In a detailed legal analysis published on 12 June, trade journal Actualités Sociales Hebdomadaires (ASH) parsed six decrees and three ministerial orders that appeared in France’s Official Journal on 7 and 10 June. Together, the texts align French law with the EU Migration Pact and, crucially, enter into force immediately because the pact is now active. The most business-relevant change is the shortening of the time asylum applicants have to challenge a removal order (Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Français, OQTF). Appeals must now be filed within 15 days—half the previous 30-day window—for decisions issued at the border, and within one month for in-country refusals. That compressed calendar means HR managers assisting relocating staff or contractors who fall out of status must secure legal counsel faster than before. Another decree revises reception-condition rules, requiring regional accommodation centres to provide a private bedroom for families with children and to record biometric data on entry. Those extra costs will be funded partly by an increase in the €60 regularisation tax that employers pay when they sponsor a worker already in France. For human-resource mobility teams, the decrees confirm that Talent Passport holders retain full labour-market access even if their asylum-seeking spouse’s claim is rejected, but they must demonstrate sufficient resources (at least 120 % of the minimum wage) to keep family members in France. Employers who fail to update salary attestations risk administrative fines of up to €1,500 per employee. Legal experts caution that the new rules could create a rush of last-minute filings in France’s already overloaded administrative courts. “We expect a spike in emergency appeals over the summer,” says Maître Alexis Roche, noting that most prefectures have not yet upgraded their e-filing portals to reflect the shorter deadlines.
