France to Introduce Schengen Visa Reform in 2025

France has announced plans for a major Schengen visa reform in 2025, with the new measures involving the tightening of some rules while facilitating others. 

In a press conference held on January 6, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that France needs to reform its visa policy to address migration issues while continuing to attract talent. 

President Macron acknowledged that the current policy has damaged the country’s reputation due to its shortcomings. He noted that the strict policy proved to be disadvantageous to legitimate applicants while failing to prevent abuse of its system. Speaking of the abuse of the asylum system, President Macron stated that the fraud, abuse, and circumventions are “eating away at this system”.

To rebuild the country’s reputation, President Macron declared that reforms to its visa policy are necessary. The reform will help simplify rules and make processes more effective, indicating that France is looking to adopt a more intelligent and selective way forward.

He announced the upcoming implementation of the Hermelin report and that the authorities will find a balance between introducing sticker controls to prevent irregular migration and applying facilitated measures for specific categories of foreigners to foster economic, academic, and cultural exchanges. 

Expected changes due to the visa policy reform

When the reforms are put in place, it is expected that there will be enhanced security checks. As part of the new policy this year, French authorities may step up cooperation with other member states to share the data of visa applicants and increase its use of the Schengen Information System to assess applicants more thoroughly. 

France will also be implementing tighter rules for countries that do not cooperate with its policies. According to President Macron, “We simply need to have an extremely precise, rigorous commitment, which means being much more demanding with countries so that they cooperate more on these policies.” This could mean that nationals of countries that do not take back their nationals who remain irregularly within the French territory could face stricter visa rules.

Meanwhile, nationals of countries that assist in the return of irregular migrants may benefit from the easing of visa rules. 

The French authorities are also planning to accelerate the digitalization of the visa application process. This would simplify the procedures and shorten the processing times, especially benefiting students, professionals, and researchers. 

Finally, France may also expand its foreign talent visas to attract more foreign workers to the country. In his address, President Macron highlighted the importance of France’s ability to attract talent, saying, “We must continue to be an attractive country; we want to continue to attract talent.” Through the implementation of talent visas, France hopes to bring in foreign workers to take up jobs in sectors that are facing severe labor shortages.  

These changes aim to strengthen France’s borders and protect its citizens while being an attractive destination for students, researchers, and skilled workers. Other changes may also be introduced as the reform has yet to be announced officially.