France has released its annual immigration figures for 2025, revealing a second consecutive yearly drop in asylum applications alongside a significant increase in the deportation and arrest of individuals residing in the country illegally. The data, published by the Interior Ministry, highlights the impact of recent policy changes aimed at tightening immigration rules.
Residency Permits Rise, But Regularizations Fall Sharply
The government issued 384,230 first residency permits in 2025, an annual increase of 11.2%. However, the number of foreigners regularized—granted legal status—fell by 10.1% to 28,610. Officials attribute this decline directly to the “Retailleau circular,” a restrictive policy enacted in January 2025 that reinforced the “exceptional character” of regularizations and hardened the conditions to obtain them.
While student permits remained the most issued (118,000), followed by humanitarian permits (92,600, up 65%), permits for economic reasons fell by 13% to 51,190. This drop particularly affected salaried workers and seasonal workers.
Asylum Applications Decline, But Approval Rate Soars
Asylum requests decreased by 3.7% in 2025 to 151,665, marking the second year in a row of decline. The top countries of origin for applicants were Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Afghanistan, each with approximately 11,500 requests, followed by Haiti, Sudan, and Guinea.
Despite fewer applications, the asylum grant rate reached 52%, a notable increase from around 40% five or six years ago, meaning more than one in two requests was successful.
Sharp Increase in Arrests and Deportations
Enforcement actions intensified significantly. Arrests of foreigners in an irregular situation rose by 30%, with notable increases for nationals of Algeria (+52%), Tunisia (+33%), and Morocco (+19%).
Overall deportations increased by 15.7% to 24,985, with forced removals alone rising by 21% to 15,569.
Acquisitions of French Nationality Also Down
Finally, 62,235 people acquired French nationality in 2025, a decrease of 6.8%. This is linked to a 13.5% drop in acquisitions by decree, following another May 2025 circular that tightened the conditions for granting citizenship.
