France's Parliament adopted a new law on immigration Tuesday, December 19, after a compromise between President Emmanuel Macron's government and the right-wing Les Républicains party shifted the contents of the final draft rightwards. Here are the key measures in the new law.
Restrictions on benefits
The law creates a distinction between foreigners who are "in a situation of employment" and those who are not, with effects on what social benefits they can receive and when.
For benefits such as family allowances, immigrants who do not work will have to wait for 5 years until they are eligible, compared to 30 months for workers.
For the main housing aid, known as APL, a residency requirement is set at five years for foreigners not in employment, and three months for others.
These restrictions do not apply to foreign students, refugees, or holders of resident permits.
The question of a minimum period of residence in France for non-European nationals to qualify for social benefits almost scuppered the negotiations. LR had called for a five-year waiting period before foreigners could receive "non-contributory" benefits – benefits not directly financed by deductions on workers' payslips, unlike healthcare or unemployment benefits.
Regularizing undocumented people
The law gives prefects – local state officials with extensive administrative powers – discretion to regularize undocumented workers in short-staffed professions.
This will be a one-year residence permit, issued on a case-by-case basis, provided that the applicant has been resident in France for at least three years and has been gainfully employed for at least 12 of the last 24 months. This "experiment" will only apply until the end of 2026.
A significant change is that undocumented workers will be allowed to apply for this residence permit without their employer's approval.
The governing coalition resigned itself to a more restrictive version than what was in the initial bill, with plans for broader regularizations.
Migration quotas
The law creates "quotas" – which will be set by Parliament – to cap "for the next three years" the number of foreigners admitted to the country (excluding asylum seekers).
The measure is considered unconstitutional by the governing coalition. It nonetheless accepted to include it in the compromise bill in order to satisfy LR's demands, while hoping the Constitutional Council would strike it down.
Stripping nationality
The ruling coalition also agreed to create the possibility of stripping dual nationals of their French citizenship if they have been convicted of intentional homicide against any person in a "position of public authority," such as police officers, soldiers judges, and various administrative officials.
In 2015, President François Hollande attempted to allow the stripping of French citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism. The move had torn apart his party, and he eventually withdrew the bill. At the time, Macron had expressed "philosophical discomfort" at the measure.
Jus soli
Jus soli, the right to obtain French citizenship from being born in France, has been restricted. People born in France to foreign parents will no longer be automatically granted French nationality upon reaching the age of majority. They will now have to apply for it between the ages of 16 and 18.
Foreigners born in France who are convicted of a crime will not be allowed to obtain French citizenship.
Offense of illegal residence
The law reinstates an "offense of illegal residence," which was abolished in 2012. The measure is punishable by a fine, but no imprisonment.
Administrative detention centers
The law includes a ban on detaining foreign minors in administrative detention centers, where foreigners ordered to be deported are held.
Family reunification
The conditions for family reunification are made tougher. Applicants must now have resided in France for 24 months (compared with 18 previously), and must be able to show they have "stable, regular and sufficient" resources and health insurance, and their spouse must be at least 21 (instead of 18).
Student deposit
With some exceptions, foreign students will have to pay a deposit when applying for a student residence permit, to cover the cost of potential "removal costs."
Healthcare
The law includes a restriction on access to the "sick foreign national" residence permit. With a few exceptions, it will only be granted if there is no "appropriate treatment" in the country of origin. Public health insurance coverage will also be excluded if the applicant has sufficient resources.
One of LR's demands, the abolition of the only healthcare coverage available to undocumented people, was not included in the law. But LR obtained from the government a pledge to reform that program in 2024.