Record Surge in Residence Permits in France in 2025 Highlights Shifting Immigration Trends

France recorded a historic increase in residence permits in 2025, with the total number of valid permits exceeding 4.5 million, the highest ever reported. This 3% rise compared to the previous year was driven fundamentally by an increase in long-term resident cards and multi-year residence titles. Notably, new residence permits issued surged by 11%, reaching 384,230 in 2025 alone, underscoring a significant uptick in arrivals.

Family reasons accounted for one-third of all permits, with nearly 1.5 million family permits on record. Automa­tic renewals made up another 20% of residence permits, totaling around 900,000. These renewals also grew by 7%, with 40% related to family reasons, which reflected a 12% increase. The growing foreign resident population now represents 8.1% of France’s adult population. A prominent demographic shift includes a rise in Congolese and Ivorian residents by 8% from 2024 to 2025. Additionally, four out of every ten permits were issued to nationals from the Maghreb region—Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.

Permits granted for humanitarian reasons experienced a remarkable 65% increase in 2025. Despite these rising permit numbers, the Ministry of the Interior reported a 10% decrease in regularizations, with only 28,610 foreigners regularized—a reduction linked to stricter criteria introduced by former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. At the same time, forced removals rose by 15.7% to nearly 25,000 deportations.

Asylum requests fell by 3.7% to 151,665 applications, mainly from Ukrainians, Congolese, and Afghans. However, the asylum acceptance rate climbed to 52%, up significantly from previous years’ approximately 40%. Meanwhile, naturalizations declined by 6.8%, with 62,235 people acquiring French nationality in 2025, impacted by tougher decree conditions.

These statistics from the General Directorate of Foreigners in France and the Ministry of the Interior illustrate evolving immigration dynamics, with France accommodating a growing number of foreigners mainly through residence permits while tightening some aspects of migration control.