Today's Date:

The Minister of the Interior, Internal Security and Local Freedoms presented a Bill on controlling immigration and regulating entry to and permission to stay in France.

This Bill is based on the need to strengthen our legislation on combating illegal immigration. It consists of a number of measures designed to facilitate and improve the treatment and integration of foreigners legally residing in France. Lastly, it proposes a reform of the legislation on expulsion measures and court orders prohibiting entry into France.

1. As regards the fight against illegal immigration networks and control of migratory flows, the Bill endeavours to make up for the shortcomings of the legislation on immigration. To this end, it creates a visa applicants’ fingerprint bank to allow identification of foreigners who, after entering our country legally, have stayed on illegally. Similarly, the Bill introduces a check on the attestation d’accueil (1), which mayors will be able to refuse to validate if previous applications have revealed attempted fraud, or when an inspection of the accommodation carried out by the Office des migrations internationales [international migrations office] shows that it is substandard.

Secondly, the Bill proposes measures to combat convenience or forced marriages and fraudulent recognition of paternity. Accordingly, the length of time a couple must have spent living together before a residence permit can be issued on the grounds of marriage with a French national will rise from one to two years. Similarly, a residence permit may be issued to a child with a French parent only after the latter has exercised parental authority and contributed to the cost of maintaining the child for two years. The Bill also brings in the offence of organizing or participating in a convenience marriage. It also requires registry officials to check the permission to stay of people who want to marry in France. If they lack the requisite documents, the préfet (2) will be informed and the mayor will be able to refer the case to the public prosecutor with a view to an investigation of the real intentions of the future married couple. The celebration of the marriage may be held up for 75 days, during which the public prosecutor may lodge an application to prevent it from taking place.

Thirdly, the Bill strengthens the arsenal of penalties for facilitators and carriers.

Finally it proposes a reform of detention in holding centres prior to forced removal from the country. After the imposition of a first 48-hour period in a holding centre by an administrative official, authorization for its extension will have to be given by the Juge des libertés et de la détention (3). This may be for 15 days, and for a further 15 days if the foreigner resists his/her removal; if the foreigner is not removed from the country within 17 days (48 hours plus 15 days) because of problems unrelated to his/her behaviour, the extension will be for a maximum of nine days. This maximum period, which will thus be between 26 and 32 days, is close to the minimum periods of detention in a holding centre imposed in the other European Union States and will represent significant progress compared with the present 12 days, incompatible with the usual period required to issue consular passes [needed to be able to send a foreigner without the requisite papers back to his/her country] or organize grouped air travel between European Union States.

2. Under the Bill, permission to stay is contingent on the applicant's fulfilment of an integration criterion in order to ensure the integration of foreigners living legally in France and clarify their status: after a first minimum five-year period during which they are issued with renewable one-year residence permits, those who are deemed to have integrated into French society will be entitled to apply for a ten-year residence permit conferring greater security. Different criteria, such as knowledge of the French language, completion of, or attendance on a vocational training course, or participation in local life or voluntary work, will be used to assess an applicant's level of integration. This will be a major incentive for applicants to fulfil the "reception and integration contract" which is going gradually to be introduced everywhere as from 1 January 2005. The final stage of integration will remain the acquisition of French nationality.

The Bill also abolishes the obligation for EU nationals to have a residence permit.

3. Finally, the Bill proposes a balanced reform of the legislation on expulsion and court orders prohibiting access to French territory.

Where foreigners who have made their lives in France are involved, these measures are, to a large extent, inapplicable and lead to them both remaining in France illegally and not becoming integrated at all, both results totally contrary to the goal the government is pursuing.

The Bill does not abolish expulsion and the complementary punishment of an order prohibiting entry into France, which are useful for removing offenders without any ties with France.

However, it establishes four categories of foreigners who will enjoy virtually total protection against expulsion and orders prohibiting them entry to France: foreigners born in France or who arrived before the age of 13 years; foreigners who have lived legally in France for 20 years; foreigners who have lived legally in France for ten years and been married for three years to either a French national or a foreigner who has himself or herself spent his/her whole childhood in France; finally, foreigners who have lived legally in France for ten years and are parents of French children. The Bill is designed to prevent the situations where expulsion and an order prohibiting entry to France constitute banishment or lead to the break-up of stable French families.

The Bill provides for three exceptions: terrorism, violation of the State's fundamental interests and incitement to racial hatred.

In the case of foreigners whose ties with France are sufficiently strong to warrant total protection, there is provision for: existence of an absolute necessity for the expulsion to be declared on the grounds of State or public security, possibility of staying the expulsion, compulsory social investigation before the imposition of any court order banning entry to France, possibility of mitigation of sentence despite the existence of a ban on entry to France, and automatic reconsideration of expulsion measures every five years.

(1) An official document which must be completed and signed by anyone wishing to provide accommodation for certain categories of foreigners coming to France for a private or family visit of three months or less. It has to be sent to the foreigner prior to his/her visit, who must present it on entering France.

(2) A high-ranking civil servant who represents the State at the level of the department or region.

(3) A judge responsible for ordering, during the investigation phase of a crime, the temporary detention – or extension of this detention – of an accused person./.