Working in Tanzania as a French National: Work Permit, Pay, Tax and Contributions

In Tanzania, a foreigner’s right to work rests on two separate authorisations: a work permit, processed by the ministry responsible for Labour, and a residence permit, issued by the immigration department. Both are applied for with the employer, who sponsors the file, before the start date. France Diplomatie recalls that the tourist visa cannot be used for professional or voluntary purposes and that violations expose you to fines, expulsion and temporary or permanent bans on staying.

The business visa, at USD 250 or €250, covers short professional stays, without amounting to an authorisation to work. Volunteers apply for a type C residence permit, even for a short stay. The official immigration and Labour pages could not be read during this check: the permit classes, fees and timelines are confirmed with the immigration department, the Ministry of Labour and the employer.

• Before departure: visa requested online or obtained on arrival, with a passport valid for more than six months; payment is by card or in cash, and only US dollars issued after 2006 are accepted for a visa paid on arrival (France Diplomatie).
• Work permit: application processed on the Ministry of Labour side with the employer; the list of documents is requested from the employer and the ministry.
• Residence permit: application to the immigration department; the documents required for the employee and their family are confirmed with it.
• Check: the length granted to the visa may be shorter than that requested online; it is checked at the border.

The guide to living in Tanzania details the family’s settling-in formalities.

The Ministry of Labour, through the Wage Board, publishes private-sector minimum wages in a 2025 order (Labour Institutions (Minimum Wage for Private Sector) Order, Government Notice No. 605A): the amounts vary by sector and zone, with hourly, daily, weekly and monthly rates. The copy of the order consulted was not legible: the amounts are therefore not reproduced here and are read in the order published by the Ministry of Labour.

An expatriate’s pay is negotiated in the contract, in foreign currency or in Tanzanian shillings (TZS), often with housing, a vehicle, schooling and health cover. The contract is drawn up in writing: assignment, duration, pay, currency of payment, leave, health cover and repatriation. For an employee sent by a French employer, the page on seconded or expat helps you choose the status.

An employee’s income tax is withheld at source by the employer (PAYE), under a progressive scale published by the Tanzania Revenue Authority. The TRA pages could not be consulted: the bands, the exemption threshold and the residence rule are confirmed with the TRA or the employer, and the TRA’s PAYE calculator gives the exact amount.

The international treaties page of impots.gouv.fr mentions no tax treaty between France and Tanzania. Without a treaty, each State applies its domestic law: French tax residence is determined under French law, and any double taxation is dealt with by each country’s internal mechanisms. Individual advice, before departure, makes it possible to know where the salary will be taxed.

The CLEISS lists no social security agreement between France and Tanzania. A seconded employee remains affiliated to French social security for 3 years, renewable once (6 years in total); French contributions are paid as if they were working in France, and local contributions may remain due (CLEISS). Care is reimbursed within the limit of French tariffs, with form S 3125c. See healthcare reimbursement in Tanzania.

On the local side, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) offers old-age, survivors’ and invalidity pensions, an unemployment benefit, maternity, a funeral grant and a social health benefit; the contribution rates, the expatriate regime and the link with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) do not appear on the pages consulted. A self-employed person must hold a permit suited to their activity: the tourist visa does not authorise it. The CFE (Caisse des Français de l’étranger, the French social security fund for French nationals abroad) remains a voluntary option: see the guide to the CFE.

The France Diplomatie pages consulted describe no visa category dedicated to remote work or digital nomadism. A French national working remotely for a foreign employer from Tanzania asks the immigration department about the category suited to the length of stay: the tourist visa cannot be used for professional activity. Health insurance is chosen as for a long stay: see digital nomad insurance. Taxation depends on tax residence and on the length of presence in each country.

The currency is the Tanzanian shilling (TZS). Tourism structures activity in the north of the country (Arusha, Kilimanjaro) and in Zanzibar, as described by France Diplomatie; travel agencies, mountain guides and transport providers are employers there. The growth, inflation and unemployment indicators appear in the “Economic reference points” block above, updated continuously.

Before accepting a post, it is useful to reread the Tanzania country guide and to ask the employer about the safety and health measures provided for in the contract, as well as the cost of repatriation: see also Tanzania’s healthcare system.