Working in Western Sahara as a French Citizen: The Framework Established by Official Sources

For a French citizen considering carrying out an activity in Western Sahara, the usual practical information (right to work, work visa or permit, minimum wage, salary levels, form of contract, income tax scale, local social contributions, framework for the self-employed and remote work) appears in no official source read. France Diplomatie (the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs travel advice service) has no separate page for the territory: it is mentioned in the safety section of its advice on Morocco, which does not deal with these subjects.

Likewise, the World Bank indicators interface recognises no code for this territory: no growth, inflation, unemployment, gross domestic product or currency data is published by this route. Rather than putting forward unestablished figures or descriptions, this page sticks to the French social protection rules, which do not depend on local detail, and refers to the competent administrations for the rest.

Before any commitment, a candidate for a job in the area asks their future employer and the competent authorities in writing for: the residence and work permit required, its length of validity and the renewal conditions; the minimum wage applicable to their post; the tax regime of their pay and the withholding at source; the contributions due and the protection offered in case of sickness, work accident and maternity. The French embassy in Rabat (+212 5 37 68 97 00) is the first contact indicated by France Diplomatie for French people in Morocco; the question of its competence for the area of stay should be put to it, no district being specified for the territory on the useful contacts page.

On safety, France Diplomatie classes Western Sahara among the zones of heightened vigilance and indicates that, when crossing it, any route leaving the tarmac coastal road must be subject to prior agreement from the royal gendarmerie or the royal armed forces: this instruction concerns professional travel on tracks. It also mentions that the coastal route towards Mauritania must not be used at night.

The CLEISS lists Western Sahara neither among the social security agreements in force nor among those signed but not yet in force. Morocco is among the agreements in force; the pages consulted do not say whether this agreement applies to the territory, and this question is for the CLEISS. Two situations are therefore possible, to be clarified before departure: if an agreement applies, the length of secondment and the forms are those of the agreement; otherwise, secondment comes under French domestic law.

In the second case, the employee sent by their French employer remains affiliated to French social security (articles L. 761-2 and R. 761-1 to R. 761-6 of the Social Security Code) for three years, renewable only once. An employee who has reached the maximum cannot be posted again to the same country by the same company for two years; if the limit is exceeded, they become an expatriate and come under the local system alone. Contributions are paid in France as if they were working there, and they may owe local contributions if the country’s scheme is compulsory. Care is reimbursed within what France would pay, on paid invoices with form S 3125c; the employer may add private insurance. The application is handled with the Urssaf (the French social contributions collector). See the posted worker glossary entry and secondee or expatriate.

According to the CLEISS, an expatriate employee on a local contract in a country with no agreement “will no longer be covered by French social security”: they notify their health insurance fund, the CAF (family benefits fund) and France Travail (the French employment agency), and return their carte Vitale. They can supplement local cover with voluntary insurance: the Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE, the voluntary health insurance body for French people abroad) covers for employees sickness, maternity, disability, work accidents and basic retirement; supplementary retirement and unemployment have their own voluntary bodies, including France Travail for unemployment. The CLEISS specifies that this voluntary insurance does not exempt from compulsory local contributions. Each country assesses pension rights separately: France does not count local insurance periods for the rate of the French pension, and local contributions may be refunded, in part or in full, depending on local legislation. See local contract.

A self-employed worker is covered by the CFE for sickness and maternity (CLEISS); their local status, registration and taxation are described by no official source read for the territory. The same goes for remote work: no official source consulted mentions a dedicated scheme. In all cases, insurance covering medical costs, hospitalisation and medical repatriation remains essential according to France Diplomatie (see digital nomad insurance).

The list of tax treaties published by the French tax administration includes Morocco but has no entry for Western Sahara. The pages read do not specify whether the France-Morocco treaty applies to the territory. A taxpayer concerned therefore asks the tax office for non-resident individuals, as well as the local tax authorities, before signing, in order to know where their pay is taxed and to avoid double taxation. No local scale is presented here for lack of an official source.

In the meantime, the logic to adopt is one of caution: keep your contracts, payslips and proof of tax payment, report your change of residence to the French administrations, and ask your employer for a written statement of what is withheld at source and of the contributions paid.

Whatever the status, two things are certain. On the one hand, France Diplomatie considers it essential, in its health advice on Morocco, to have assistance or insurance covering medical costs, hospitalisation and medical repatriation, and to check the extent and validity of your medical cover. On the other hand, establishments may ask for full payment before the patient leaves. The detail of reimbursements by status is in the page on healthcare reimbursement, and the comparison of cover in expat health insurance; Expavy can help you with it, first checking the geographical zone covered.