France Tightens Immigration Rules: Civic Exam Mandatory for Long-Term Residency from 2026

A civic exam is now mandatory for residence permit applicants. A decree published on July 15 in the Official Journal provides more information on this exam, as can be read on the government website Legifrance. It will be a multiple-choice questionnaire (MCQ) that will include questions dealing with various aspects concerning "the principles and values of the Republic, the rights and duties related to life in France, the history, geography, culture and the institutional and political system of France," specifies this new decree.

The objective of the mandatory civic exam is to validate the civic training followed by the residence permit applicants. Divided into two versions, the exam targets applicants for a multi-year residence permit (2 to 4 years) and applicants for a resident card (10 years). Passing the exam for the resident card validates the one for the multi-year residence permit, the decree specifies. The decree also includes other points that will have to wait until January 1, 2026 to be applied, in particular those related to the effective application of the language level requirements and the civic exam in the granting of residence permits.

The mandatory civic exam is in line with the application of the 2024 immigration law.