New French Immigration Law: Navigating French Language Requirements

The recently adopted French immigration law introduced more stringent language requirements of which foreign nationals need to be aware.

Those affected by these changes are the signatories of the Republican Integration Contract (CIR) and holders of the following immigration statuses:

• "Salarié" (local hire employees)
• "Vie privée et familiale" (those in the private and family life category)
• "Entrepreneur / Profession libérale" (entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals in liberal professions; those in self-regulated careers that require intellectual, technical or scientific expertise, such as lawyers, doctors and architects)
• "Profession commerciale, industrielle ou artisanale" (commercial, industrial or craft professions)