Resident card: how can you justify your knowledge of French?

Verified 15 November 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Law to control immigration, improve integration

Published on 5 March 2024

Provisions of the law no. 2024-42 of 26 january 2024 will change some of the information in this card. They are subject to a regulatory text that is awaiting publication.

If you ask benefit of a EU resident, long-term resident or permanent resident card and that you have under 65, you must be able to attest to your level of proficiency in French.

Warning  

Not all resident cards are affected. The cards covered by this obligation are:

Resident cards

  • Spouse of French
  • Parent of a French child
  • Family/spouse reunification of resident card holder

Long-term EU card

  • Talent passport/European Blue Card after more than 5 years and family
  • Refugee and Family Card
  • Subsidiary protection and family card
  • Uninterrupted regular residence 5 years + sufficient, stable and regular resources

If you have a permanent resident card, you are not concerned if the integration conditions have already been verified before the issuance of a resident card.

If you make a 1re application for a residence card, you must prove that your proficiency in French is greater than or equal to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR: titleContent) of the Council of Europe.

Level A2 shall correspond in particular to:

  • To the understanding of isolated sentences and common expressions in the fields of daily life
  • Simple and direct exchange of information on familiar subjects

To do this, you must meet one of the following conditions:

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Obtain language certification

Language certifications must meet all of the following conditions:

  • To be issued by a certifying body recognized by the Ministry of the Interior
  • Proof of written and oral proficiency at level A2 of the CEFR: titleContent, the oral expression to be validated in a face-to-face interview.
  • Have been in an accredited examination center for less than 2 years

The only tests currently recognized by the Ministry of the Interior are:

Please note

If you are handicapped person or if you are in a chronically impaired health, you can benefit from test facilities for passing a language test.

If you are unable to take such a test, you may also be exempted from the requirement of knowledge of the French language.

You must ask the prefecture for a model medical certificate and have it completed by your doctor. You must then return it to the prefecture.

Have a diploma attesting to a level of knowledge of French at least equal to level A2

These are:

Have a degree at least equal to level 3 of the national professional qualifications framework

These are:

Warning  

Diplomas issued by a foreign authority in a foreigners country, even French-speaking, are not admitted.