Algerian nationals in France: status change and residence certificate

Are you an Algerian national living in France? Your permit is not called a residence card but a residence certificate. A bilateral agreement from 1968 sets your rights, and the French immigration code only applies at the margins. A lawyer checks your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

The residence certificate and the 1968 agreement

The residence certificate comes from the Franco-Algerian agreement of 27 December 1968. Three amendments then changed it, in 1985, 1994 and 2001. This text prevails over the CESEDA, the French code on the entry and stay of foreign nationals.

The Conseil d'État often repeats it: the agreement governs the stay of Algerian nationals completely. As a result, most reforms of the code do not concern you. The general rules, however, still govern procedure, for example filing on ANEF or the receipt.

In practice, an adult Algerian national needs a residence certificate to stay longer than three months. One is also required from the age of 16 to work.

One-year residence certificates

A one-year residence certificate carries a category that depends on your plans. Here are the main ones.

Category	Basis in the agreement	What you need
Private and family life	Article 6	Spouse of a French national, parent of a French child, 10 years in France, medical care
Employee	Article 7 b	Employment contract approved by the labour authorities
Trader or self-employed profession	Articles 5 and 7 c	Registration with the national business register or a professional body
Visitor	Article 7 a	Sufficient resources, undertaking not to take salaried work
Student or trainee	Protocol, title III	Enrolment, resources of at least €877.50 a month
Scientist	Article 7 f	Hosting agreement with a research body

Each one-year residence certificate is renewable. However, the agreement provides no multi-year card of two to four years, unlike the general rules.

For students, work stays limited to half of the annual working time. A temporary work authorisation is also required, based on a job offer. Other international students, by contrast, may work up to 60 % without any authorisation.

The ten-year residence certificate

The agreement opens the ten-year residence certificate faster than the ordinary resident card.

• After three years of uninterrupted residence: you may apply for it (article 7 bis). The prefect then decides based on your means and your work.
• As of right: spouse of a French national married for one year, parent of a French child, child of a French national under 21.
• Other cases as of right: an industrial injury pension of at least 20 %, residence in France since the age of 10, lawful stay for more than 10 years.
• After five years on a "private and family life" certificate.

This residence certificate is renewed automatically. Yet an absence of more than three consecutive years makes it lapse, unless you obtained an extension before leaving.

Status change: the "employee" residence certificate

An Algerian student moving into a job follows article 7 b of the agreement. Your employer applies for a work authorisation on ANEF. The prefecture then issues the "employee" residence certificate, valid for one year.

Several points set you apart from other graduates:

• No "job search" card: the agreement does not provide for it. You therefore need a contract before your student permit ends.
• Labour law applies: the administration may apply the labour market test. Check whether your job appears on the list of shortage occupations.
• No new visa in principle: administrative courts of appeal hold that the long-stay visa of article 9 only concerns entry into France.

On the procedure, file your application two to four months before your permit expires. Since 1 May 2026, a certificate issued after a status change costs €250 according to service-public.gouv.fr: a €200 tax and a €50 stamp. Our article on residence permit fees details the other amounts.

For the steps shared by all nationalities, see also our status change guide.

Trader, visitor: the other routes

To start a business, the agreement is more flexible than the general rules. Registration with the national business register or the trades register is in principle enough. The prefecture therefore does not assess the economic viability of the project, as it does for the "entrepreneur" card.

The "visitor" certificate follows a different logic. You undertake not to take salaried work. Nevertheless, it allows self-employed work that is not subject to special regulation. Moving from visitor to employee remains possible, but requires a work authorisation.

What does not apply to Algerian nationals

Many files fail because they aim for a CESEDA permit that is out of reach. Here are the main ones.

CESEDA permit or procedure	For an Algerian national
Multi-year "employee" or "student" card	No: a renewable one-year certificate
"Talent" card	No, according to the prevailing case law
"Job search or business creation" card	No, there is no equivalent in the agreement
Exceptional leave to remain under article L.435-1	No, but discretionary regularisation remains possible
Temporary permit for the parent of a sick child	No, according to the lower courts

Note that the agreement does provide a temporary residence authorisation, but for one situation only. It covers a person admitted to a French hospital without residing habitually in France.

Regularisation: 10 years in France and the prefect's power

An Algerian national who proves ten years of habitual residence obtains a "private and family life" certificate as of right. The period rises to fifteen years if you stayed as a student during that time. This rule is specific to the agreement, since the general rules abolished it.

Outside that case, the exceptional leave to remain of the CESEDA does not help you. The Conseil d'État held so in an opinion of 22 March 2010. It added, however, that the prefect keeps a discretionary power to regularise. The prefect may therefore issue a certificate to someone who does not meet every condition. Our article on exceptional leave to remain sets out the criteria used in practice.

The cost of regularisation adds up quickly. Count a €300 regularisation visa fee, on top of the price of the certificate.

The 1968 agreement: where do talks stand?

The agreement has been the subject of political debate since 2025. On 30 October 2025, the National Assembly adopted a resolution calling for its termination. That text, however, has no binding force.

On 1 and 2 June 2026, the interior ministers of both countries met in Paris. They agreed to resume talks, and France is to put forward proposals for change. In September 2026, the French interior minister pointed out that the agreement does not deal with removals.

To date, no new amendment has been signed. The 1968 agreement therefore still applies in its 2001 version.

When to consult a lawyer

A lawyer identifies the article of the agreement that matches your situation. They also check that the prefecture does not wrongly apply a CESEDA rule. If you are refused, our article on residence permit refusal sets out the deadlines to appeal.

An immigration lawyer answers within 20 minutes. The official conditions also appear on the service-public one-year certificate page.