Immigration update: France | Reorganisation and dematerialisation of French Immigration processes
Reorganisation and dematerialisation of French Immigration processes
2021 will see a few changes in the immigration system. Indeed, the French authorities are trying to improve and simplify the immigration processes. In addition, the implementation of dematerialization has been accelerated by the need to reduce contact and the amount of public received in prefecture due to covid-19 in 2020.
Starting from the 1st of April 2021 the prefecture will handle foreigner worker processes which were up until now handled by the labour office (DIRECCTE).
6 new interregional platforms have been put into place to manage the work authorisation applications. 30 employees are now in charge of the instruction of the work authorization under the authority of the prefecture.
From the 6th of April work applications will be filed online through the immigration platform used until now for Ofii validation and Student application.
https://administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr
Application previously shared by post will be transmitted to the authority directly through the platform. A confirmation that the application has been filed will be received by email by the applicant. Approval of work authorization will be sent to both the assignee and the employer by email. This should reduce processing time of work authorisation which by law are considered rejected in absence of an answer within 2 months (implicit refusal).
Kindly note that even if work authorisations are being processed, due to Covid-19 and limited entry into France, worker and temporary worker visa are not being delivered by consulate in closed countries as they are not authorised to enter in France.
Mid-April, national dematerialisation of Passport talent residence card applications has been announced.
First and renewal residence card application will be able to be filed online. It is not yet determined whether change of status would be processed through this new system or not. It is already applicable in some prefecture and should be generalized to all prefectures.
This will reduce presentation at the prefecture to one appearance to pick up the card upon fabrication. During this appointment booked online fingerprints will be taken and the residence card will be delivered.
Kindly reminder all passport talent requests are being processed and authorised to enter in France and that whereas the application is done in an open or a closed country.
Who will be affected?
All foreigners’ workers will see part of their process being dematerialized and handled by one of the online platforms implemented by the French authorities over the past months.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact:
Aurelie Vasseur
Immigration Manager
Aurelie.vasseur@santaferelo.com
Sarah Laalayli
Immigration Specialist
Sarah.laalayli@santaferelo.com
To read more immigration updates, click here
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