Working in Puerto Rico as a French National: Visa, Minimum Wage, Taxes and Contributions

As Puerto Rico is a US territory, immigration and work authorisation fall under federal law. France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) points out that the visa waiver programme (ESTA, 90 days at most) does not allow professional activity and that a visa is needed for any activity, including an internship; working in exchange for lodging, babysitting or au pair work also require a work visa, even when unpaid. A medical examination is compulsory for long-stay visas, and exceeding the authorised length of stay leads to refusal of entry and, as a rule, an entry ban of several years.

For a business project, the E-2 investor visa from USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) requires the nationality of a treaty country, a substantial investment in a real enterprise that the applicant directs (at least 50% ownership or operational control) and an activity that generates more than a marginal income. The initial stay is two years, with extensions in two-year periods and no limit on their number; the spouse of an E-2 holder is authorised to work. The list of treaty countries is published by the State Department. The other categories (employee of a US employer, intra-company transfer, study, family) depend on the project and should be checked with USCIS before any application.

The US Department of Labor gives a basic minimum wage of $10.50 an hour in Puerto Rico, revised periodically. Employers covered by federal law but not subject to the Puerto Rican minimum wage law must pay at least the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Pay levels by occupation are published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and by the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources (DTRH); they serve as a basis for negotiating a local contract.

A French employee seconded by their employer generally keeps their French pay, with a possible expatriation supplement set by the secondment contract. An employee recruited locally negotiates their salary in dollars with a Puerto Rican or US employer, and the benefits (health insurance, leave, annual bonus) are part of the offer. Comparing the whole package, health insurance included, avoids focusing on gross salary alone: the page healthcare system in Puerto Rico details the schemes to which the employer gives access.

Act No. 148 of 1969 provides for a bonus for private-sector employees. Any employer who employs one or more employees over the period from 1 October to 30 September pays each employee who has worked at least 700 hours a bonus of 6% of a salary capped at $10,000, or 3% for an employer with 15 employees or fewer. For employees hired after the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act, the text provides for 2% of salary up to $600 ($300 for an employer with 20 employees or fewer) from 1,350 hours, and half the bonus in the first year.

Payment falls in principle between 15 November and 15 December; in case of delay, the employer owes additional compensation equal to half the bonus if payment takes place within the first six months, then to the full bonus beyond that. The total paid cannot exceed 15% of the employer's net profit, and agricultural and domestic workers, employees of non-profit charitable institutions and Commonwealth officials are excluded. The employment contract specifies the regime applicable to each employee.

Puerto Rico has its own tax administration, the Department of the Treasury (Hacienda), and its own tax code. According to Hacienda, an individual is generally a resident if domiciled in Puerto Rico, and is presumed to be a resident after 183 days of presence in the calendar year, unless the stay is temporary in nature. The progressive scale for residents, revised periodically, has rates from 0% to 33%, with a personal exemption (doubled for a couple filing jointly), and the annual income return is in principle due before 15 April of the following year.

On the federal side, IRS Publication 570 explains that bona fide residents of Puerto Rico generally pay Puerto Rican tax on their worldwide income, that a US citizen or resident alien reports their worldwide income to the IRS excluding Puerto Rican-source income, and that income of foreign source to both systems entitles the taxpayer to a foreign tax credit. Bona fide resident status rests on three conditions: sufficient presence (183 days or one of the alternatives provided), no tax home outside the territory and no closer connection to the United States or a foreign country. US federal government salaries remain taxable in the United States.

The France-US tax treaty of 31 August 1994, amended by the protocols of 8 December 2004 and 13 January 2009, defines in its Article 3 the term “United States” as the United States of America, without Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam or any other territory or possession (consolidated version published by the French tax administration). The residence rules and the allocation of taxing rights provided for the United States therefore cannot be taken for granted for a person settled in Puerto Rico. French tax residence depends on domestic law and an analysis of the personal situation: a check with the French tax administration, with Hacienda and with a tax adviser should come before departure.

Federal contributions are 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare paid by the employee, with the same rates for the employer; the Social Security cap is revised each year (IRS). Hacienda's instructions also cite Social Security or Medicare contributions on wages, or federal self-employment tax, as a condition of the additional child credit for bona fide residents of Puerto Rico.

The France-US social security agreement, signed on 2 March 1987 and in force since 1 July 1988, names the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in its territorial scope. It coordinates disability, old-age and survivors' benefits; sickness and maternity are not covered. An employee seconded by their French employer can remain on the French scheme: the CLEISS summary table (CLEISS is the French Centre for European and International Social Security Liaison) gives form SE 404-02 for 5 years for an initial secondment, with no extension; for a self-employed worker, the initial period is two years, with an exceptional derogation possible beyond that (Article 9). An expatriate on a local contract is subject to US legislation and leaves the French scheme (see seconded or expatriate and the glossary entry on the local contract).

A self-employed worker seconded from France requests form SE 404-02 from the Urssaf (international mobility department) and keeps it; the competent US body is the Social Security Administration. The agreement provides no coordination for sickness and maternity insurance: care received in Puerto Rico is not coordinated, and private insurance or the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’Étranger, the French overseas nationals’ health fund) completes the arrangement (CLEISS).

The Puerto Rico Incentives Code (Act No. 60 of 2019, text revised on 12 May 2026) provides for decrees for certain new residents: investors, hard-to-recruit professionals, qualified physicians, researchers and scientists. For the resident investor, the text requires in particular a minimum annual contribution of $10,000 to non-profit organisations, the acquisition of a primary residence in Puerto Rico within two years of the decree and an annual report filing fee of $5,000. The regime was amended by Act No. 38 of 2026: the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC) remains the point of contact for the conditions in force.

For remote work, France Diplomatie specifies that ESTA does not allow professional activity; the situation of an employee working remotely for a French employer should be confirmed with USCIS before departure. Our page digital nomad insurance presents the cover suited to mobile professionals.

The currency is the US dollar: the US Department of Labor and Hacienda publish all their amounts in dollars. The statement of purposes of the Incentives Code groups the supported sectors into ten families: individuals, export of goods and services, financial services and insurance, visitor economy, manufacturing (including research and development), infrastructure, agriculture, creative industries, entrepreneurship and others. It also cites the arrival of tens of billions of dollars in federal reconstruction funds after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

For a professional project, these benchmarks suggest looking at the sectors encouraged by the Incentives Code and checking the conditions of each decree with the DDEC. The up-to-date macroeconomic indicators (growth, inflation, unemployment) appear in the block above; the page living in Puerto Rico completes this picture with cost-of-living benchmarks, hurricanes and dengue.