Can we renew a carte de séjour online in France?

Reader Question: When we need to renew our cartes de séjour, is it possible for us to do it online?

You do not specify which type of carte de séjour you have, so we will look at both standard and Brexit Withdrawal Agreement residency permits.

Standard cartes de séjour

If you have a normal French carte de séjour – such as the visiteur cards often issued to people who have retired to France – you can indeed begin your renewal application online. This must be done at most four months and at least two months before your current permit expires.

To do this, go to this website and click ‘Je demande ou renouvelle un titre de séjour’ (I’m requesting or renewing my residence permit).

If you already have an account with the service, you will then be asked to log in. If not, you will need to enter the numéro étranger on your current carte de séjour. This is a nine or 10-digit number which can be found on the right-hand side of the card if it was issued after 2011 but before October 2020. 

On current cards it is found in the middle of the front of the card, towards the bottom, called numéro personnel.

You will also need to enter the start and end dates of the residency permit

As part of your application, you will also have to provide copies of documents including your current carte de séjour, birth certificate, passport, proof of address, three passport photos, proof of sufficient funds and proof of health insurance.

It is sometimes possible to send these online, but sometimes it has to be by post.

You can also make an appointment to submit your application in person at your local prefecture.

Withdrawal Agreement cartes de séjour

Withdrawal Agreement (WA) cartes de séjour protect the rights of British citizens living in the EU before the UK left the bloc.

If you had been living in France for less than five years before Brexit, the carte de séjour will have been valid on issue for five years. This is the case regardless of how close you were to five years of residency at the time of application.

You should apply to renew it about two months before the expiry date.

With around 40,000 five-year WA cards up for renewal over 2025-2026, many Britons in France have been going through the process of getting an updated card. 

The interior ministry urged prefectures to use a standardised process, hosted online at demarche.numerique.gouv.fr Many did so but not all.

Britons in France should check their prefecture’s website carefully (see the section about foreign people's procedures) and follow any instructions for a ‘Brexit’ (or ‘Article 50 TUE’) card, not any other kinds of cards.

If problems arise, contact the main prefecture for your area in your department capital rather than a sous-préfecture (these often do not focus on residency).

If your carte de séjour is lost or stolen or you need to inform the prefecture of a change of address due to moving home, you can already do this online at this website.

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