France’s sweeping Decree 2026-454—published on 6 June but entering into force on 16 July 2026—overhauls the Code de l’entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d’asile (CESEDA) to bring national law into line with the European Migration & Asylum Pact adopted in 2024. The text introduces uniform border-screening procedures, new deadlines for asylum decisions and an expanded Eurodac biometric database, substantially redrawing the compliance landscape for employers of third-country nationals. Key business-mobility changes include a mandatory ‘pre-entry vulnerability assessment’ at external borders, cutting maximum procedure time from 26 to 15 days for manifestly unfounded applications. Corporate sponsors of intra-company transferees must now upload employment contracts to a central portal at least 48 hours before a transferee’s Schengen arrival; failure triggers an automatic “inadmissibility” flag in the new Border Screening IT System. The decree also simplifies family-reunification rules: spouses and children can receive a single digital residence card valid across France’s prefectures, eliminating repeat local appointments. Conversely, return orders are toughened—employers found facilitating irregular stay risk fines up to €60,000 (previously €30,000) per undocumented worker. For HR and global-mobility teams, the biggest operational shift is data: biometric and contract information entered in France will be instantly shared with other EU states under Eurodac III. Multinationals must therefore ensure document consistency across jurisdictions, particularly when rotating staff between French and Dutch entities, for example. Although critics argue the accelerated timeline compromises due-process rights, the Interior Ministry says the reforms will “provide clarity for businesses while safeguarding the right to asylum.” Companies are advised to review onboarding checklists, ensure payroll systems can generate the new digital contract extracts, and train assignees on tightened border questioning.
Source: Légifrance
