France is taking another significant step toward simplifying and modernizing its immigration framework for skilled professionals. A series of reforms coming into effect between June and August 2025 are reshaping the country’s talent permit system, refining application timelines, and adjusting salary thresholds to align with economic realities.

These updates aim to make France more attractive to international professionals, especially in sectors such as healthcare, technology, and innovation, while also improving efficiency for employers navigating the immigration process.

Simplified Talent Permit Categories

France has overhauled its Passeport Talent program, consolidating several categories to create clearer and more flexible pathways for skilled workers, entrepreneurs, and investors.

1. New Medical and Pharmacy Professions Permit: A new multi-year residence permit—Talent – Medical and Pharmacy Professions—is now available to non-EU doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and midwives. This four-year renewable permit allows qualified healthcare professionals to work in France without needing a separate work permit. The initiative directly responds to ongoing labor shortages in the health sector and establishes a dedicated route for medical talent.
2. Talent – Qualified Employee Category: Several former permits, including Young Graduate – Qualified Employee, Employee on Assignment, and Employee of a Young Innovative Company, have been merged into one unified Talent – Qualified Employee category. This simplification is intended to make the system easier to navigate for both applicants and employers.
3. Talent – Project Holder Category: Similarly, France has combined the New Business, French Tech Visa Founder, and Investor permits into a single Talent – Project Holder category. The goal is to streamline access for entrepreneurs and investors while promoting business creation and innovation within France.

Faster EU Blue Card Processing

France has also taken steps to improve the EU Blue Card process—a key immigration route for highly qualified non-EU professionals.

While the standard processing time remains 90 days, applications from individuals already holding an EU Blue Card from another EU Member State will now be processed within 30 days (extendable to 60 days in special cases). Importantly, this shorter timeframe also applies to accompanying family members, ensuring that family permits are processed and issued simultaneously.

If authorities fail to respond within these deadlines, the application is deemed implicitly rejected, allowing applicants to seek a remedy through administrative courts. These measures are designed to enhance predictability and mobility within the EU labor market, making France an even more appealing destination for skilled workers and their families.

Introducing a ‘Reasonable Timeframe’ for Immigration Procedures

A new “reasonable timeframe” requirement has been added to govern how both applicants and authorities handle requests for additional information on incomplete immigration applications.

Previously, authorities often gave 15–30 days for applicants to submit missing documents via the online platform (ANEF), but this was not legally defined. The new provision formalizes the process, encouraging more efficient communication and timely resolution of applications, though the exact definition of “reasonable” will depend on each case.

Updated Minimum Salary Thresholds

To complement these structural reforms, France has adjusted the minimum salary levels required for certain talent permits:

1. Talent – Medical and Pharmacy Professions Permit: €41,386.48
2. Talent – Qualified Employee Permit: €35,891

Later in the year, the French government introduced an additional update through a new decree published on August 29, 2025 (NOR: INTV2520646A), which sets a unified average annual gross reference salary of €39,582 for two key residence permit categories:

1. Talent – Qualified Employee
2. Talent – European Blue Card

This decree, published in the Journal Officiel de la République Française, applies to mainland France and extends to the overseas territories of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin. It also repeals previous salary decrees dating back to 2016, ensuring that the thresholds reflect current economic conditions and labor market standards.

Why These Changes Matter

For skilled professionals, these reforms make it easier to live and work in France through a more transparent and efficient permit system. The consolidation of categories and reduction of administrative barriers show France’s commitment to attracting top international talent while addressing local labor shortages—especially in healthcare and innovation sectors.

For employers, the reforms bring greater clarity and predictability. With streamlined categories, defined salary thresholds, and shorter processing times, businesses can plan recruitment strategies with more confidence and less administrative burden.

A Clearer Path Forward for Global Talent

France’s 2025 immigration reforms represent more than bureaucratic updates—they signal a continued effort to strengthen the country’s position as a hub for global expertise, research, and innovation.

By simplifying the Passeport Talent framework, clarifying salary requirements, and speeding up application timelines, France is aligning its immigration policies with the realities of a competitive, mobile, and knowledge-driven global workforce.