Before the collapse of the French government last year, a new immigration law was already planned by 2025. Now the French president Emmanuel Macron has announced a new government, headed by the newly appointed Prime Minister François this exploring this by exploring this by exploring this by exploring this. In early 2024, and what the current state of the Immigration Law in France for French companies means.
Low macron immigration
The previous immigration law was approved three whole governments, under the transmitted government. As a main commitment to the manifesto of President Emmanuel Macron, the law was one of the reasons for the fall of that government and the appointment of the Attal government. The law was initially rejected by the Assembly, and sent to a parliamentary committee, where the provisions contained were real force before being sent. This obtained the approval of the former national leader of the Marine Le Pen rally, and later passed, entering into force in January 2024.
Law 2024 in its final form made a series of changes related to foreign workers. In addition to the marrow and chance of several investment visa schemes or investment visas, it also instituted a strict French language requirement, with different levels or competition in French required for different types of visas. For the newly created medical personnel visa, for example, a high level of French competition would be required, something that encourages employers to contribute.
It is important to note that the loading of the application and the renewal of the visa for foreign workers (that is, those outside the EU and the EEE) that seek a temporary residence permit has been transferred from employers to the workers themselves. Employees seeking to ensure a new one -year temporary visa must have been:
● Work in a considered field that faces a shortage of labor for at least 12 of the last 24 months
● Work in one of these fields at the time of application; and
● Have at least three years of uninterrupted residence in France before application.
These visa applications also ‘soft’ requirements that can consult for the prefects that authorize them. These include:
● How and their families have been integrated with French society
● His ‘respect for public order’
● Not having committed any crime
● How they have been integrated into their French business; and
● His adherence to the life, values and business culture of the French.
While there are other visa opportunities for investors or persons in specific fields, this law effectively blocks access to temporary residence permits of one year for a large subset of foreign workers for those who still did not live in France. His ability to continue living in France also depends on the continuous shortage of workers in their field, assuming that they do not comply with the criteria for other types of visa or to request citizenship.
When companies were previously responsible for organizing visas of work, the financial fine for using any person without an appropriate visa has increased. Now they must pay 30,000 euros for each employee without a visa, twice the previous fine, and 200,000 euros for mass employment or a group of workers without visas. In this way, the administrative load for companies has changed the real cost of visa applications to the potential cost of non -compliance.
French immigration law in 2025
The new immigration law proposed under the short -term prime minister, Michel Barnier, would be an extension of the changes, and W was widely seen a greater concession to the growing influence of the extreme right. The change of holder who leaked from the proposal is the ability to stop undocumented migrants for longer periods, allowing their state to investigate more thoroughly and power does not increase the number of deportations.
Barnier also suggested that the provision of visas can be conditioned to the number of people that France could deport, and the speed at which it could take place. It would be depending on other countries to provide paperwork for undocumented migrants so that France can process them more quickly, thus releasing the “capacity” of immigration so that documented migrants enter the country.
The measure to harden French immigration laws even more occurred in the midst of a climate of similar laws in Europe. This includes the EU pact itself on migration and asylum, which was approved in the middle of a certain controversy in mid -2024 and, because it will take effect in 2026. This included a set of changes designed to unify the migration approach and the phase of the Asyla theist of the artist of the theists of Asyla. Phase of Theist’s phase of Theist’s phase of theist’s phase of theist, prize. Detection, processing and returns, and a framework of solidarity, among others.
What impact will these changes have?
As with many immigration laws, the political and human impact of these changes will probably be greater than the tangible effect on companies. While it is true that combined laws will act to limit temporary residence permits for workers who are not from the EU, this only applies to short -term visas for qualified professionals, and there are no innumerable types of visa that still exist. French companies can still benefit from a variety of long -term visa options for talent, including the French technology visa, the ‘Talent residence permit’, the ICICT de Détaché de Salari for branch managers, the medical professional visa and other employee visas.
It is important to highlight that French companies also continuously benefit from the surface of talent within the European Union, including millions of potential employees that can be released and work in France. This is together with the wealth of talent within France, the mood of its range of world -class academic institutions and the many industries in which specialties specialize, from precision and manufacturing engineering to its growing technological industry. As such, any talent deficit is unlikely, and politicians probably approach quickly if it occurs.
The French political landscape is also interesting compared to other great European and global economies. While the popularity of the national rally can be made up when it comes to economic and social stability, France also has a much stronger and more unified opposition to the party that exists in many other countries. As such, the possibility that a strong majority government is formed is quite low, which means that status quo will be probable will be preserved for some years. It is likely that any other immigration law is more for the show than anything that would dramatically affect French companies.
The latest changes in the government (and immigration laws have led to) represent jockeing for power and control, more than they represent any radical change in policy or public feeling. While additional changes to the immigration law can hardly be ruled out, it is quite sure to say that the impact on French companies will be less dramatic than the rhetoric around those laws would suggest. For more information about French visas, contact us at 0033 (0) 1 53 57 49 10.
