Using your skills

IF you are able to get your professional qualifications recognised in France it could provide you with a way to earn a living.

It will be much easier to set up a business in a field that you already have experience of and you could also still be in contact with clients.
The European Union has set up the Europe Open for Professions scheme that ensures qualifications from member states be recognised in other member states.
There are three different schemes and the first is aimed at trades and crafts people who have knowledge and experience and want to work on a self-employed basis, and is termed the Transitional Measures Directive.
These directives require the authorities in the host Member State to accept proof of your work experience (generally five or six years in self-employment) in your home Member State as a substitute for the relevant national qualification in the host Member State.
If your experience is in the heath sector or as an architect you come in under the Sectoral Directives.
The final directive is the General System that is based on the premise that a qualified professional in their home Member State is qualified to exercise the same regulated profession in another Member State.
It can be quite a complex process and a tangle of red tape so advice from either union representatives or professional bodies could also be turned to.
But as more British people head to France, and the internet opens up more opportunities, entrepreneurial professionals may seek opportunities with their existing skills.
To visit the Europe Open for Professions website, please click here…