France records immigration decline as new laws reshape entry patterns
Immigration to France declined in 2024, with 313,000 immigrants entering the country to stay for at least one year, according to new figures from national statistics agency Insee based on the latest census. This represents a 10% decrease compared with 2023 and a 16% drop from the 2022 peak of 375,000 arrivals.
The decline follows the enactment of a comprehensive immigration law in January 2024, France's 33rd such legislation in 44 years. The Constitutional Council censured 35 of the law's 86 articles before it took effect, removing proposed restrictions on social benefit access and immigration quotas while preserving measures that increased the residency period required for family reunification from 18 to 24 months and raised the minimum spousal age from 18 to 21.
Legislative changes reshape immigration landscape
As of January 1, 2026, stricter French language requirements took effect, raising the proficiency level from A2 to B1 for multi-year residence permits and from B1 to B2 for citizenship applications. These requirements came into force just seven months before publication of the latest statistics, though their full impact on future immigration patterns remains to be measured.
Despite the overall decline, France granted 51,335 economic visas in 2024, with skilled professional visas rising 12.5%, indicating continued demand for international expertise even as other immigration categories contracted.
Immigration emerges as central election issue
The immigration figures arrive as the topic dominates the lead-up to the 2027 presidential election, with President Emmanuel Macron constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term. Bruno Retailleau of Les Républicains, who served as Interior Minister from September 2024 to early 2025 under Prime Ministers Michel Barnier and François Bayrou, is proposing a referendum on immigration as part of his presidential campaign.
Marine Le Pen of Rassemblement National, who confirmed her candidacy after an appeal court reduced her sentence and lifted an election ban in early 2026, is advocating for stricter immigration limits and restrictions on foreigners' access to certain benefits and services.
Post-pandemic patterns stabilize
As of January 1, 2025, France's population stood at 68.6 million, of which 7.7 million (11%) were immigrants. Insee defines an immigrant as a person born abroad who is a foreign national residing in France, a status that persists even after acquiring French nationality.
The 2024 immigration level represents a return to pre-pandemic norms following four years marked by the health crisis and the war in Ukraine. France recorded 46,200 Ukrainian arrivals in 2022, compared with just 1,700 in 2021, but this influx declined to 5,800 by 2024.
Insee notes that total arrivals in 2024 included 438,000 people, comprising 313,000 immigrants and 125,000 non-immigrants (those born abroad to French parents or born in France and returning after time abroad). The Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice approved over 103,000 naturalizations in 2024, up 6.6% from the previous year.
Continental and demographic breakdowns
Nearly half of the 2024 immigrant arrivals (144,000) were born in Africa, while 83,000 came from Europe, 57,000 from Asia, and 30,000 from the Americas and Oceania. The sharpest decline occurred among European immigrants, down 13% overall, with a 19% drop among those from European countries outside the EU.
Americans represented the fifth-largest nationality group receiving first residence permits, with over 13,000 issued in 2024. Some 8,900 permits went to UK nationals, down from 9,300 the previous year.
Half of all immigrants arriving in 2024 were aged between 18 and 36. Among those over 15, 55% were either employed (33%) or in education (22%). This percentage rose to 73% for EU country immigrants, compared with 53% for Asian-born and 50% for African-born arrivals, differences Insee attributes to variations in age, gender, and educational attainment.
International comparison
The trend mirrors developments in the United Kingdom, where net migration fell from 331,000 in 2024 to 171,000 in 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics. The UK decline followed early 2024 measures that banned foreign carers and students from bringing dependent family members and raised minimum salary requirements for skilled workers.
Due to improvements in Insee's census data collection methodology, pre-2024 immigration figures are not directly comparable with those for 2024 and 2025. Data on exits from France for 2023 and 2024 are not yet available.
