France — French-language and civic-exam requirements raised for residence permits

What changed on 1 January 2026

Two language and civics requirements were raised for third-country nationals seeking medium and long-term residence in France:

• First multi-year residence permit (carte de séjour pluriannuelle): now requires proof of A2 French plus a passed civic examination before the permit is issued. Under the previous regime, A2 French was tied to the carte de résident only, and the civic component was attached to the integration contract, not to the multi-year permit itself.
• First carte de résident (10-year residence card): now requires B1 French — up from A2.

The DELF examination remains the standard recognised test for both levels. The civic examination covers basic knowledge of French institutions, values and history. Both can be prepared during the Contrat d'intégration républicaine (CIR) with OFII, which continues to include free language hours (up to 600 hours for A1, additional 200 hours for B1, 100 hours for C1).

Who is not affected

The reform explicitly carves out several categories:

• Residence permits not tied to the CIR. Notably the Passeport Talent family of permits — for highly qualified workers, researchers, artists, investors, family of Passeport Talent holders — does not pass through the CIR and is therefore not subject to the new language thresholds (B1 remains "strongly recommended" for naturalisation, but not for residence).
• Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and stateless persons, and their family members, remain on the previous regime.
• EU and EEA nationals and their family members are governed by EU free-movement rules, unaffected.
• Short-stay student permits retain the access conditions defined by the university or programme.

What this means in practice

For most third-country nationals on a standard work, family or long-stay-student route in France, the practical change is timing:

• A2 French is now an entry condition to renew into the multi-year permit, not a goal to reach during the CIR. People arriving with little or no French should plan language preparation either before arrival (Alliance Française abroad, online DELF-prep courses) or during the first months on the initial single-year card.
• B1 for the carte de résident is a real step up. B1 means functional conversational French, ability to write a short structured argument, and comprehension of newspaper-level prose. The CIR's free 200-hour B1 hours are useful but not sufficient on their own — most learners take 18–24 months of consistent practice to move from A2 to a confident B1 exam result.
• Naturalisation requirements were already at B1 oral and written, so people on the citizenship path are not seeing additional language demand. The change is concentrated at the residence layer.

Strategic implications by route

• Students moving from a student card to a carte de séjour pluriannuelle "passport talent — chercheur" (Passeport Talent — researcher) at PhD level: not affected, Passeport Talent route is exempt.
• Family reunification under regroupement familial: now under the new A2 requirement. Sponsors should plan to support the joining family member's CIR enrolment and DELF A2 preparation in the first year.
• Salaried workers on the standard carte salarié moving to the multi-year carte salarié pluriannuelle: now under the new A2 requirement at renewal. Often delivered together with the Republican Integration Contract hours; check with the local prefecture for the exact sequence.
• Self-employed and entrepreneurs under carte entrepreneur/profession libérale: also under the new A2 threshold for the multi-year version.

Framing

The changes follow a broader European trend toward tighter language and civics requirements at residence and citizenship levels (Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and Germany have all moved in similar directions in 2025–2026). The political framing in France emphasises integration and "French language as a vector of integration"; civil-society organisations and several immigrant-rights associations have criticised the impact on family reunification and on lower-income workers who lack time for systematic study.

For vamosa's audience: the practical question is not whether the rules are right or wrong, but how to plan around them. A2 French is achievable in 6–12 months of consistent study from zero. B1 is achievable in 18–24 months. Both are easier when started before arrival, both are harder when squeezed into the year before the renewal deadline.

Where to find primary sources

• Service-Public.fr is the official state portal for procedure descriptions and current document lists.
• Légifrance holds the consolidated text of the CESEDA (Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile), which is the underlying law.
• OFII explains the CIR and provides regional contact points for orientation interviews and language assessments.
• The Ministry of the Interior publishes regular Bulletins Officiels covering implementation details and prefectural guidance.