The new language rules were announced for January 2024 but have not been implemented yet. The measure includes a written test and the language skills required can vary based on the residence permit validity time, meaning that a lower language proficiency is required for a residence permit of two to four years.

Language Skills Make Renewing Residence Permits ‘Nearly Impossible’ for Some Foreigners

It is estimated by the French Interior Ministry that 20,000 immigrants could lose their residence permits while another 40,000 could have their resident cards refused, taking the total number of people affected by the new reform to 60,000.

To obtain a residence permit of two to four years, foreigners must prove they have language proficiency of at least a middle school level.

The consequences of failing to meet the language requirements put foreigners’ future in France at serious risk. Without passing the language test, they cannot obtain a residence permit and without a residence permit, they cannot remain in France, nor find employment.

Last month, many foreigners protested the new measures whose ideator has been Bruno Retailleau, the French Interior Minister. According to the French Minister, a foreigner who does not have French language skills after living in the country for years,  is a sign “that he has not made the effort.”

On January 31, many undocumented migrants gathered in Paris to protest the new changes. According to them, the new order puts their future at risk and is “unfair”, as the Info Migrants reports.

The requirements are higher for foreigners who want to obtain a ten-year card, who must master a high-school level of French. Those who want to obtain French nationality must speak French the same as someone at a university level does, indicating that they have to understand and be able to explain concepts and ideas with specific terminology.