France Seasonal Worker Card: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

The French seasonal worker card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle travailleur saisonnier) lets you stay and work in France only during the periods written on the card, and those periods cannot add up to more than six months a year. The card can last up to three years, and you must keep your main home outside France. If you stay longer than six months in a year, or outside the dates of the card, you are in France without a right to stay and the prefecture can refuse to renew the card.

Limit: Six months of stay and work in France per year, in total
Period: Each year of the card, inside the dates the card sets
Card length: Up to 3 years, renewable
Other condition: Your habitual home stays outside France
Law: CESEDA, article L421-34
Run by: The prefecture, under the Ministry of the Interior

Who it applies to

Workers from outside the EU who come to France each year for the harvest, the grape picking or other farm seasons.
Hotel, restaurant and ski resort staff who work a winter or a summer season in France.
Workers who do two seasons in the same year, for example winter in the Alps and summer on the coast.
Employers who hire the same seasonal workers year after year.
Seasonal workers who think about staying on in France after the season.

The rule

Article L421-34 of the CESEDA, the French code on the entry and stay of foreigners, creates the multi-year card marked seasonal worker. It is given to a foreigner who holds a seasonal job, as defined in point 3 of article L1242-2 of the Labour Code, and who undertakes to keep their habitual residence outside France. The card lasts three years at most and can be given from the first admission to France.

The same article sets the limit. The card allows its holder to stay and to work in France during the period or periods that it fixes, and these periods cannot be more than a total of six months per year. So there are two limits at the same time: the dates on the card, and the six-month total.

The card is linked to work. It can only be given when a work permit has been obtained first, under articles L5221-2 and following of the Labour Code. The official public service site adds that the first seasonal contract must be for at least three months, that the employer asks for the work permit before you travel, and that you sign a promise to keep your home abroad.

The law says six months per year. It gives no number of days, and it does not say whether the year is the calendar year or each year of the card. At renewal the public service site asks for proof that the six-month limit was respected, for example passport stamps and payslips for the last three years.

Why it exists

The card answers a need of French farms, hotels and resorts for workers during short busy periods. In return the state wants to be sure that the workers go home between seasons and do not settle in France through this route. This is why the law joins a work right to a strict limit on time and to a promise to live abroad, and why the card does not give a right to bring family.

Counting the days

You count the days you stay in France in a year, whether you are working or not, and compare the total with six months. You must also stay inside the dates written on the card.

Read the period or periods fixed on your card. You may not be in France under this card outside those dates.
For each stay, write the day you entered France and the day you left.
Add the days of all stays in the same year, including the arrival day and the departure day of each stay.
Compare the total with six months. Six months is between 181 and 184 days depending on the months, so plan for 181 days to be safe.
Leave France before the earlier of the two limits: the end date on the card, or the day your total reaches six months.
Keep entry and exit stamps and your payslips. You need them when you renew the card.

How Countr counts it. Countr counts every day on which you were in France for any part of the day, over any period of 12 months that ends today. Its line is 181 days, the shortest possible six months, so the app warns early and never late, and it starts warning 14 days before. The law only says six months per year, so a count over any 12 months is a careful reading, not the text of the law. Countr does not know the dates printed on your card: you may only stay inside those dates, even if your day count is low. Only days the app can see are counted. If your photos have big gaps, some days are missing and the app can show fewer days than you really stayed.

Track France Seasonal Worker Card on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

Download on the App Store

Examples

One summer season, inside the limit

Youssef's card fixes one period from 1 May to 30 September. In 2026 he enters France on 4 May and leaves on 28 September. That is 148 days: 28 in May, 30 in June, 31 in July, 31 in August and 28 in September. He is inside the dates of the card and well under six months. He goes back to his home in Morocco, as he promised.

Two seasons that add up to too much

Elena works a winter season in a ski resort from 15 February to 15 May 2026, which is 90 days, and then a second contract from 1 September to 15 December 2026, which is 106 days. Together that is 196 days in France in 2026. Six months is at most 184 days, so she is over the limit, even though each contract alone was short. The second season should have ended on 3 December at the latest to stay within 184 days, and earlier to be safe.

A stay across the new year

Paolo is in France from 1 October 2025 to 30 April 2026. In 2025 he counts 92 days and in 2026 he counts 120 days, so each calendar year is under six months. But the stay is 212 days in a row. Countr counts any 12 months and shows him over its 181-day line from the end of March 2026. A single stay this long is also hard to match with periods on the card that total six months a year.

Exceptions

Citizens of the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland do not need this card and are not under this limit.
The card does not allow family reunification: the public service site states that it does not let you bring your husband, wife or children.
The seasonal worker card is outside the rule that asks holders of other multi-year cards to stay at least six months a year in France. Its rule works the opposite way.
Days in France without work still count: the limit covers the right to stay as well as the right to work.

Common misconceptions

“The card is valid for three years, so I can stay for three years.”: The card can last three years, but in each year it only allows stay during the periods it fixes, and never more than six months in total.
“Only the days I work count toward the six months.”: The law limits the periods of stay and work together. Days of rest, days between two contracts spent in France and holidays in France all count.
“After three years as a seasonal worker I can move to an ordinary work card from inside France.”: The card is given on the promise that your home stays outside France. Changing to another permit is a separate request with its own conditions.
“If my employer needs me longer, the six months can be extended.”: The six-month total is written in the law itself. An employer or a prefecture cannot fix periods on the card that add up to more.

Questions and answers

How many days is six months on the seasonal worker card?

The law does not give a number of days. Six calendar months are between 181 and 184 days. Plan for 181 days if you want to be sure you are inside the limit.

Is the six months counted per calendar year or per 12 months?

Article L421-34 says six months per year and does not explain more. To stay safe, respect the limit both in the calendar year and in any 12 months in a row, and never stay outside the dates on your card.

What happens if I stay longer than six months?

The card no longer covers your stay, so you are in France without a right to stay and may not work. At renewal you must prove you respected the limit, and the prefecture can refuse the new card.

Can I work for a second employer during my six months?

The card is linked to a work permit for a seasonal job. A new job needs to be covered by a work permit as well, so ask the employer to check this before you start.

Do I have to leave France between two seasons?

You must be outside France when the periods fixed on the card are over, and your home must stay abroad. Time you spend in France between two seasons counts toward the six months if the card covers it, and is not allowed if it does not.

How do I renew the card?

The public service site says you apply online between four months and two months before the card ends. You give a work permit, your promise to keep your home abroad and proof that you respected the six-month limit.

Sources

Other rules for France

France Multi-Year Card — Time in France 184 days in each calendar year
France Resident Card — Time Away 1,095 days away in one trip
France Tax Residence 182 days in each calendar year

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.