Victor Delage is responsible for studies at the Foundation for Political Innovation. The Foundation recently published the study
“Immigration: how European states are doing”.
THE
FIGARO.
- The study by the Foundation for Political Innovation shows that student immigration – outside the European Union – is the leading cause of immigration, ahead of family immigration.
How and why has student immigration supplanted family immigration?
Victor DELAGE. -
The data published by the Ministry of the Interior, at the end of January 2023, is enlightening on this subject.
In 2022, the French State issued a total of 320,330 first residence permits, a historic level.
Family and student reasons are, once again, the two main components of migratory flows, but with contrasting trends: 108,340 first permits were issued for student reasons (+23% compared to 2021) against 90,385 first permits for families (+4.6%).
This dynamic is observed over the long term.
Over the last fifteen years, family immigration has remained at a high level, globally stable, while student immigration has more than doubled.
This strong increase in migration for studies can be observed in most European countries, globalization,
Read alsoDenmark, this country where the migratory closure is consensus
Nevertheless, the French strategy aimed at attracting students from technologically and scientifically advanced countries is a bitter failure.
This is evidenced by its downgrading in this area internationally.
Several studies show that the adaptation of foreign students to our academic programs and their level of integration differ greatly depending on the continent of origin.
American and European students come to learn French or discover the culture, while African students migrate above all to fill the lack of training and university skills available in their country.
However, France is the first destination for African students on the move, ahead of the United States and the United Kingdom.
One out of two foreigners studying in our country is from a country of
Africa.
According to Campus France, among the top ten countries of origin of foreign students in 2022, six are African: Morocco (first), Algeria (second), Senegal (fifth), Tunisia (sixth), Ivory Coast (eighth) and Cameroon (tenth).
For everyone, French is still practiced there.
Since 1968, Algerian nationals have had easier access to French territory than other nationalities. They also benefit from more flexible conditions for family reunification, explain yourself. Which ones? Does this phenomenon alone explain the number of Algerian nationals on our soil?
Algerians represent the largest foreign community in France, with more than 887,000 nationals.
This phenomenon is partly due to the common history of the two countries.
From the end of the 19th century, French employers brought in Algerian workers, at low cost, to meet industrial needs, but also to break workers' strikes.
Algerian immigration grew strongly during the First World War, and even more so during the postwar boom.
In addition to historical reasons, there are the political decisions taken from the 1970s, which largely favored the installation of Algerian families on French soil.
Our study shows easier access to family reunification in France than in most of our European neighbours.
Victor Delage
The Franco-Algerian agreement and its successive revisions grant Algerians a specific regime, with particularly favorable conditions.
They can apply for family reunification after twelve months spent in France (against eighteen months in general).
They simply have to prove stable resources and at least equal to the minimum wage, regardless of the number of people who join them.
Since then, flows from Algeria to France have changed in nature, with labor immigration giving way to massive family immigration.
It should be noted that today, the majority of Algerian nationals in an irregular situation remain in France, Algeria most often refusing to repatriate them.
Between January and July 2021,
France has decided not to establish a minimum age for the reunification of spouses. Are other European countries doing the same?
Our study shows easier access to family reunification in France than in most of our European neighbours.
The age of the sponsor (resident) and of the non-resident sponsor (spouse, child, etc.) is indeed a first good indicator.
In Austria, Belgium, Lithuania or Malta, they must be at least 21 years old.
In Denmark, the minimum threshold is set at 24 years.
In France, there is no age criterion.
It should also be noted that some countries require group members to have language skills.
For example, Germany and Austria require an elementary level in German (level A1).
France does not condition family reunification on proficiency in French, neither for the resident nor for his family.
Denmark considers the restriction of immigration and the tightening of reception conditions as a
sine qua non
for the sustainability of its welfare state.
Victor Delage
Finally, the amount of monthly resources required differs from state to state.
In France, for a family of two or three people, the applicant must prove an income corresponding to a monthly net minimum wage, ie 1,353 euros during the year preceding the application.
For a family of six or more, the amount requested is 1,602 euros.
In Austria, the amount required is 1,752 euros for a couple, plus 171 euros per additional child (ie, for a family of six, 2,436 euros per month).
In Finland, the minimum required is 1,700 euros for a couple and 500 euros for the first child, followed by 100 euros for each additional child, or 3,100 euros per month for a family of six.
In order to restrict family reunification as much as possible, Denmark has put in place several conditions that distinguish it from other European countries. How is this country different in Europe?
Denmark considers the restriction of immigration and the tightening of reception conditions as a
sine qua non
for the sustainability of its welfare state.
The large number of legislative amendments – 143 between 2002 and 2019 – confirms the importance of the subject, both for the right and for the left in Denmark since both have governed during this period.
The strict conditions for access to family reunification are not observable anywhere else in Europe.
The group must have visited Danish territory at least once.
Our comparative study of the immigration policies of the Member States teaches us, however, that it is possible to reconcile the fundamental right to lead a family life and the requirements of migratory control.
Victor Delage
The group must meet two financial conditions: not to have received state aid during the three years preceding the application and have a deposit of 14,800 euros, which the municipality will use if the group needs social benefits.
Since 2018, the spouses, between them, must meet at least four of these six conditions: for the resident, passing an advanced level Danish language test, having worked for five years in Denmark or having studied in Denmark for six years. Denmark;
for the grouped, pass a language test showing knowledge of English or Danish, have worked three years out of the last five years or have completed one year of higher education.
In view of the various prerequisites, can we conclude that France encourages family immigration more than other European countries?
Over the last decades, family immigration has been the main mode of legal immigration in France.
From 2013 to 2022, the State granted 2,464,833 first residence permits.
Overall, 36% were issued for family reasons (888,357 over the same period).
Our comparative study of the immigration policies of the Member States teaches us, however, that it is possible to reconcile the fundamental right to lead a family life, protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, and the requirements of migratory control.
We could take over certain measures from our European neighbours.
Family reunification could be subject to the need for the household to be self-sufficient, i.e. not need state aid, as is the case in Germany, Austria or Finland .
Similarly, we could follow the Netherlands on the obligation imposed on those grouped together to have a clean criminal record.
Adding a language criterion for grouped groups, following the example of Germany, Austria and Denmark, is another possibility.
The Minister of the Interior has himself opened up to the fact of imposing language tests on family members applying for a family reunification visa.
