Reforms to French immigration law, adopted in January 2024, will impose stricter language requirements for certain migrants from the beginning of 2026. But what does this mean for businesses reliant on foreign workers?

The changes, aimed at encouraging greater societal integration, will affect French residency and nationality applications, impacting those holding multi-year residency cards (cartes de séjour pluriannuelles) and ten-year residency cards (cartes de résident).

Currently, the minimum language requirement for a multi-year residence permit is A1 (beginner level). But under the new law, this will increase to A2 (advanced beginner). 

To support those in non-language-intensive roles, employers should remind employees to use their personal training account to fund French courses

Applicants who previously failed to meet the A1 level were simply required to take language lessons. But, from 2026, applicants must prove their proficiency through a test. This applies to employed and self-employed workers and their dependants.

The new rules will affect local hire employees (salarié), commercial, industrial, or craft professions (profession commerciale, industrielle ou artisanale), along with entrepreneurs, self-employed, and regulated professionals, such as lawyers, doctors, and architects (entrepreneur/profession libérale).

Individuals under these categories will need to demonstrate A2 proficiency by 2026 to qualify for multi-year permits.

Squire Patton Boggs’ Jean-Sébastien Lipski tells GML: “Employers and foreign employees should be mindful that, to date, the new language proficiency legislation affects a very small number of residence permits.”

Nevertheless, he warns it may be challenging for some workers to meet the A2 proficiency: “This means understanding isolated sentences, and expressions from everyday life, and exchanging information on familiar topics in simple terms.”

To prove their proficiency, applicants can submit certificates from recognised language tests, such as the TCF (Test de Connaissance du Français) or TEF (Test d’Évaluation du Français), or diplomas from French institutions offering DELF (Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française) courses. 

Language training can last as long as 600 hours. Certificates of completion that are more than two years old may not be accepted by French authorities. 

As Lipski explains, employers in France are already expected to train their employees on a regular basis. But complying with the new requirements will place the onus on the employee, as it will be their responsibility to meet minimum French speaking standards.

“To support those in non-language-intensive roles, employers should remind employees to use their personal training account to fund French courses,” he adds.

For the ten-year residency card, applicants will need to meet the even higher standard of level B1 (lower intermediate) – up from the previous A2. This applies unless the applicant is over 65, in which case the language requirement may be waived.

As well as language proficiency, some foreign workers must also complete a civic test on French values and principles as part of the Republican Integration Contract (CIR) – the specifics of which are not yet fully defined, but it will follow mandatory civic training.

Talent Visa

The introduction of quotas by profession will complete the system, allowing the entry of foreign workers to be regulated according to the country's estimated labour needs

Holders of France’s EU Blue Card (Carte Bleue Européenne) are exempt from the new language proficiency requirements. Though in practice, proficiency in French may be advantageous, depending on their specialist field.

Introduced in 2017 as the Talent Passport (Passeport Talent), the recently rebranded Talent Visa allows entrepreneurs, investors, and skilled professionals in high-demand sectors, such as science and technology, to live and work in France for up to four years. 

The scheme also entitles the family members of visa holders to multi-year residence permits, allowing those over 18 to access the labour market.

It is one of the longest residence permits for skilled migrants in Europe, after Germany’s indefinite permit for highly qualified workers and the Netherlands’ equivalent five-year visa. France’s Talent Visa is also generally more flexible than many of the points-based systems offered by its neighbours, such as Austria’s Red-White-Red Card.

But against a backdrop of an ageing European population, France is studying whether a points-based residence permit could replace the existing Talent Visa to better meet the needs of sectors experiencing workforce shortages.

As it stands, however, the Talent Visa is issued to foreign nationals when they are first admitted to France, without the need to have lived in there for the first year.

One criticism of the Talent Visa is its high salary threshold, currently set at 1.5 times the national average, limiting accessibility for certain skilled workers.

As France competes with other EU members states for third-country talent, changes have been made to the Talent Visa, including the removal of “passport” from its terminology and the inclusion of medical professionals within the visa’s scope. 

“The improvement in the French visa policy due to the introduction of the Talent Visa and the gradual reduction in corporate tax have had beneficial effects on France’s ability to attract entrepreneurs and innovative project promoters,” says Flichy Grangé’s Caroline Scherrman.

“As a result of these adjustments, the number of long-stay Talent Visas issued has risen steadily year after year [6.4%], according to data from the French General Directorate for Foreign Nationals,” she adds.

“In the long term, the introduction of quotas by profession will complete the system, allowing the entry of foreign workers to be regulated according to the country's estimated labour needs. An audit is underway to enable the setting of multi-year targets for the issue of Talent Visas, sector by sector.”