France: EU Blue Card Rules Relaxed

Expanded professional experience eligibility. Applicants who have at least three years of relevant professional experience (acquired in the previous seven years) are now eligible for a French EU Blue Card, even if they lack relevant educational qualifications. This pathway will only be available to certain roles – to be defined in a future decree of the Council of State.

Previously, the French EU Blue Card status was only open to applicants with either a three-year higher education degree or five years of relevant professional experience.

Employers will be able to hire highly skilled talent from a wider pool of applicants. This is particularly pertinent given current labor shortages in France. 

Reduced work contract durations. Employment contracts now only need to be six months in duration, down from the previous 12-month minimum.

Although this change grants employers more flexibility when hiring highly skilled foreign workers, the practical impact may be less significant than first impressions suggest as highly skilled workers in France tend to be hired under permanent contracts.

Relaxed intra-EU mobility rules. Holders of a non-French EU Blue Card who have resided for at least 12 months in another EU Member State can now enter France without a separate visa – though within at least one month of arriving in France, the foreign national must apply for a French EU Blue Card. Previously, this right of entry only applied after 18 months’ residence in the other EU Member State. 

Additionally, where such individuals have resided in a second EU Member State for six months (after 12 months in a first EU Member State), they can now enter France without a separate visa. The same one-month deadline to apply for a French EU Blue Card remains. 

EU Blue Card holders will be able to move to France from another EU Member State more easily, providing employers more flexibility to move talent permanently to France.

Affected applicants should contact their immigration professional for case-by-case advice, especially as delays at prefecture offices may sometimes hinder individuals from obtaining a right to work upon arrival.

Increased visa duration for short-term contracts. Where the associated employment contract is less than two years in duration, EU Blue Cards now have a validity period of three months longer than the contract – up to a maximum of 24 months. Previously, the visa duration could not be longer than the associated contract.

As was the case previously, where the associated employment contract is two years or more in duration, the EU Blue Card validity period will continue to align with the contract duration (up to a maximum of four years).

The extended validity of three months allows them to maintain their right to stay and work in France while taking renewal actions or looking for a new job. 

For permits valid for less than two years, increased diligence is needed regarding visa validity periods, since such foreign nationals cannot assume that their remaining legal status equals their work contract duration.

EU Long-term Residence Permit. It is now easier for EU Blue Card holders to accrue the five-years of residence necessary to be eligible for the 10-year EU Long-term Residence Permit.

Previously, time spent in other EU Member States on anything other than an EU Blue Card did not accrue to the five year total; now time spent on certain other types of residence permit (listed in the French Code) also accrues.

Given that Long-term Residence Permit holders now enjoy the ability to settle and work in France more easily, this is likely to increase talent retention in the country.