Over the last few years, French immigration and nationality law has been reshaped in stages: first by the Act of 26 January 2024, then by a series of circulars, decrees and a ministerial order adopted in 2025. Taken together, these texts both harden day-to-day administrative practice (from 2025) and create a major legal “step change” on 1 January 2026, when a formal civic exam and higher language requirements will become unavoidable for many residence and nationality procedures. For anyone who is already eligible under the current rules, this sequencing makes it strategically important to lodge a complete application before 31 December 2025.
1. The 23 January 2025 circular on “admission exceptionnelle au séjour” (AES)
The Interior Ministry circular of 23 January 2025 on admission exceptionnelle au séjour immediately reframes exceptional regularisation as a strictly residual mechanism and not a parallel route to ordinary residence permits. It insists that AES should only be used where no ordinary legal path is available and raises the bar for “integration”, including a strong focus on French language skills and a new requirement to sign a “contract of commitment to respect the principles of the Republic”, with non-signature treated as an inadmissible file. It also encourages prefectures to give more weight to public-order considerations and to the non-execution of removal orders, pointing out that an unexecuted OQTF can justify refusing even an ordinary temporary card. The circular thus tightens regularisation practice right away, without waiting for 2026, and significantly narrows the scope and predictability of AES for people in an irregular situation.
2. The 2 May 2025 circular on naturalisation practice
The circular of 2 May 2025 on the instruction of naturalisation files also has immediate effect and confirms that naturalisation is a discretionary “favour” rather than a right. It instructs prefectures to adopt a more exacting interpretation of “assimilation”, with stricter scrutiny of criminal records, respect for immigration rules and economic autonomy. It anticipates the forthcoming elevation of the required French level from B1 to B2 and the introduction of a formal civic exam, indicating that these new criteria will apply no later than 1 January 2026, but already encourages a demanding approach to language and integration in the meantime. In practice, the circular makes naturalisation harder from 2025 onward, even before the higher B2 threshold and the civic exam are legally in force.
3. The 15 July 2025 decree on residence permits
Decree no. 2025-647 of 15 July 2025 is one of the key implementing texts of the 26 January 2024 Act in the field of residence. It rewrites the conditions of “republican integration” for long-term statuses by requiring proof of A2-level French for a first multi-annual residence card and B1-level French for a first resident card, in both cases through recognised diplomas or certifications. It also ties the resident card to successful completion of the new civic exam, which becomes a formal condition for obtaining this more secure status. Crucially, the decree provides that these new requirements will only apply from 1 January 2026. Until 31 December 2025, first-time applications for multi-annual or resident cards should still be examined under the previous regime, in which the integration requirement was more loosely assessed and no civic exam had yet been introduced.
4. The 15 July 2025 decree on the acquisition of nationality
A companion decree, no. 2025-648 of 15 July 2025, deals with the acquisition of French nationality, whether by naturalisation or, in certain cases, by declaration (for example as the spouse of a French national). It raises the linguistic requirement from B1 to B2 in both oral and written French, and it replaces the former model centred on an “assimilation interview” with a system in which candidates must pass the civic exam and provide a formal attestation of success in their file. Like the residence-permit decree, it sets 1 January 2026 as the date on which these conditions become mandatory. This means that files that are complete and receivable before the end of 2025 should, in principle, still be assessed under the older, less demanding framework of B1-level French and a more flexible interview-based assessment of civic knowledge.
5. The 10 October 2025 order on the content and organisation of the civic exam
The ministerial order of 10 October 2025 on the programme, tests and organisation of the civic exam operationalises what the July decrees had announced in principle. It defines a single exam which can carry different mentions depending on the procedure (“multi-annual residence card”, “resident card”, “naturalisation”), and specifies that it takes the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire of forty questions based on a detailed syllabus covering the principles and symbols of the Republic, institutions, rights and duties, everyday life in France and France’s place in Europe and the world. The passing threshold is fixed at 80% correct answers, and the test is designed to be taken in a standardised digital format. Although the order itself is adopted in October 2025, it is clearly aligned with the entry into force of the July decrees on 1 January 2026, at which point the civic exam becomes a de facto gateway for long-term residence and nationality.
6. A cumulative tightening – and the importance of the 31 December 2025 deadline
Seen together, these texts create a cumulative tightening of both law and practice. From early 2025, the two circulars already make access to exceptional regularisation and to naturalisation more restrictive, by narrowing the scope of AES, hardening the assessment of behaviour, regularity of stay and economic autonomy, and encouraging a more rigorous reading of “assimilation”. On 1 January 2026, the two July decrees and the October order then transform this stricter practice into binding legal thresholds, with higher language levels (A2 for multi-annual cards, B1 for resident cards, B2 for nationality) and a formal civic exam that must be passed and evidenced by an attestation. For migrants who are already eligible under the current framework, this sequencing creates a clear time horizon: lodging a complete, receivable application for a first multi-annual card, a first resident card or the acquisition of nationality before 31 December 2025 offers a real chance of being examined under the more flexible pre-2026 rules, without the additional hurdle of the civic exam and the higher language requirements that will apply from 1 January 2026.
Conclusion
In short, the French reforms are unfolding in two waves: a first, largely invisible one in 2025, where administrative practice has already become tougher, and a second, much more visible one on 1 January 2026, when higher language requirements and a formal civic exam will become legal prerequisites for many residence and nationality procedures. Taken together, these measures raise the bar for long-term residence, exceptional regularisation and access to French nationality, while also increasing the uncertainty surrounding how files will be assessed. For anyone who is already eligible under the current rules, waiting means voluntarily facing a more demanding system. Acting before 31 December 2025 – by lodging a complete, receivable application for a multi-annual card, a resident card or naturalisation – is therefore not just a matter of timing, but a genuine strategic choice to maximise one’s chances under a still more flexible legal framework.