According to Anne Benoit, Director of the Campus France research department, "The new law on the rights of foreigners is a step in the right direction and turns the page on the Guéant memorandum. It will make things easier for foreign students, PhD candidates and researchers."
The bill will allow students to obtain a "multi-year residence permit" after their initial one-year permit expires. The new permit will last until the end of their studies, up to four years. Until now, only certain Masters and PhD students could apply for the permit.
Get to Work
Once their studies are over, foreign students can obtain a non-renewable one-year provisional residence permit (APS) if they have "completed a Masters level degree or higher at a higher education institution that is nationally accredited" or, adds the 2016 law, "is on the list set by decree."
According to the students union UNEF, this opens the door for "bachelor's degree and vocational degree" students. The APS will enable students "to complement their studies with their first work experience" or "start their own company in their field of study."
Permit criteria are less restrictive now. The French legal principle of employment opposability "no longer applies to students looking for work in a field where job demand outstrips supply. Now students don't have to get a job in their field of study," UNEF member Hugues Hiron explains.
Work In Progress
No more will foreign students have to renew their permit every year. For Hiron, there are other victories too. "Now, repeating a year is no longer grounds for visa refusal. Students who overstay will be put under house arrest rather than being detained."
The burden on researchers will also be lighter. Anne Benoit notes, "The talent passport for researchers is easier and more visible than the old scientific researcher permit." This multi-year permit is available to first-time permit applicants and lasts up to four years. Good news aside, the law does nothing to simplify procedures for PhDs working outside of research.
