The new immigration law N°2016-274 was promulgated on March 7th, 2016, and published in the Official gazette.

The law introduces some important modifications in the current legislation. The main points regarding professional immigration are presented below.

Removal of the need for a work permit for assignments of less than 3 months, in some lines of business

Article L 5221-2 of the Labour code removes the need for a work permit for foreigners entering France in order to exercise a paid activity for up to 3 months in some lines of business, which will be specified by a decree.

Creation of a new status « Talent Passport » and removal of the need for a work permit for some of its recipients

Articles L 313-20 to L 313-22 of the CESEDA* foresees the merger of some categories of resident permits in a new one, called « Talent Passport », valid up to 4 years and issued the first year of residence in France.

Article L 313-20 of CESEDA* provides as well the removal of the need for a work permit for some of the recipients of the « Talent Passport » category, such as the European Blue card holders, or the employees on assignment (intra-company transfer) under a French contract (this list is non-exhaustive).

Removal of the need for a work permit requirement for seconded employees

Article L 313-24 foresees the creation of a multi-year resident permit called « Seconded employee ICT **», valid for 3 years. This resident permit is delivered to foreigners coming to France in an intra-company assignment to occupy a senior management position or to bring expertise. The law creates as well a « Seconded employee ICT** (family) » resident permit for the accompanying family.

It also foresees the mobility within the EU for seconded employees, in order to enable them to accomplish consecutive assignments with a resident permit « Seconded mobile employee ICT** ».

Furthermore, article L 313-24-V of CESEDA* provides the removal of the need for a work permit for this category of seconded employees.

Creation of a new status for trainees

Article L 313-7-2-I of CESEDA provides the creation of the « Trainee ICT** » resident permit. This permit is delivered to foreigners coming to France for an intra-company internship. The law creates as well a « Trainee ICT** (family) » resident permit for the accompanying family.

The law also foresees the mobility within the EU for those « Trainee ICT** ».

Generalization of the multi-year resident permit

Articles L 313-17 to L 313-19 foresee the issuance of a multi-year card, valid up to 4 years, to foreigners who have been residing in France for at least a year.

IMPORTANT: The impact of the modifications brought by the law is significant, yet the decrees specifying the terms of its application will only be published in November 2016. At this stage it’s impossible to determine what will be the terms of the issuance of the new statuses and the competent authorities.

Home Conseil relocation tracks progress of the law implementation and will notify you once the decrees are published.

* CESEDA : Code of Entry and Residence of Aliens and the Right to Asylum

**ICT : Intra-Company Transfer