Brexit residency card renewals - and delays - intensify in France

Brexit card renewals are intensifying at French prefectures as many five-year cards issued in 2020 and 2021 have now expired or will do so shortly.

For the most part, renewals are proceeding without issue, but The Connexion continues to hear from some applicants facing significant delays, with knock-on effects for travel and daily life.

As a reminder, anyone with an expiring five-year card should renew it if they still live in France. Ideally, apply two months before expiry (or earlier, if your prefecture accepts this).

Britons in France, unless they also have French or another EU nationality, are required to hold proof of their legal residency and may be asked to produce it, for example at the border when leaving or entering the Schengen area, during police checks or when applying for jobs or social security benefits.

Under the Withdrawal Agreement, Britons who were living in France before Brexit and are still living here have now acquired permanent residency rights, which are only lost after five consecutive years outside France.

Technically, the card is merely proof of these and its expiry does not mean they are lost.

Nonetheless, allowing it to expire can create significant practical difficulties.

In practice, it is highly advisable to keep it up to date, as it is impractical to show busy officials treaty clauses or five years’ worth of electricity bills.

If you have applied, once your dossier is accepted as complete you should receive either a récépissé or an attestation de prolongation d’instruction, valid for a set period that should cover processing and production of the new card.

Backlogs on the rise

Problems can arise, however, if you submit an application but receive no indication that it is being processed (sous instruction) and are issued with neither document.

Reader Kat Martindale, a university lecturer from Haute-Savoie, applied online six weeks before expiry, but four months later her dossier on Démarche Numérique still showed it had not been reviewed.

Staff there appear to be facing increasing backlogs, with average processing times now shown on the site’s homepage as four months (six in more complex cases), compared with one or two when Dr Martindale applied.

She contacted us after experiencing problems with job applications and banking.

She said this came at a particularly stressful time. “To have to deal with my mum being ill and dying and everything that brings with it, and not have any certainty around my future has been excruciating.”

Emails to the prefecture had not elicited replies.

After we queried her case with Haute-Savoie, she said her online dossier was quickly opened and approved, and she was offered an appointment to submit her paperwork.

Another reader, from Oise, reports finally receiving his card, six months after initially applying.

We had previously obtained confirmation from the main prefecture in Beauvais about the correct application method and paperwork after he received conflicting information from the sous-prefecture in Compiègne.

He said: “Thanks for your help with my card – you were my only source of contact that actually replied to me.

“In the meantime, I have done multiple trips to the UK on my expired card. Around half the time, the border officer didn’t appear to notice that my card had expired.

"The other half the time they asked about it but were satisfied that I had applied for renewal, even though I never received an official récépissé.”

What should you do if you face delays?

If a month passes with no confirmation that your application has been accepted for processing, it is reasonable to make enquiries.

If your application was via the website used by many prefectures – Démarche Numérique – scroll to the bottom of the main application screen for contact details such as email and telephone number.

Failing that, check the prefecture’s website for general contact information and if possible book an in-person appointment or see if they offer drop-in days for issues related to étrangers/titres de séjour.

A letter to the service des étrangers, sent by recorded delivery (lettre recommandée avec avis de réception), is another option.

If an email goes unanswered after a reasonable period, send a reminder, but we would not recommend sending multiple messages.

If your card is due to expire within weeks, further action may be appropriate, such as contacting a local delegate of the Défenseur des Droits, the British Embassy, or an avocat specialising in droit des étrangers (immigration law).