Foreign workers: Decree 2026-1001 eases the withdrawal of r…

Decree No. 2026-1001 of October 26, 2026 (NOR: INTV2619006D), signed by the Ministry of the Interior, appears in the Official Journal of the French Republic of October 29, 2026 (JORF No. 0253). It rewrites a series of regulatory articles of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right to Asylum (CESEDA) and the Labor Code applicable to foreign nationals authorized to work in France. The text relaxes the grounds for withdrawing the permit in the event of job loss, frames the administration’s response time, and adjusts the rules for granting cards intended for highly skilled workers.

The decree follows Decree No. 2025-539 of June 13, 2025, of which it modifies several articles and updates the coordination tables applicable overseas. It contains no specific entry-into-force provision; its Article 20 merely charges the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Labor and Solidarity, and the Minister of Overseas Territories with its execution.

Job Loss: Three Months of Protection, Six in Cases of Exploitation

Article 1 supplements Article R. 421-4 of the CESEDA with three paragraphs. The residence permit can no longer be withdrawn on the sole ground that the foreign national has been, through no fault of their own, deprived of employment for a total period not exceeding three months during its validity period.

A foreign national who finds an employer during this period is authorized to stay during the processing of the new application for work authorization (Articles L. 5221-2 et seq. of the Labor Code).
The protection period is extended by three months when the person concerned has been subjected to working conditions falling under Articles 225-4-1, 225-13, 225-14, and 225-15-1 of the Penal Code, namely the classifications of forced labor, indignity, and servitude.

Article 14 modifies Article R. 5221-36 of the Labor Code: the word “twelve” is replaced by “six,” and the mention of “involuntary loss of employment” is supplemented by the case of “serious violation by the employer of the conditions of the employment relationship.”

Ninety Days to Decide, Thirty More if the File is Complex

Article 2 entirely replaces Article R. 432-2 of the CESEDA. The decision of the administrative authority on a residence permit application must be notified in writing “as soon as possible, and at the latest ninety days” from the submission of a complete application — i.e., 90 days.

In cases of particular complexity, this period may be extended by 30 days, provided the administration informs the foreign national; this extension is excluded for a long list of cards (R. 421-23, R. 421-26, R. 421-37-7, R. 421-43, R. 421-47, R. 421-51, R. 421-54, R. 421-60, R. 422-5, R. 422-12, R. 426-14, R. 426-17).
The implicit decision of rejection now occurs at the end of 90 days from the submission of a complete application.
Articles 3 to 5 remove the derogations to Article R. 432-2 and the derogatory deadlines provided for in Articles R. 421-43, R. 421-47, R. 421-51, and R. 421-54; the sixty-day silence constituting a rejection under Article R. 421-26 is expressly linked to the submission of the complete application.

“Talent - EU Blue Card”: duration aligned with the contract

Article 6 rewrites Article R. 421-12 of the CESEDA. The validity period of the multi-year “talent - EU blue card” (Article L. 421-11) now follows the employment contract submitted in support of the application.

Contract of at least two years: validity identical to that of the contract, up to a limit of four years.
Contract of less than two years: validity at least equivalent to that of the contract plus three months, up to a limit of two years.

Articles 7 and 8 lower the intra-European mobility threshold required to obtain the card in France: twelve months of residence under an EU blue card in another Member State, or six months starting from the second mobility, replace the eighteen months previously required; the prefect must inform the Member State that issued the previous card.

Article 9 creates Article R. 421-24 A: when the prefect intends to refuse the renewal or withdraw the “talent - EU blue card,” they must grant the foreign national a period of six months to seek new employment, extended until the end of the rights acquired under the insurance allowance (Article L. 5422-1 of the Labor Code) in the event of a breach by the employer. This maintenance is materialized by a certificate of extension of processing, a provisional residence permit, or a card.

ICT assignees and trainees: remuneration condition

Two new articles condition detachment cards on a salary level. Article 10 inserts Article R. 421-38 A for “ICT seconded employee” and “ICT mobile seconded employee” cards (Articles L. 421-26 and L. 421-27); Article 11 creates Article R. 421-51 A for “ICT trainee” and “ICT mobile trainee” cards (Articles L. 421-30 and L. 421-31). In both cases, the foreign national must justify a gross annual remuneration at least equal to the annual average gross reference salary set by decree of the minister in charge of immigration.

Article 13, on the other hand, introduces a work permit exemption under section 22° of Article R. 5221-2 of the Labor Code, for the benefit of an employee employed by an employer established in the United Kingdom and posted to France under section 1° of Article L. 1262-1, for a maximum cumulative duration of twelve months, for the purpose of providing contractual services in sectors determined by a joint order of the ministers in charge of immigration and labor. Cumulative conditions:

having performed the same type of services for this employer for at least one year immediately prior to the request;
providing evidence of professional experience of at least three years in the relevant sector, or a university degree or equivalent qualification;
holding the legally and regulatorily required professional qualifications.

Scope for employers and prefectures

Articles 15 to 19 rewrite the coordination tables of Articles R. 442-2, R. 443-2, R. 444-2, R. 445-2, and R. 446-2 of the CESEDA and adapt the overseas framework, notably by referring the authorization to exercise a professional activity for holders of the card issued under the new Article R. 421-24 A to local law. For foreign employees, the most immediate effect is the securing of a three-month period of unemployment before any withdrawal; for employers, the work permit exemption for British posted workers and the remuneration condition for ICT posted workers; for prefectures, a ninety-day period linked to the occurrence of an implicit rejection at the same term, now identical for the majority of cards.

Source: Official Journal of the French Republic, JORF No. 0253 of October 29, 2026, Decree No. 2026-1001 of October 26, 2026 (NOR: INTV2619006D).