France Enacts Wide-Ranging Immigration Reforms: Relaxed Unemployment Rules, Pending ICT Salary Thresholds, and New UK Posting Exemption
Updated: 3 minutes ago
PARIS, 9 November 2026 – France has implemented a package of immigration reforms through Décret n° 2026-1001 of 26 October 2026, published in the Journal officiel on 29 October and effective from 30 October 2026. The decree introduces relaxed unemployment protections for certain work permit holders, new minimum salary requirements for intra-corporate transferee (ICT) permits, and a work permit exemption for certain UK-based employees posted to France, while transposing elements of the revised EU Blue Card Directive and the revised Single Permit Directive (EU) 2024/1233 into French law. The full text of the decree is available on Légifrance, and the revised provisions of the Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile (CESEDA) have been consolidated on the official Légifrance portal.
A critical distinction runs through the reforms: some elements are in practical effect now, while others are legally enacted but not yet operational because the French authorities have not issued the implementing texts—ministerial orders (arrêtés) and sector lists—required to apply them. Employers and applicants must therefore distinguish between what has changed and what is merely announced.
Relaxed Unemployment Rules: Three Months for Temporary Workers, Six Months for EU Blue Card Holders
The most immediately operational change concerns unemployment protections. Under the previous framework, a Temporary Worker permit could be withdrawn immediately upon termination of employment. From 30 October 2026, recently unemployed Temporary Worker permit holders have three months to find a new job without losing their residence status, provided the unemployment is involuntary and the period does not exceed three months during the validity of the card. If the permit holder finds a new employer during this period, they may remain in France, but they must still apply for a new work authorisation with the new employer. The consolidated CESEDA provisions and the official Service-Public.fr guidance confirm the three-month framework for temporary workers.
For EU Blue Card holders, the grace period is six months. A recently unemployed EU Blue Card holder now has six months to find a new job without losing residence status, and unlike the Temporary Worker route, no new work authorisation is required upon finding a new employer. The decree's explanatory notice confirms that the right of residence is maintained in cases of involuntary unemployment, and the Légifrance article L421-11 provides that where the Blue Card holder is involuntarily deprived of employment at renewal, the card is renewed for a duration equivalent to their acquired unemployment benefit rights. These grace periods are designed to reduce the likelihood that foreign workers are forced to leave France following a job loss, helping the country retain talent.
Pending ICT Salary Thresholds: Legally Enacted but Not Yet Applied
The decree provides that ICT and ICT Trainee permits will become subject to higher minimum salary requirements, replacing the current rule under which such roles are subject only to the French minimum wage (SMIC) or the applicable industry collective bargaining agreement salary, whichever is higher. Under the current framework, the SMIC stands at approximately €1,867.02 gross per month for 2026, and the revised framework will introduce a specific reference salary for ICT categories. The relevant Légifrance provision states that applicants must justify an annual gross remuneration at least equal to the average annual gross reference salary set by ministerial order.
This rule is not yet in effect. The French authorities have not yet issued the arrêté setting the relevant minimum salary levels, and until that order is published, the current salary rules continue to apply. Once the new thresholds are in force, employers transferring employees or trainees to France under ICT categories will need to account for the new salary floor when assessing eligibility. The absence of the implementing order means that employers cannot yet plan with certainty against the final figures, but they should monitor the Journal officiel for the ministerial order that will operationalise the requirement.
New Work Permit Exemption for UK-Based Employees: Conditions Set, Sectors Awaited
The decree creates a new work permit exemption for certain UK-based employees posted to France to provide contractual services, allowing them to work without an autorisation de travail for one or multiple postings totalling up to 12 months cumulatively. The exemption is codified in Article R5221-2 of the Code du travail and is described in the decree's official notice as covering foreign nationals employed by a UK legal entity and coming to France to perform a contractual service of limited duration in certain sectors of activity.
To qualify, the employee must satisfy three cumulative conditions: they must have performed the same activities for the UK employer for at least one year prior to the secondment; they must have at least three years of experience in the relevant sector; and they must hold a university degree and any necessary professional qualifications for performing the activity. The posting must not exceed 12 months cumulatively.
The exemption cannot yet be used in practice. The decree provides that the eligible fields of activity are to be defined by a future ministerial order (arrêté), and that order had not been published as of 9 November 2026. Until the sector list is issued, employers cannot determine whether a particular posting falls within the exemption. It is also important to note that the exemption concerns the work permit only: employees posted for more than 90 days still require a long-stay visa, applied for through the usual consular channels. The exemption simplifies short-term service assignments from the United Kingdom to France, but only once the relevant sectors have been designated.
EU Blue Card Changes: Validity, Intra-EU Mobility, and Faster Processing
Beyond the ICT and UK-posting measures, the decree introduces several EU Blue Card reforms that are operational from 30 October 2026. Where the employment contract is less than two years, the EU Blue Card is now issued for the duration of the contract plus three months, up to a maximum of two years. Previously, no additional three-month period was granted. For contracts of two years or longer, the card is issued for the duration of the contract up to a total of four years, with no change from the previous rule. The Légifrance text of article L421-11 confirms that the card is issued for a duration at least equivalent to the contract plus three months, capped at two years, where the contract is shorter than two years.
Intra-EU mobility has also been relaxed. Individuals who have held an EU Blue Card from another EU Member State for 12 months, reduced from 18 months, are now eligible to work in France and apply for a French EU Blue Card, provided they apply within one month of entering France. The Légifrance article states that the 12-month period is reduced to six months from the second mobility within the EU.
Processing Times and Renewal Rules: 90 Days and a Six-Month Threshold
The decree reduces the standard government processing time for most complete residence permit applications from four months to 90 days, with the possibility of an additional 30 days for complex cases. Where the authorities do not respond to a complete application within 90 days, this now constitutes an implicit refusal; previously, the period was four months. The decree's explanatory notice confirms that articles 1 to 5 and article 14 lower the prefectural decision deadline from four months to 90 days.
The decree also narrows the conditions under which authorities can refuse a first renewal of a Permanent Local Hire residence permit. Previously, a renewal could be refused if the employment contract ended within 12 months of hiring, except in cases of involuntary job loss. Under the new rules, the relevant period is reduced to six months, with an exception for serious breaches by the employer. The consolidated Code du travail provision and the Légifrance notice confirm the reduction from 12 to six months.
Transposition Context: Single Permit Directive Infringement
The reforms are part of France's effort to transpose the revised Single Permit Directive (EU) 2024/1233, which had a transposition deadline of 21 May 2026. In July 2026, the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against 17 Member States, including France, for failing to communicate complete transposition measures by that deadline. The European Commission's infringement announcement confirms that letters of formal notice were sent to the Member States concerned. The October decree represents France's domestic implementation of elements of both the revised Single Permit Directive and the revised EU Blue Card Directive, although the absence of the implementing arrêtés for ICT salaries and UK-posting sectors means that transposition remains incomplete in practice.
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What Employers and Applicants Should Do Now
Employers with Temporary Worker or EU Blue Card staff should update their contingency planning to reflect the new three-month and six-month unemployment grace periods, and should note that Temporary Worker permit holders still require a new work authorisation upon re-employment, whereas EU Blue Card holders do not. Employers transferring staff under ICT categories should monitor the Journal officiel for the ministerial order setting the new ICT salary thresholds, and should model the potential impact on eligibility once the figures are published. UK-based employers posting staff to France should identify whether their activities are likely to fall within the sectors to be designated by the forthcoming arrêté, and should continue to obtain long-stay visas for postings exceeding 90 days in the interim. All applicants should note the shorter 90-day processing and implicit refusal framework, which places a premium on submitting complete applications.
For more news and daily updates on French visas and EU immigration policy, visit visasupdate.com/blog/category/france
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