Introduction 

The beginning of 2024 was marked by an immigration law reform in France. The new law, which was promulgated on 27 January 2024, was introduced by the French government in an effort to better control immigration and improve integration.

During its legislative process, the initial bill went through numerous administrative hurdles and delays, as the different political parties in France struggled to reach a consensus on the provisions. The controversial bill was later examined by the highest constitutional authority, the French Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel) to ensure compliance with the constitution. On 25 January 2024, the French Constitutional Council overruled a significant part of the bill on procedural grounds. Among the rejected provisions were measures limiting the right to citizenship for children born in France to foreign-born parents, constraining immigrants’ access to social benefits, placing restrictions on family reunifications and on the establishment of immigration quotas.

The slimmed-down immigration law contains provisions in the areas of work, integration, and removal, as well as asylum and litigation. Select developments affecting corporate immigration include the introduction of French-language requirements, limits on the renewal of certain types of residence permits, the establishment of the condition of “habitual residence”, the restructuring of the “talent” category, and the regularisation of undocumented workers in industries facing labour shortages. These measures are outlined in greater detail in the following article.

Select Developments Following the New Immigration Law Affecting Corporate Immigration

Introduction of French language requirements for multi-year residence permit cards

The new immigration law of January 2024 introduces language requirements for certain types of residence permits and reinforces the existing language requirements for others.

Prior to the immigration law reform of January 2024, applicants for multi-year residence permit cards (carte de séjour pluriannuelle – CSP) only needed to complete French classes as part of the compulsory state integration training programme (Contrat d’Intégration Républicaine – CIR), without any requirements to achieve results. First-time applicants of multi-year residence permit cards will now have to provide evidence of at least level A2 proficiency on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). 

By way of background, a multi-year residence permit card can be requested by the holder of a temporary one-year residence permit card (carte de séjour temporaire – CST) or a long-stay visa (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour – “VLS-TS”) when renewing their status. Multi-year residence permit cards are generally delivered for a duration of two to four years and include categories such as student status (étudiant), family and personal life status (vie privée et familiale) and worker status (salarié).

Exemptions to this new French language requirement apply to all foreign nationals exempted from signing a CIR and include the “talent” category, intra-company transfer status (salarié détaché ICT) and foreign nationals who have completed part of their schooling in France. The complete list of exemptions is stipulated under Article L. 413-5 of the Code de l’Entrée et du Séjour des Etrangers et du Droit d’Asile (“CESEDA”).

In addition, existing French language requirements have been raised from A2 to B1 for first-time applicants for a ten-year residence permit card (carte de résident) and from B1 to B2 for French citizenship through naturalisation.

It should be noted that the above requirements are contained in Article 20 of the new immigration law which should come into force at the latest by 1 January 2026 (see Article 86 of the new immigration law). The implementing decrees necessary for the application of these new rules are also forthcoming.

Limits on the renewal of certain types of residence permit cards

Article 21 of the new immigration law (adding Article L. 433-1-1, CESEDA) prevents more than three consecutive renewals of a temporary one-year residence permit card or CST delivered on the same grounds. This provision has the practical effect of constraining certain foreign nationals from applying for and meeting the conditions of a multi-year residence permit card or CSP, a ten-year residence permit card (carte de résident) or alternatively, switching to another temporary one-year residence permit card category.

The above renewal limitation applies to, among others, the entrepreneur status (entrepreneur/profession libérale) and the worker status (salarié). It should be noted that workers employed under a definite term contract (contrat à durée déterminée) and thus holding a temporary one-year residence permit card under the category “temporary worker” (travailleur temporaire), are exempted.

Exemptions to this new renewal limitation requirement apply to all foreign nationals exempted from signing a CIR, and include the “talent” category, intra-company transfers and foreign nationals who have completed part of their schooling in France. The complete list of exemptions is stipulated under Article L. 413-5 of CESEDA.

Establishment of the condition of “habitual residence” in France

With the new immigration law, the condition of “habitual residence” in France becomes a decisive factor for the renewal of certain residence permit cards.

French immigration authorities may deny the renewal of a person’s existing multi-year residence permit card or CSP, or ten-year residence permit card, if the foreign national cannot demonstrate that they have established their habitual residence (résidence habituelle) in France (Article 46 amending Articles L. 432-2 and L. 432-3, CESEDA). 

The notion of “habitual residence” is outlined in Article L. 433-3-1 of CESEDA and is two-fold:

• the foreign national has transferred the centre of their private and family interests to France; and
• the foreign national has been residing in France for at least six months during the calendar year, during the last three years prior to the submission of the renewal application, or has been residing in France during the total period of validity of the residence permit if the latter has a validity period of less than three years.

Unless the foreign nationals concerned fall under the exemptions, such as in the “talent” category, they will have to provide evidence of their effective residence in France for a set period of time in order to renew their residence permit.

The complete list of exemptions is stipulated under Articles L. 432-2 and L. 432-3 of CESEDA.

Restructuring of the “talent” residence permit card category and creation of a new “talent” card for medical professionals

Simplification of the “talent” residence permit card category

By way of background, so-called “talent” visas and residence permits were introduced in 2016 to facilitate the settlement of non-European nationals likely to contribute to France’s economy (master-level students, researchers, company representatives, artists or internationally renowned individuals, investors, company founders, etc). These profiles benefit from a simplified immigration procedure – notably, the “talent” residence permit visa/residence permit already includes the right to work, meaning that no separate work authorisation process is required. In addition, applicants are not required to take part in the integration programme set up by the French office for immigration and integration (Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration – OFII). The maximum duration of the multi-year residence permit “talent” card is four years, on a renewable basis. It should be noted that each “talent” sub-category requires different conditions and assorted minimum remuneration, given their indexation on the national minimum wage (salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance – SMIC). 

According to official statistics published by the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas Territories in January 2024, the issuance of “talent” residence permits increased between 2022 and 2023 by +2.9 % for first-time applications and +5.8% for change-of-status applications. In total, nearly 60,000 “talent” residence permits were issued during the year 2023 (comprising first-time applications and change-of-status applications).

With the aim of simplifying existing processes, the new immigration law of January 2024 proposes several changes to the umbrella “talent” residence permit category (Article 30 amending Section 3, Chapter 1, Title II, Book IV, CESEDA). 

Firstly, the previously named “talent passport” (passeport talent) residence permit category will be known henceforth as simply “talent”.

Moreover, existing subcategories of the “talent” category will be merged into two wider subsets: “talent – skilled worker” (talent – salarié qualifié) and “talent – project leader” (talent – porteur de projet).

• The talent – skilled worker encompasses the following subcategories:
1. salarié qualifié – dedicated to skilled employees holding a French diploma earned at an institute of higher learning accredited at the national level at least equivalent to the grade of master or comparable (Article L. 421-9, 1°, CESEDA);
2. entreprise innovante – dedicated to international talent recruited by companies based in France and recognised as innovative by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (Article L. 421-9, 2°, CESEDA); and
3. salarié en mission – dedicated to employees on intra-company transfer (L. 421-9, 3°, CESEDA).
• The talent – project leader  encompasses the following subcategories:
1. création d’entreprise – dedicated to company founders wishing to set up a company in France (Article L. 421-16, 1°, CESEDA);
2. projet économique innovant – dedicated to foreign nationals having an innovative economic project, recognised by a public body (Article L. 421-16, 2°, CESEDA); and
3. investissement économique direct – dedicated to investors wishing to undertake a direct economic investment in France (Article L. 421-16, 3°, CESEDA).

It should be noted that a decree at the French Council of State (Conseil d’État) is pending the application of Article 30 of the new immigration law.

Creation of a new “talent” residence permit for medical professionals

Aiming to address labour shortages in the French health sector, Article 31 of the new immigration law of January 2024 (adding Article L. 421-13-1, CESEDA) creates a “talent” residence permit for medical professionals.

The “talent – medical and pharmacy profession” (talent – profession médicale et de la pharmacie) residence permit is for doctors, dentists, pharmacists and midwives holding a degree from outside the European Union (praticiens à diplôme hors Union Européenne – PADHUE) and who hold a certificate to practise medicine in France.

It should be noted that a decree at the French Council of State is pending the application of Article 31 of the new immigration law.

Regularisation of undocumented workers in industries facing labour shortages

Article 27 of the immigration law of January 2024 introduces a new pathway to the regularisation of undocumented workers in industries facing labour shortages. 

Prior to the new law, general regularisation of undocumented workers was already available on a case-by-case basis through the procedure called “exceptional admission to stay” (admission exceptionnelle au séjour). However, existing processes of regularisation of undocumented workers require the employer’s involvement through the signing of a specific form from the centre for the registration and revision of administrative forms (centre d’enregistrement et de révision des formulaires administratifs – CERFA).

This new pathway will allow undocumented nationals working in jobs that appear on the national shortage occupation list to apply personally, on their own initiative, for a temporary residence permit card indicating “temporary worker” (travailleur temporaire) or “temporary one-year residence permit card worker” (salarié d’une durée d’un an). Applicants will notably have to meet the following criteria, as outlined in Article L. 435-4 of CESEDA:

• to have undertaken a professional activity as an employee listed on the national shortage occupation list for at least 12 months, consecutively or not, over the last 24 months preceding the application;
• to have been residing in France for an uninterrupted period of at least three years; and
• to have not been convicted, incapacitated or disqualified as listed in Bulletin No 2 of the criminal record (casier judiciaire).

Further information can be found in the circular published by the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas Territories and the Ministry of Labour on 5 February 2024. 

Approval of the residence permit application will be at the discretion of the region’s prefect (préfecture).

Article 27 will remain applicable until 31 December 2026, thereby limiting this regularisation initiative to the end of 2026.

National shortage occupation list

The national shortage occupation list records occupations facing recruitment difficulties, sorted by geographical region. This list is established by the competent administrative authority after consultation with representatives of trade union organisations of employers and employees.

In addition to allowing certain undocumented workers to apply for a residence permit, as mentioned above, this list is also used by employers when assessing whether they need to undertake a labour market test (opposabilité de la situation de l’emploi) as part of the work authorisation process for a new employee (see Article L. 421-4, CESEDA).

Article 28 of the immigration law of January 2024 amends Article L. 414-3 of CESEDA by specifying that this national shortage occupation list must be updated at least once a year. Prior to this provision and the recent update in March 2024, the applicable list dated from the year 2021.