Will France still pay for language course?

This issue came up several years ago when free training was opened up to all newcomers to France (dependent on availability of places). It followed a complaint by an Irishwoman to the Halde rights body (later replaced by the Défenseur des droits) as she had been refused 100 hours of paid-for training due to it being restricted to immigrants from non-EU countries.

The body coordinating the training was l’Acsé, whose responsibilities have now been taken over by OFII (Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration). OFII still offers up to 100 hours of paid-for training aimed at acquiring the EU’s A2 (intermediate) level in reading and writing on the basis of people taking a test to check their level.

The following page has information on this, as well as a possible 50-hour top-up to oral level B1, aimed notably at people applying for French nationality (which requires this level) and who already have level A2: tinyurl.com/OFII-French

However, the government department in charge of immigration procedures said OFII training is only available to third country citizens who have signed a Contrat d’Intégration Républicaine (including a pledge to support Repub­lican values). This includes, for example, those applying for long-term residence cards on grounds such as family links in France, who are requi­red to attain level A2 in French.

A spokesman said EU citizens, who do not need to meet language requirements to obtain residence permits (nor do family members joining them from anywhere in the world) are not eligible for OFII funding but may ask the same providers about training (www.tinyurl.com/lang-train or in Paris defi-metiers.fr/carto/linguistique).

One provider told Con­nexion EU citizens would have to pay for training unless sent via Pôle Em­­ploi because better French may help them find a job. In other cases possible sources of subsidies may include local councils, employers and (for workers) Foncecif (moncepmonfongecif.fr).