Proposed law aims to simplify obtaining and renewing residence permits in France

A new bill has been submitted to the French Senate to address the growing difficulties faced by foreign nationals in maintaining their residence permits. On April 14, 2026, Socialist Senator Corinne Narassiguin of Seine-Saint-Denis introduced the bill, stating its ambition is to remove obstacles to the integration of foreign nationals in France. The Senator highlighted the challenges experienced by many foreign nationals, particularly in Seine-Saint-Denis, describing a "Kafkaesque situation" where they are caught in administrative absurdity during residence permit renewals. She noted that professionally integrated individuals, who are in good standing, suffer from state service failures, attributing this to structural administrative problems and restrictive directives from the Ministry of Interior to prefectures. Narassiguin called the situation "unacceptable," citing instances where individuals lose jobs and housing due to delayed document reception, despite following procedures. She criticized a political strategy leading to avoidable personal tragedies. The Senator and the Socialist group propose a comprehensive bill with 19 articles to streamline the integration process for foreign nationals. Key measures include establishing a minimum three-month validity for all provisional documents, coupled with automatic work authorization, to ensure continuity of rights and protect against sudden precarity during renewal processing. The bill also introduces a self-referral procedure