France considers extending residence permits for foreign workers to four years

A proposed bill, introduced by ecologist MP Léa Balage El Mariky on July 2, aims to extend the validity of most residence permits for foreign workers in France from one year to four years. This legislative change seeks to combat administrative precarity, structural discrimination, and exploitation faced by hundreds of thousands of foreign workers. The current one-year permit system creates instability, forcing workers into a constant cycle of renewal applications and the fear of falling into an irregular situation. This vulnerability is often exploited by unscrupulous employers, leading to acceptance of illegal working conditions and undeclared work, with workers unable to report abuses. The proposed law intends to unify the regime for all employees, regardless of their contract type, by quadrupling the duration of their residence permits. It also extends this four-year security to individuals granted initial admission under private and family life provisions. The bill would amend the Code on the Entry and Stay of Foreigners, replacing terms like "temporary" and "maximum duration of one year" with "multi-year" and "duration of four years." Additionally, it removes the requirement for a permanent employment contract CDI, making the measure accessible to all workers. Currently, foreign workers with permanent contracts are only eligible for a temporary one-year residence permit.