France | Impact of new immigration law

The French government’s new comprehensive immigration law will have significant, lasting impacts on foreign workers for years to come.

Key Points:

• On Jan. 26, the French government adopted a new immigration law, with some provisions taking immediate effect. Some implementing decrees have been published, with more pending.
• The legislation included provisions for a new residence permit for medical professionals and a residence permit allowing for the regularization of certain undocumented workers.
• The bill also introduced new French-language proficiency requirements while installing limits on repeated renewals of certain temporary residence permits, including:
  • New French proficiency rules
    • The proficiency level will be raised from A2 to B1 for the 10-year residency card and raised from B1 to B2 for French citizenship applications.
    • Applicants for certain multiyear residence permits will also need to prove at least an A2 level of French to be eligible.
  • Certain residence permits will now be limited to three renewals. This change will not apply to talent passport categories and intra-corporate transferees.
  • Finally, additional language tests as well as civic education will be required to get a multiannual residence permit for signatories of the Republican Integration Contract (CIR). The CIR is the first stage of the integration pathway for any non-European foreign national who wishes to settle in France on a lasting basis.

Background: The law also included higher fines for illegal work-related criminal offenses and a merger of the talent passport qualified employee and employee on assignment visa categories into a single talent qualified employee. The new law was originally passed in December 2023, but several provisions were later struck down by the Constitutional Council. After right-wing pressure, most of the measures rejected by France’s nine-member Constitutional Council were later added back into the bill. The new law includes important amendments surrounding residency and citizenship intended to combat irregular migration.

BAL Analysis: Permit holders should prepare in advance for when the changes will be in effect. The renewal limitation for temporary residence permits took immediate effect, but the higher language proficiency changes are expected to be in force by Jan. 1, 2026.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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