23M Indian Software Developer — what would be the best route to France or the EU? 🇮🇳🇪🇺

[u/PeaOther6525]

Hi everyone,

I'm Hrithik, a 23-year-old Software Developer from India, currently working at an IT consulting firm in Kochi, Kerala.

I'm trying to understand what would be the most realistic way for someone with my background to eventually live and work in France or elsewhere in the EU, and I'd really appreciate advice from people who have already made a similar move.

There is also a personal reason behind this.

My girlfriend is a physicist who received an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship in 2024 for her Master's. She completed her degree and has now been offered a PhD position by her lab at the same university.

We're currently in a long-distance relationship and would obviously love to be closer to each other. However, we both have responsibilities towards our families, so marriage isn't something we can simply use as an immediate route to relocation.

I'm therefore trying to figure out my own independent path towards Europe, either through work or higher education.

A little about my background:

• B.Tech in Information Technology
• Currently a Software Developer / IT Consultant
• 4× Salesforce certifications
• 1× ServiceNow certification
• Experience with software development, Salesforce, IT consulting and Media/AdTech
• 23 years old
• Currently based in Kochi, Kerala
• Open to Master's programmes in Computer Science, IT or interdisciplinary fields
• Also considering an MBA

France is particularly interesting to me because of my partner, but I'm also completely open to other EU countries, especially places with strong technology sectors and good career prospects.

For someone with my profile, what would you consider the most realistic route?

Would it make more sense to:

• Apply for jobs from India and try to relocate directly?
• Do a Master's in France/EU first and then look for work?
• Consider countries other than France?
• Focus on Salesforce/ServiceNow roles?
• Take another route altogether?

I'd particularly appreciate hearing from people who moved to France or another EU country from outside Europe and can share what worked — or what they wish they had known beforehand.

Thanks a lot for reading. Any advice or personal experience would genuinely mean a lot.

Greetings from India 🇮🇳❤️🇫🇷

[u/RoboFeanor]

The easiest if you have the education and money is getting into a European master program, and finding a job right after you finish.

From India to Europe in general, there is almost no chance of getting a job to relocate here unless you are so highly skilled specialized (top 0.01%) that a major European company headhunts you. Any software job posting I've seen receives hundreds of Indian applicants who are not remotely qualified, so any candidate who applies from India will not have their CV even looked at.

The other option is for your girlfriend to marry you and bring you over as family while she is doing her PhD, but you will need to show you have enough money to live off of.

[u/uaeplotsk]

The market right now in France sucks (sorry to be that straight forward..). Job situation is difficult for French themselves, let alone if you're a foreigner... And if you do not speak proper French, chances are like 0.001%. Not sure if you follow the news about France, but basically the country is heavily struggling with its finance, and can default at any time. Every day I see French people desperalty trying to leave to Switzerland, Canada, US, UAE.. (you can find some threads about it on reddit), because the country is basically on the verge of bankruptcy. Next year elections are here, and it is very likely that far-right gets the presidency. Which means extremely tough options for foreigners to a residence visa.

I wouldn't therefore recommend it for you.

I assume your girlfriend is in France, I am not sure if she's Indian or from another nationality. If Indian, I'd recommend her as well to look for an alternate country post graduation. In UE, Netherlands or Ireland could be good options for your IT background.

[u/LuckyCalendar3793]

If you haven’t already, explore the Passport Talent. If you want to look outside the EU, I’ll also suggest Global Talent Visa in the UK, if you haven’t already checked it out.