Working in the Cook Islands as a French National: Permit, Minimum Wage, Tax and the Economy

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration publishes the criteria for each visa and permit. For an employee, the main categories are the international worker permit, the government worker permit and the skilled worker permit. The first requires a command of English, a return travel plan or a bond, a written job offer and a curriculum vitae; the ministry limits to two the previous visas and permits held without a one-year absence, or six years of stay in total, and the holder must spend at least one month outside the country during each 36-month permit. The skilled worker permit (260 New Zealand dollars, about €132) is for a contract with a government agency, a company or a foreign company approved by the Business Trade and Investment Board (BTIB).

Spouses and children have dedicated permits: spouse or resident's child permit, international child permit at 470 New Zealand dollars (about €238), with work limited to 20 hours a week. An adult student (470 dollars) works 20 hours a week at most and an international trainee pays 960 dollars (about €486). The precise conditions should be confirmed with immigration (+682 29 347, visapermit@mfai.gov.ck) before any step is taken; the table below summarises the main permits.

The minimum wage is subject to an annual review required by law; employees who are already better paid generally keep their rate. The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ “During Employment” page may display an old rate: the Public Service Commission’s announcement is authoritative for the amount in force.

The same ministry describes the basic conditions: a premium of 1.5 times the normal rate beyond 40 hours a week for hourly paid employees, a paid rest break of at least 10 minutes after three hours of work, a meal break after five hours, 10 working days of paid leave per 12-month period for a full-time employee (the employer being able to require up to six months of work before the first leave, in writing), 5 working days of paid sick leave and public holidays paid at the usual rate, doubled if worked. Untaken annual leave is paid out at the end of the contract, sick leave is not. The page does not explicitly require a written contract or specify notice: the conditions are set in the contract or the internal rules, and should be checked with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

For employment income, the Revenue Management Division of the Ministry of Finance has applied a progressive scale in Rarotonga since 1 January 2021: 0% from 0 to 14,600 New Zealand dollars (about €7,393), 17% from 14,601 to 30,000 dollars (about €15,191), 27% from 30,001 to 80,000 dollars (about €40,511) and 30% beyond. The division specifies that this standard deduction may be apportioned according to tax residence or the number of days of presence in the Cook Islands in the tax year. Employers calculate their employees’ withholding weekly or fortnightly (PAYE) using the 2021 tax table.

You become a Cook Islands tax resident by having your home there or by being present for more than 183 days in a 12-month period. VAT is 15% (Statistics Office) and registration is required as soon as the activity reaches or is expected to reach 40,000 dollars of taxable supplies; PAYE withholding registration is required for a business that employs staff. The conversions are based on the ECB reference rate.

On the French side, the BOFiP list of tax treaties concluded by France does not include the Cook Islands: an employee’s income is settled by each state’s domestic law, with no treaty allocation of taxation. The territorial scope of the treaty concluded with New Zealand, which appears in this list, is read in its article 3 before any reasoning by analogy; tax advice should therefore precede any departure.

No social security agreement links France and the Cook Islands, according to the list from CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison). A local-contract employee therefore comes under the host country’s social protection and not the French scheme; the page healthcare reimbursement in the Cook Islands details each situation. The contribution rates of the compulsory local schemes and the associated health cover could not be read on an accessible official source: the employer and the Revenue Management Division are the contacts to find them out.

An employee sent by their French employer can be seconded: in the absence of an agreement, they remain affiliated to the French scheme for 3 years, renewable once, and their contributions are paid in France as if they were working there; their healthcare costs are reimbursed up to French benefits on paid invoices (form S 3125c), and any local contributions remain due (CLEISS). Daily allowances are paid by their fund; for a work accident, they notify their employer within 24 hours. They can supplement this with the CFE (the Caisse des Français de l’Étranger, the voluntary health insurance scheme for French expatriates) or a group contract; see seconded employee.

The Business Trade and Investment Board indicates that any business with significant foreign participation must be approved, by filing forms with the Board. Certain activities are reserved for Cook Islands nationals (list in part D of the 2003 investment code), notably retail, agriculture, manufacturing and tourist accommodation. The resident investor permit (960 New Zealand dollars, about €486) requires a command of English, approval or registration with the Board and an information-sharing agreement with immigration.

A self-employed person benefits from no coordination with French Sécurité sociale: they choose between the CFE, a private contract and international insurance for sickness. VAT and employer obligations begin with registration with the Revenue Management Division, according to the thresholds described above.

The visa and permit categories published by immigration include no remote work or digital nomad visa. The international visitor permit (31 days, extendable by 31 days for 115 New Zealand dollars, or about €58) and the long-stay visitor permit (470 New Zealand dollars, 8 months at most for a national other than a New Zealander or Australian, with compulsory health insurance) are visitor residence permits: the possibility of carrying out remote activity for a foreign employer under them is not described and should be confirmed directly with immigration before departure. French and local taxation are assessed separately, notably according to the length of presence (183 days on the Cook Islands side).

According to France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry), before the pandemic tourism accounted for about 65% of GDP and fishing 26%, followed by black pearl farming and offshore banking. The dependence on international tourism is strong. The currency in use is the New Zealand dollar, alongside the Cook Islands dollar. The updated economic indicators appear in the “Economic indicators” block of this page when they are available.

The labour market is narrow: the population is 17,500 according to France Diplomatie, and activity is organised around the sectors that this page describes. No recent unemployment rate was read in the official sources. For a settlement project, see the page living in the Cook Islands.