Family reunification, the French residence pathway created by the decree of April 29, 1976, now accounts for only 5 percent of first-time residence permits issued each year in France for family reasons, according to a study by the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) published on April 29.

The numbers are precise. In 2023, the most recent year with available data, France issued 12,885 family reunification permits out of more than 80,000 permits granted for family reasons. Between 2020 and 2023, the pathway averaged 11,000 permits per year. This type of residence permit "is steadily declining," the study found: in 2000, it still represented 11 percent of first-time permits issued for family reasons.

The decline is even sharper over a longer horizon. Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, France issued 20,000 to 32,000 family reunification permits annually — two to three times more than today.

Family reunification was established 50 years ago, two years after France suspended labor immigration. INED describes it as a political measure conceived at the time to improve the integration of workers already living in France.

Who qualifies — and who applies

The pathway covers third-country nationals (outside the EU) holding a residence permit, excluding asylum seekers. Applicants must meet several conditions: stable income of at least the minimum wage, excluding family benefits, and housing suitable for the family, with a size requirement introduced in 1999.

Applicants today come primarily from North Africa (51 percent) and sub-Saharan Africa (28 percent), a distribution that has changed little over the decades, although nationalities have diversified — no fewer than 115 nationalities applied in 2023.

In 2023, 81 percent of applicants were men. Beneficiaries are predominantly women, followed by children, making family reunification "the most feminized route to residency of all family-related permits," according to the study. Women rarely use the pathway to bring husbands and children, and same-sex couples use it exceptionally: less than 1 percent of applications, even though the possibility has existed since France legalized same-sex marriage in 2013.

A series of restrictions

The acceptance rate remains high — 82 percent of applications are approved — yet INED cites tightening migration policies as the primary reason for the decline over the past twenty years.

Several rule changes have narrowed the pathway. The required period of legal residence before applying to bring family members has increased. Previously, the family member brought to France received a residence permit of the same duration as the sponsor's; since 2003, that permit has been limited to one renewable year. Since 2006, authorities can revoke the permit if spouses separate or the family breaks down within three years of the reunification.

Processing times are also growing. In 2023, the average time between registration of an application and the administrative decision was 10 months — longer than the six-month legal timeframe imposed on prefectures. In the Île-de-France region, average processing time exceeds 12 months, INED reported, even though the number of applications to process in the Paris region has stagnated or decreased in recent years.

Applicants who start families after arriving

A second factor explains the decline: the pathway no longer matches today's migrants. "The family model on which it is based is poorly suited to the profile of new migrants," INED said. The system was originally designed for a worker who already had a spouse and children in the country of origin.

That profile has changed. In 2023, 60 percent of family reunification applicants entered France as adults without being married or having children. "This trend reflects the overall changes in the profiles of new migrants, who are more often single and childless upon arrival, having entered France with student permits," the study emphasized. These applicants are "younger and more educated."

Family reunification is now "primarily sought by men from North Africa or sub-Saharan Africa who have started families abroad after arriving in France." Some marry remotely from France before starting the reunification process; others build their entire family lives in their home countries. "These changes make family reunification a system less suited to contemporary migration and family realities than it was when it was first established," the study argued.

Families turning to other routes

Faced with these restrictions and mismatches, "it is possible that families have given up on submitting an application and have turned to other grounds for admission to residency, whether family-related or not," the study explained. Overall, permits issued to family members of foreign nationals outside formal family reunification programs increased between 2000 and 2023.

Several alternative pathways have emerged. The "talent passport," introduced in 2016, facilitated the arrival of families of highly skilled workers. For vulnerable individuals already in France without proper documentation, the "Sarkozy" circular of June 13, 2006, and the "Valls" circular of November 28, 2012, created regularization frameworks, including for parents of a child attending school in France or spouses of a legal foreign national. Other forms of regularization — based on student permits, or economic and humanitarian reasons — are also on the rise, INED reported.

For current conditions, income thresholds and processing deadlines, applicants should consult the official French administration, as rules and prefecture practices continue to evolve.