent to a country without an agreement remains affiliated to the French scheme for three years renewable once, with contributions paid in France and sometimes also in the host country. An expatriate on a local contract leaves the French scheme, may join the CFE (Caisse des Français de l'Étranger, the voluntary French social security scheme for expatriates) voluntarily for sickness, maternity, invalidity, work accidents and basic retirement, and France does not take local periods into account when calculating their pension. No tax treaty links the two States (BOFiP list): article 4 B of the French General Tax Code determines tax residence (home or main place of stay, professional activity, centre of economic interests). See seconded or expatriate.

The employment survey counts more than 33,000 filled jobs, more than 22,000 held by Bermudians and more than 8,000 by other non-Bermudians. International business accounts for about 5,000 jobs, services and sales nearly 6,700 and senior managers and executives nearly 6,900. The Bermuda dollar is at a fixed par with the US dollar, according to the national risk assessment published with the monetary authority. The “Economic benchmarks” block above gives updated growth, inflation and unemployment.

Looking ahead, the Bermuda Health Council published a health human resources strategy, and the permit policy changes regularly. The 2025 policy added the family office category and kept the fintech and new business categories. The guide expat health insurance presents the cover options; Expavy helps compare them with your situation.