Appearing before the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee on 29 October, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot disclosed that French consulates in Algeria granted 14.5 % fewer visas in the first nine months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. The figures, published on 2 November by news portal Algérie360, confirm anecdotal reports of shrinking mobility between the two countries and underline the political sensitivity of migration ahead of France’s 2027 elections.
According to the minister, tourist visas saw the steepest fall (-21 %), followed by business visas (-12.6 %) and family-reunion visas (-7.4 %). The refusal rate now stands at 31 %, almost twice the global average of 16 %. Only student mobility bucked the trend: Campus France programmes generated an 12.5 % rise, with 8,351 study permits issued. Barrot linked the overall decline to reduced consular staffing and “a climate of bilateral tension” that has dampened demand.
![French foreign minister confirms 14.5 % drop in visas issued to Algerians in 2025]()
The data come against the backdrop of France’s ongoing review of the 1968 bilateral agreement that grants Algerian citizens preferential work-and-stay rights. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wants tougher return-readmission clauses and has floated tying visa quotas to Algeria’s acceptance of deportees – a policy that echoes Germany’s recent approach with several North African states.
For French employers operating in Algeria, the contraction in short-term business visas complicates project timetables. Oil-field service companies and aerospace suppliers, which depend on rapid technical rotations, now face longer lead-times and higher uncertainty. Universities, by contrast, may benefit from the uptick in student visas but risk administrative bottlenecks if staffing shortages persist.
Algeria remains France’s fifth-largest source of visa demand, and a prolonged decline could hurt tourism revenues in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Île-de-France, where Algerian diaspora visits are concentrated. Travel agents already report a shift toward Spain and Turkey, both of which offer faster e-visa regimes. Mobility experts predict that unless diplomatic relations thaw – talks on security cooperation stalled in September – further tightening is likely in the 2026 consular cycle.
According to the minister, tourist visas saw the steepest fall (-21 %), followed by business visas (-12.6 %) and family-reunion visas (-7.4 %). The refusal rate now stands at 31 %, almost twice the global average of 16 %. Only student mobility bucked the trend: Campus France programmes generated an 12.5 % rise, with 8,351 study permits issued. Barrot linked the overall decline to reduced consular staffing and “a climate of bilateral tension” that has dampened demand.
The data come against the backdrop of France’s ongoing review of the 1968 bilateral agreement that grants Algerian citizens preferential work-and-stay rights. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wants tougher return-readmission clauses and has floated tying visa quotas to Algeria’s acceptance of deportees – a policy that echoes Germany’s recent approach with several North African states.
For French employers operating in Algeria, the contraction in short-term business visas complicates project timetables. Oil-field service companies and aerospace suppliers, which depend on rapid technical rotations, now face longer lead-times and higher uncertainty. Universities, by contrast, may benefit from the uptick in student visas but risk administrative bottlenecks if staffing shortages persist.
Algeria remains France’s fifth-largest source of visa demand, and a prolonged decline could hurt tourism revenues in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Île-de-France, where Algerian diaspora visits are concentrated. Travel agents already report a shift toward Spain and Turkey, both of which offer faster e-visa regimes. Mobility experts predict that unless diplomatic relations thaw – talks on security cooperation stalled in September – further tightening is likely in the 2026 consular cycle.
