France Proposes New Residence Permit to Address Labor Shortages with Undocumented Workers

The announcement was made by Gérald Darmanin and Olivier Dussopt, respectively Minister of the Interior and Minister of Labor, in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde, specifying that the idea is contained in the draft immigration law that will be presented to Parliament in the first half of 2023.

If approved, this text will allow a foreigner in an irregular situation to obtain a "labor shortage" residence permit and thus benefit from "adequate social protection," explained Gérald Darmanin. However, Dussopt points out, the modalities of this new residence permit remain to be defined.

According to the latter, the document will be granted to "vacant" and "already occupied" positions by undocumented workers. In other words, this should concern foreign workers, who do not have a residence permit and who work in construction, in the hotel and restaurant industry or in the e-commerce sector, the main sectors in tension.

For this project, the French government intends to rely on the conventions signed with Morocco in the hotel and restaurant industry. Sectors such as construction, health professions, digital, agri-food will also be concerned. According to official figures, companies were planning to create 3 million jobs, i.e. 12% more than in 2021. At least 10% of these positions remain unfilled at this time while France still has 7% of job seekers.