Fall – Winter
Candidate prepares and submits the TAPIF online application.
Applications available in mid-October every year on tapif.org
Month of April
Notification of selection is sent out by e-mail.
Late April – May
Waitlisted candidates are contacted with an employment offer if and when positions become available
May – August
French school district (Académie) prepares assistant's work contract (referred to as an "arrêté de nomination). As opposed to year’s past, the assistant work contract also acts as an automatic work authorization. It no longer needs to be stamped by the French Labor Authority.
June – August
Académie mails work contract to assistant.
Work contract specifies assistant’s exact placement within the Académie.
Upon receiving contract, assistant contacts school/contact person for practical information.
August – September
Assistant obtains a long-stay work visa from regional French consulate in the U.S.
Please note that work visas for assistants take between 1 and 3 weeks to be issued. Assistants must apply for their visas IN PERSON at one of the VFS Centers that facilitates French visas for Americans. Assistants should plan on being in the U.S. during the entire month of August and up through late September to allow enough time to complete the necessary visa and work contract paperwork.
Mid- to late September
Assistant leaves for France only after securing his or her long-stay work visa.
October 1
Start date of contract. Assistant is expected to report to his or her school(s) and/or contact person on this date.
October
Assistant attends orientation session(s) organized by Académie at which time Académie provides logistical and pedagogical information.
Assistant begins teaching.
April 30
End of teaching contract.
For information about the school year calendar in each region, please visit the Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale’s website.
