Tests, the cost of around 100 euros, are part of the Act adopted in 2024, providing exacerbation of border controls and more severe measures to excrete immigrants from the country.
France. Language tests for foreigners are controversial
So far, persons applying for a special document entitling to stay in France They had to sign the so -called integration agreement and promise that they will undertake French learning. Only people applying for French citizenship or long -term stay were obliged to take a language test.
A study recently conducted by Franceinfo showed that The required levels are challenging even for native language users. 10 French volunteers, including a literature student with a five -year higher education after the high school -leaving examination, took the tests for which people applying for French citizenship will face.
Five did not pass the written exam, but they passed the oral exam, and two failed to reach the level necessary to obtain citizenship.
Up to 60 thousand people may receive a refusal
Félix Guyon from the Thot school, which helps refugees and applicants for asylum to learn French, claims that “The language level is definitely too high for most foreigners applying for citizenship or documents enabling a longer stay in France. “
The report on the impact of the Act, prepared for the High Parliament Chamber, suggests that in the first year it will be applied to over 330,000 people, and it is expected to About 60,000 of them will not undergo language tests and will lose the right to stay in France.
– If a foreigner has been legally in France for several years and cannot speak French, this is because he did not put the effort into it – says interior minister Bruno Retailleau.
The government is covered by neighboring countries
The text of the Act states that every person applying for citizenship must present a proof of language knowledge enabling at least spontaneous communication and clear and detailed expression on various topics.
Didier Leschi, general director of the French Office for Immigration and Integration, indicates that France only introduces requirements similar to those with neighboring countriesincluding Germany.
– the whole system is to give people a sense of responsibility and help them integrate. You have to have faith in people. They have three years to reach a minimum level and renew the residence permit – he says.
The date of entry into force of the decree has not yet been established. Legislation, called the Act on immigration and improvement of integration, was developed by the former interior minister Gérald Darmanin and adopted in January 2024. Emmanuel Macron And his government perceived it as a shift to the right.