In France, the first multi-year residence permits have been issued to foreigners
As reported by RFI, the first multi-year residence permits in France were personally handed out in the Isère department by French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. From the minister's hands, seven foreigners received the documents – a Russian woman and a Belarusian citizen, two people from Morocco, a citizen of Côte d'Ivoire, and two Turkish citizens. All of them came to France under the family reunification procedure, which allows working foreigners to bring their spouses and children into the country.
The validity of the new residence permits ranges from 2 to 4 years. They are issued after one year of legal residence in France under certain conditions. To obtain a multi-year permit after the one-year permit, it is necessary to strictly comply with a special "integration contract" that foreigners entering France for a long period sign.
The multi-year residence permits are intended to simplify the work of French prefectures, as well as the lives of foreigners, who will no longer have to collect piles of documents annually and stand in huge queues at registration offices for newcomers.
"For the 250,000 residence permits issued annually to foreigners, there were 5 million visits to French prefectures," noted Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. By introducing the new type of document, "we are giving foreigners the opportunity to integrate into French society under the best conditions, without constant fear of procedures that constantly call this integration into question," the minister emphasized.
Thus, students will be able to obtain a residence permit for the entire duration of their studies. Foreigners undergoing treatment in France will be issued a document for the entire duration of their therapy.
Holders of "intern," "guest," and "temporary worker" visas will not be able to obtain multi-year residence permits. Recall that the new immigration law, which introduced multi-year residence permits, was adopted by the French parliament on February 18 and came into force on November 1, 2016.