1987 France-Morocco Accord Could Exclude Moroccans From New Residency Path
Legal status for undocumented workers may soon no longer depend solely on the discretion of prefects. The Senate is examining a reform of rules for occupations facing labor shortages on November 5, but the 1987 France-Morocco agreement could prevent Moroccan nationals from benefiting.
The bill submitted to senators proposes granting a “salaried worker” or “temporary worker” residence permit as a matter of right to foreign nationals who meet the requirements of the procedure for occupations facing labor shortages. Today, this regularization remains subject to the prefect’s discretion, even when an applicant meets the required criteria.
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To qualify for this procedure, a foreign worker must, among other things, show at least three years’ residence in France and twelve months of employment during the previous twenty-four months, in an occupation and geographical area facing recruitment difficulties. Construction, catering, agriculture and certain personal services are among the sectors concerned.
The reform aims to turn this possibility into a genuine right for eligible people. It also provides for the removal of certain penalties for employers hiring foreign nationals without work authorization in these sectors. The experimental scheme currently in force is due to end on December 31, 2026.
Why Moroccans are in a different situation
The France-Morocco agreement of October 9, 1987, specifically governs the conditions for issuing employee residence permits to nationals of the kingdom. In a ruling on March 24, 2026, the Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal confirmed that a Moroccan national could not directly invoke the special regularization procedure provided for in Article L. 435-4 of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners.
The proposal before the Senate amends this article specifically, without providing for any change to the bilateral agreement. Its adoption would therefore not guarantee Moroccan workers access to the new regularization as a matter of right. They would retain the option of applying for individual regularization, particularly on the basis of their work history and integration in France.
A favorable response rate reaching 64%
The debate comes as use of this procedure is rising sharply. According to figures provided by the administration to the Senate, the share of applications receiving a favorable response rose from 4.5% in 2024 to 31% in 2025, then to 64% in 2026 as of the date of the parliamentary report.
The Law Committee nevertheless rejected the proposal on October 28. It wants to preserve prefects’ discretionary power, with their decisions remaining decisive, as a lawyer specializing in regularization procedures had already explained.
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The original bill is therefore being debated in a public sitting on November 5. The debate concerns establishing a right to residence for certain foreign workers, while the specific rules arising from the France-Morocco agreement continue to apply to nationals of the kingdom.
