Immigrants in France will now find it more difficult to do family reunification and the period for them to secure access to state benefits will be extended.
This is after the French parliament approved legislation that toughens immigration policy after months of political gridlock.
The amended bill was supported by French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party and Marine Le Pen's right-wing National March party.
Left parties accused Macron of making concessions to the far right.
"This law is an intolerable violence towards our common principles, since targeting foreigners means preparing to target ourselves," declared Mathilde Panot, leader of the extreme left.
The tightening of the measures, which illustrates the right-wing orientation of politics in most of Europe, has stirred the waters in the party of the head of Elise, with the Minister of Health announcing that he would resign.
The Macron government had initially talked about a carrot-and-stick legislation that would make it easier for immigrants to find jobs in sectors where there are shortages and obtain residence permits, on the one hand, and make it easier to deport them on the other.
But in order to win the support of the right, the government was forced to give up the concessions for residence permits, including the postponement for several years of social benefits for immigrants, including for children.
France prided itself as one of the countries with the best social assistance system, offering assistance to foreign nationals as well, even helping them pay rent or childcare with a few hundred euros a month in contributions.