Liaison Office – Looking to employ someone in France without a pre-existing entity?
If you are a foreign company wishing to employ someone in France, but without an existing entity in France already, then one of your options is to create a liaison office.
A liaison office is commonly used to ‘test the waters’ before entering a new market and can serve as a useful base of communication for market research, advertising and collecting information for a foreign parent company. It can be particularly useful if an employee is wishing to relocate to France or has a temporary project in France and you don’t want to go through the process of setting up a SARL, an SAS, a branch or any other permanent establishment.
A major perk in creating a liaison office is that you are not entitled to create a French bank account, a process that is very costly and timely. Furthermore, you can avoid financial obligations such as corporate tax and VAT. However, one must be aware that a liaison office prohibits any commercial activity from taking place.
If the employee(s) is/are not already, they will need to be registered to the French social security organisations in order for their monthly social contributions to be made. Maupard are experienced in registering individuals to the respective organisations (Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Retirement).
For more information or for a quote for our services, email [email protected].