"In-demand professions": the government wants to "improve the efficiency" of residence permit renewals

The subject was discussed on May 26 between the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Labour and Solidarity, the unions and employers, as the Retailleau circular, effective since January 23, 2025, which had refocused regularization through work on jobs in tension (in particular construction, health and social action and hotel and restaurant), comes to an end at the end of 2026.

The aim is "to improve the efficiency of renewing residence permits for in-demand professions", explains the Interior Ministry, through an "increase in staff (which) will reduce processing times from 100 days to 50 days".

According to the Ministry of the Interior, "the social partners are aligned on this issue: we are taking a pragmatic approach and responding to specific and concrete needs, both for companies and for employees."

The Ministry of Labour is considering, "at the request of field actors, making a regularization scheme through work permanent via a circular".

In 2025, a total of 1.655 residence permits were issued to foreign workers in sectors struggling to recruit, according to data mentioned by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez in a telegram to prefects.

According to the list updated in May 2025, approximately 80 occupations are considered "in demand", allowing undocumented workers in these sectors to apply for a residence permit (if they can provide proof of twelve months of payslips in the last twenty-four months and three years of residence in France).

This provision also allows employers who have difficulty recruiting to keep their employees and avoid the risk of conviction, as employing a person in an irregular situation is punishable by a fine of up to 30.000 euros and five years imprisonment.

"Companies are telling us clearly that, without these measures, they would find themselves in great difficulty overnight, sometimes forced to give up contracts in order to survive," the Interior Ministry emphasizes.

Quoted by Mediapart, a business voice that participated in the meeting emphasizes that "the system currently in place is not operational and has many flaws. We all agreed on this observation."

A union representative, for her part, indicates that "the employers' vision is utilitarian. But even if it is not for the same reasons, we fully agree in concluding that this measure has failed."