Our experts in Immigration are here to explain everything there is to know on the latest news about Immigration in France and Europe.
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WE’RE ALWAYS READY TO HELP: NEW SERVICES COMING SOON
NEW TRAINING PROGRAMME
We’re delighted to exclusively inform you of the launch of a brand-new training module, which will be subsequently added in our 2024 catalogue.
This module is titled: “Compliance when recruiting your foreign employees”.
We made it to measure, based on several consistent requests from our clients. This half-day course is designed for HR representatives, recruiters and personnel managers who regularly have to deal with immigration issues for their foreign employees.
Here’s the programme:
I. Introduction
II. The recruitment phase
• Questions to ask during interviews
• Presentation of various residence documents and associated rights
• Promise of employment and commitment to hire
III. The immigration procedure phase
• The authentication declaration
• Student statuses and the limited right to work
• Student to employee change of status
• The specific case of Algerian nationals
• The employer tax
• Residence permit renewal
• Change of employer
IV. Compliance and litigation
• Good reflexes/good practices
• Risks incurred
Our programmes can be included in your training budget, so bear this in mind when the 2024 budget is drawn up at the end of the year.
NATURALISATION
For several months now, our experts have been working on the launch of a new naturalisation service for early 2024.
We’re currently in the pre-launch phase and will be handling applications on a case-by-case basis so that we can perfectly adapt our processes to both our clients’ needs and to administrative practices.
This service will be open to individuals directly.
IMMIGRATION PRESENTATION: RECRUITING TALENT ABROAD
In the war for talent, our corporate clients are increasingly obliged to recruit talent abroad, and this can bring up concerns in terms of risk and deadline management.
We’re here to accompany you with your projects, and we’ve created a service titled “Immigration presentation: recruiting talent abroad”.
This is a 1-hour comprehensive presentation module, in the form of an expert call. Over a Zoom call, we present the immigration options (constraints and possibilities) and answer any potential questions live. The PowerPoint will be shared at the end of the presentation.
ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT
On the 22nd of May, the Minister of Labour, Employment and Economic Inclusion, Olivier Dussopt, presented the national plan to combat illegal employment over the next 5 years, containing measures to coordinate the action of government departments around two main axes:
• “improved checks”, by targeting, prioritising, and reinforcing inspections relating to illegal employment
• “improved penalties, better recovery and compensation for losses linked to illegal employment”
You can find the complete 2023-2027 national plan to combat illegal employment here
2022 IMMIGRATION FIGURES
On the 22nd of June, the Directorate-General for Foreign Nationals in France (DGEF) of the Ministry of the Interior published the definitive statistics on immigration in 2022.
Notably, France granted 1.7 million visas compared to 733,070 in 2021, which is a 137.1% increase, although this number is still less than the total number of visas issued before the pandemic.
As far as migratory movements are concerned, the major change is that the student status is now the most common basis for admission, ahead of the family status.
Moreover, since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, over 65,000 Ukrainians have been granted a temporary residence permit (APS) through the temporary protection mechanism, which has been extended until March 2024.
Finally, with regards to naturalisations, the number of people acquiring French nationality by decree and by declaration dropped by 12.5% in 2022 compared to 2021.
For more information, you can find the full details on the Ministry of the Interior website here
ETIAS
ETIAS stands for “European Travel Information and Authorisation System”.
The system was originally due to be rolled out in 2022 but was pushed back to 2024.
Established by a Regulation adopted by the European Parliament on the 5th of July 2018, it’s an electronic system for tracking visitors from countries that don’t require a visa to enter the Schengen area.
It’s the European equivalent of the ESTA system in the USA.
This system will carry out a detailed security check of each applicant to determine if they are authorised to enter a country in the Schengen area.
The ETIAS is expected to concern 1.4 billion people from over 60 different countries, who currently travel to the 27 Schengen countries without needing to obtain a short-stay visa.
When the time comes, we’ll be here to help you with ETIAS formalities for your affected employees, whether they’re coming on a business trip or on an assignment lasting less than 90 days.
SCHENGEN VISA: POLITICAL AGREEMENT ON THE DIGITISATION OF VISA APPLICATIONS
On the 13th of June, the European Parliament and the Member States of the EU announced that they had come to an agreement on the digitisation of the visa procedure for Schengen area countries.
The Regulation will modernise the visa procedure by providing a single platform. Applicants will be able to apply for a Schengen visa online and pay the same visa fee, regardless of which Schengen country they wish to visit.
The Member States will have a seven-year transition period to join the platform.
The European Parliament and the Council must now formally adopt the Regulation.
Our experts are available to help, so don’t hesitate to get in contact with them!
