Australia vs France

Companies in Australia register with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and receive an Australian Company Number (ACN); most also obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN) and register for GST. A proprietary limited company (Pty Ltd) is standard.

Companies in France (commonly a SARL or SAS) are registered through the single online business-formalities portal, which files with the national business register (RNE) and issues a SIREN number. Steps include drafting statutes, depositing capital and publishing a legal notice.

Australia's banking is led by four major banks and is highly digital. Newcomers can often open an account online before arrival and activate it with ID afterwards. A Tax File Number avoids higher withholding tax on interest.

France's banking includes large retail banks and growing online banks. Opening an account usually needs ID, proof of address and a residence status; a French account is often required for rent and utilities. The Banque de France oversees the system.

Australia is open to foreign investment, promoted by Austrade, but proposals above monetary thresholds (and any in sensitive sectors or land) need Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval. There are no exchange controls, so profits repatriate freely; R&D and other incentives are available.

France courts foreign investment through Business France and the 'Choose France' initiative, with free movement of capital. Investments in sensitive sectors need prior authorization under the foreign-investment control regime (run by the Treasury); incentives include the research tax credit (CIR) and regional aid.

Australia taxes income federally through the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) at progressive rates and levies a Goods and Services Tax (GST) on most supplies. Residents are taxed on worldwide income; the tax year runs 1 July to 30 June.

France taxes personal income progressively with pay-as-you-earn withholding, adds social levies, and applies VAT (TVA) to most goods and services; corporate tax applies to companies. Tax residents are taxed on worldwide income.

Australia uses a points-tested and employer-sponsored visa system. Common routes include the employer-sponsored Skills in Demand / Temporary Skill Shortage visa and points-tested skilled visas. The Department of Home Affairs administers visas, often via SkillSelect.

Non-EU nationals generally need a work authorisation and a long-stay visa or residence permit to work in France; the 'Talent Passport' covers skilled workers, founders and researchers. EU/EEA citizens work freely. The process involves the employer, labour authorities and French consulates.

The Student visa (subclass 500) lets you study full-time at a CRICOS-registered provider. You apply online through ImmiAccount with an electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (eCoE), Overseas Student Health Cover for the whole stay, evidence of funds and English, and you must satisfy the Genuine Student requirement. The visa allows limited paid work during study — confirm the current hour limits with Home Affairs.

Non-EU students staying longer than three months need a long-stay study visa, usually the VLS-TS "étudiant". Its defining feature: once you validate it online within three months of arrival, it doubles as your residence permit — no separate permit application. In many countries the process runs through Campus France's "Études en France" procedure before the consular step. It allows part-time work and Schengen travel.

Everyone needs a visa or travel authority before arriving in Australia. The main options are the Visitor visa (subclass 600), the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) for eligible passports, and eVisitor for eligible European passports. Stays are typically up to three months per entry, and visitor visas do not allow ongoing work.

France is in the Schengen Area, so short tourist or business visits follow Schengen rules: up to 90 days within any 180-day period across the whole area. Visa-exempt nationals can visit without a visa; everyone else applies for a short-stay (type C) Schengen visa through the official France-Visas portal. A new ETIAS authorisation is being introduced for visa-exempt travellers — check the current requirement.

Australian permanent residence comes through skilled (points-tested or employer-sponsored), family, or business/investment streams. PRs can live and work indefinitely; a separate Resident Return Visa is needed to re-enter after the initial travel period.

France's long-term residence is the carte de résident, typically a 10-year renewable card available after several years of legal residence (or immediately for some family of French citizens). The multi-year Talent Passport is a common step toward it.

Australian citizenship generally requires four years of lawful residence including at least one year as a permanent resident, good character, and passing a citizenship test. Australia allows dual citizenship.

French citizenship by naturalization generally requires five years' residence (reduced in some cases), integration, French language ability and stable resources. France allows dual citizenship, and marriage to a French citizen is a separate route.

Australian employment is governed by the Fair Work Act and the National Employment Standards (NES) — a national minimum wage set by the Fair Work Commission, four weeks' paid annual leave, and unfair-dismissal protection. Most jobs are also covered by a 'modern award' or agreement; the Fair Work Ombudsman enforces the rules.

French employment is highly regulated by the Code du travail: a 35-hour legal working week, the SMIC minimum wage, five weeks' paid leave, and structured dismissal rules. Most jobs are permanent (CDI); employee representatives (CSE) and collective agreements apply, and disputes go to the labour court (conseil de prud'hommes).

Australian traders import and export through the Australian Border Force using the Integrated Cargo System. You need an ABN, classify goods under the Customs Tariff to find duty (plus 10% GST), check biosecurity and permit rules, and lodge import declarations for consignments over AUD 1,000. Tariff advice and disputes go through the ABF and Home Affairs.

French trade with non-EU countries goes through French customs (la Douane) with an EU EORI number. You classify goods in TARIC to find duty, and import VAT (20%) is now self-assessed on your VAT return. Declarations are electronic via DELTA; intra-EU flows need statistical (EMEBI/DEB) reporting and dual-use exports need a licence.

Australian trademarks are registered with IP Australia. You search the register, file an application classifying goods/services under Nice, and after acceptance it is advertised for a two-month opposition period before registration. An Australian trademark lasts 10 years and is renewable; IP Australia also grants patents and registered designs.

French trademarks are registered with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). You search the register, file an application classifying goods/services under Nice, and it publishes in the BOPI for a two-month opposition period before registration. A French trademark lasts 10 years and is renewable; an EU-wide alternative is the EU trademark via EUIPO.

Workforce Australia is the Australian Government's official employment service and job board, delivered by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and it replaced jobactive in 2022 — so older references to jobactive are out of date. It is open to any job seeker. Skilled foreign workers usually need a work or skilled visa, and because many regions and occupations have skills shortages, the official skilled-occupation lists are the practical tool for targeting where you have the strongest case.

France Travail is the public employment service and official job board — it was formerly Pôle emploi, so guidance still using the old name is dated. Non-EU workers generally need a work authorisation tied to a residence permit, such as salarié or passeport talent, which means the permit and the job are linked rather than separate matters. Certain shortage occupations, the métiers en tension, can have streamlined hiring, and Service-Public sets out the rules.

Australia is unusual in that minimum pay is set mainly through the award system rather than a single national floor: most employees' minimum pay comes from the award covering their industry or occupation, and the National Minimum Wage covers award-free employees only. Rates are reviewed annually by the Fair Work Commission and updated on 1 July. The Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool gives official rates for your specific award.

France has a single national minimum wage, the SMIC, which applies across the country. Its distinguishing feature is the revaluation rule: it is revalued at least once a year and can rise mid-year if inflation triggers it — so unlike floors that move on a fixed annual date, a French figure can go out of date between scheduled updates. INSEE is authoritative for SMIC and average-wage statistics, while Service-Public explains the rules. Pay is quoted brut, with social contributions and income tax reducing net.

Australia's best-known government scholarships are the Australia Awards (funded by DFAT, largely for students from developing countries) and Destination Australia (for study in regional Australia), alongside the Research Training Program for HDR students and many university scholarships. Explore options on Study Australia and each university's site, and apply by their deadlines.

France's flagship scholarship for international students is the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship (France Excellence Eiffel), funded by the Foreign Ministry for master's and PhD, alongside university and regional awards. Campus France is the official portal to explore funding and apply to study in France. Apply by each scheme's deadline, which is often well before the course starts.

To study in Australia you apply to a registered provider and, once you accept, receive an electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (eCoE). You use the eCoE to apply for the Student visa (subclass 500), showing Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), funds and that you are a Genuine Student. Explore options on Study Australia and apply by the deadline.

To study in France, students from many countries apply through the 'Études en France' procedure (via Campus France), then, once admitted, apply for a VLS-TS long-stay student visa, which you validate online within three months of arrival. Public university fees are low, though some are higher for non-EU students. Explore options on Campus France and apply by the deadline.

Renting in Australia uses a residential tenancy agreement with a bond (usually about four weeks' rent) lodged with a state bond authority. Buying by foreign nationals generally needs Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval and is usually limited to new dwellings, not established homes; buyers use a conveyancer, the state land titles office and pay stamp duty plus a foreign-purchaser surcharge.

France places no restriction on foreigners buying property. Renting is tenant-protective (the 1989 law): the deposit (dépôt de garantie) is capped at one month's rent for unfurnished homes (two for furnished), and agency fees are regulated. Buying goes through a notaire, is registered at the land registry (publicité foncière), and carries 'frais de notaire' of roughly 7–8% (mostly transfer duties).

Australia's public scheme, Medicare, covers citizens, permanent residents and people from the eleven countries with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement. Most other temporary residents need private cover, and international students must hold Overseas Student Health Cover. Medicare does not cover everything — most dental, ambulance and private-hospital care sit outside it — and higher earners without private hospital cover may pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge.

France's Assurance Maladie covers anyone working or residing in France on a stable, regular basis through the Protection Universelle Maladie (PUMa). The model is reimbursement rather than free-at-point-of-use: the scheme repays a large share of costs and most people take a complementary "mutuelle" to cover the remainder. You manage cover, reimbursements and your carte Vitale through an Ameli account.

Australia's main form of social insurance is compulsory superannuation: employers must pay a percentage of your wages into a retirement fund. There is no separate payroll social-security tax beyond the Medicare Levy. Compulsory Third Party motor insurance is required to register a vehicle — it attaches to registration, not merely to driving — while home and life cover are optional. APRA prudentially regulates insurers and super funds, ASIC oversees conduct, and the government's Moneysmart site gives independent consumer guidance.

France's Sécurité sociale provides social insurance covering health, family, pensions and work accidents, with contributions collected largely through URSSAF. The detail that catches renters out is that France has two compulsory private insurances, not one: motor third-party liability, and home insurance for tenants. A complementary health mutuelle is widely held to top up Assurance Maladie, and insurers are supervised by the ACPR, part of the Banque de France.