Exceptional leave to remain in France: conditions and risks

Thousands of people live and work in France without a residence permit. For them, regularisation almost always runs through exceptional leave to remain, granted case by case. A poorly prepared file, however, can end in a removal order. A lawyer assesses your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr, before you file anything.

Exceptional leave to remain: what the law says

Article L.435-1 of the CESEDA, the French immigration code, frames exceptional leave to remain on humanitarian grounds or for exceptional reasons. The prefect may then issue a temporary "employee", "temporary worker" or "private and family life" card. They do not ask you for a long-stay visa.

Exceptional leave to remain nevertheless falls under a discretionary power. The prefect assesses your file freely, and the judge only reviews manifest errors of assessment. No length of presence therefore gives a right to a card by itself.

One safeguard exists all the same. If you prove more than ten years of habitual residence, the prefect must consult the residence permit commission before refusing. Its opinion does not bind them, but it weighs in the file.

The circular of 23 January 2025

This circular now frames every application for exceptional leave to remain. It repealed the 2012 circular that had guided prefects for twelve years. It sets a clear principle: regularisation is not "the normal route of immigration".

In practice, it relies in particular on:

• Seven years of presence as an indicator of integration, against five, or even three, before.
• Signature of the republican commitment contract, and the absence of any threat to public order.
• Command of French, viewed favourably without a set level.
• Exclusion of people subject to a removal order less than three years old or a re-entry ban.
• A removal order to be served systematically where the application is refused.

The seven years remain an indicator, not a statutory condition. The prefect therefore cannot refuse on that ground alone. Several associations challenged the circular, but the Conseil d'État rejected their claim on 21 November 2025. It did state that the circular adds no criterion to the right to stay on private and family life grounds.

Since October 2025, Laurent Nuñez has held the Interior Ministry. As at 22 September 2026, he has neither repealed nor replaced this text.

The shortage-occupation permit until 31 December 2026

The law of 26 January 2024 created a second route, in article L.435-4 of the CESEDA. This other form of exceptional leave to remain covers undocumented workers in a shortage occupation. It ends on 31 December 2026.

Condition	Detail
Experience	12 months of employment in a shortage occupation, over the last 24 months.
Current job	Holding such a job when you apply.
Residence	3 years of continuous residence in France.
Criminal record	No conviction on extract no. 2.

Periods spent on a student, seasonal or asylum-seeker permit do not count. You do not need your employer's agreement, however: the work authorisation comes with the card. For these files, the 2025 circular in fact relies on three years of presence, not seven.

The list of shortage occupations appears in an order of 21 May 2025, region by region. So check the list for your region before filing. In 2025, only 1,655 permits of this kind were issued, according to press reports. A circular of 26 May 2026 also asks prefects to give priority to people in emergency accommodation working in a shortage occupation.

Building the file

Your application for exceptional leave to remain must prove three things: your presence, your integration and your ties.

• Presence: tax notices, bills, state medical aid certificates, official letters, at least one per quarter.
• Work: payslips, a contract or a job offer, a supporting letter from the employer.
• Private life: children in school, life as a couple, volunteering, French classes. A child born in France may become French in their own right, which strengthens your ties.

Each prefecture sets its own filing arrangements, often by appointment. Check its website before travelling there. Finally, keep a copy of every document you hand over.

How much does regularisation cost?

For exceptional leave to remain decided since 1 May 2026, the bill has grown. The regularisation visa costs €300, of which €100 is paid at filing and never refunded. On issue, a €300 tax and a €50 stamp are added. Count about €650 in total, against €425 before.

The removal risk, to weigh before filing

Filing an application for exceptional leave to remain makes you known to the prefecture. Where it refuses, the circular provides for a removal order. Since the 2024 law, such an order stays enforceable for three years, rather than one.

Failure to comply with an earlier removal order has also become a ground for refusal. So have your history checked before filing. If an order lands, the time to act is counted in days: read our guide to the OQTF appeal.

The particular case of Algerian nationals

The Franco-Algerian agreement of 1968 governs the residence of Algerian nationals. They therefore cannot rely on exceptional leave to remain within the meaning of the CESEDA, nor on the shortage-occupation permit. The prefect nevertheless keeps a general power of regularisation.

Above all, article 6 of the agreement opens a residence certificate as of right after ten years of presence. That period rises to fifteen years for former students.

When to consult a lawyer

For exceptional leave to remain, a lawyer first chooses the right basis: private and family life, work, shortage occupations or a bilateral agreement. They then sort your evidence of presence and spot the years that look thin. Finally, they prepare what follows a refusal. Our article on residence permit refusal sets out those remedies.

An immigration lawyer may also advise you against filing too soon. The text of the circular of 23 January 2025 can be read on Légifrance.