Question 16425 — foreigners

Summary

Mr. Jean-Michel Brard draws the attention of the Minister of the Interior to the difficulties encountered by certain highly technical French companies in the context of renewing the residence permits of highly qualified foreign employees. Several industrial and specialized service companies, operating in particular in strategic sectors linked to maritime activities, engineering and defense, employ foreign technicians recruited on permanent contracts under executive status. These employees have rare skills and carry out their functions both nationally and internationally, particularly on board ships and as part of programs linked to the French Navy. Since the entry into force, on January 1, 2026, of the new conditions of access to the multi-year residence permit, subject in particular to reaching the A2 level in French as well as passing a civic exam, the companies concerned are seeing significant difficulties for some of their employees. If the integration objectives pursued by this reform are fully understood and shared, their implementation raises particular difficulties for staff whose professional constraints involve frequent travel. Some technicians thus carry out nearly 180 days of mission per year in France and abroad, which strongly limits their ability to regularly follow the language training necessary to obtain the required level. This situation has the consequence of restricting access to the multi-year residence permit and leading to the issuance of permits for a period limited to one year, even though these employees are permanently integrated in their company and benefit from long-term training and skills development courses. Furthermore, recourse to the “Talent Passport” system would not constitute a response adapted to all the situations encountered, the remuneration conditions required not always being compatible with the salary scales applicable to certain technical profiles which are nevertheless essential to competitiveness and the industrial sovereignty of the country. The companies concerned also report difficulties linked to processing times for renewal requests. In certain cases, the absence of provisional documents to certify the legality of the stay and the right to move during the examination of the file places employees in a situation of administrative uncertainty. This situation can compromise the execution of missions international, disrupt the economic activity of the companies concerned and weaken compliance with their contractual commitments. In this context, he asks what measures the Government intends to implement in order to reconcile the legitimate objectives of linguistic and civic integration with the professional realities of highly qualified employees carrying out functions requiring high international mobility. He also wishes to know whether adaptations could be considered concerning the modalities of acquisition of the required language level, the conditions of access to multi-year titles for certain professions in shortage or with high technical skills, as well as the systematic delivery of provisional documents allowing employees to continue their professional travel while their renewal request is being processed.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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