France: Vertiginous drop in regularizations, the Retailleau legacy weighs heavily

The figures from the Ministry of the Interior are unambiguous. Over the first nine months of 2025, only 11,012 residence permits were issued under the exceptional admission scheme, compared to more than 19,000 over the same period the previous year. This drastic drop is the direct result of the "Retailleau circular" of last January, which repealed the more flexible criteria of 2012 (Valls circular) to impose drastic conditions: seven years of presence on the territory, certified mastery of French and no prior OQTF. Regularizations through work have collapsed by 54%, and those related to private and family life have fallen by 58%.

The "shortage occupations" scheme, intended to offer a legal path to workers in sectors facing shortages, has proven to be a resounding failure. With only 702 permits granted in ten months, this flagship measure of the immigration law is considered ineffective, notably because key sectors such as cleaning in the Île-de-France region have been excluded from the eligibility lists. Prefects are now applying strict discretion, turning regularization requests into a "Russian roulette" where even solid files result in an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF), now valid for three years.

Faced with this administrative wall, many lawyers now advise their clients to remain in clandestinity rather than risk expulsion. The situation is exacerbated by a chronic congestion of the prefectures: in Seine-Saint-Denis, the services barely process the files filed in 2022. A paralysis that even affects foreigners in a regular situation, some struggling to renew their permits and inadvertently falling into illegality.