How long does récépissé for Brexit card renewal last?

Reader Question: I need to renew my Brexit Withdrawal Agreement card in a couple of months. Will I get any document to prove I still have my right to live here while I wait for the new one? Does this cover me if my card expires?

You are thinking of the récépissé, an official document proving you have made a request for your residency card to be renewed. 

This provides you with the legal rights attached to the residency card you are renewing – for a Brexit card, this includes residency rights and the right to work in France – while waiting for your new card to be processed.

You only receive the récépissé after you have filed your application to renew the card, which as a reminder should be made when the original card is two months away from expiry. 

Application methods vary depending on department, but many have a similar process hosted on the website Démarche Numérique (see here for department-specific information we have collated) as was originally requested by the interior ministry.

In many areas, even if you have initially applied online, you are required to go to an in-person meeting to finalise the application. You will be given the récépissé at this appointment, if everything is considered to be in order. 

However, a Connexion staff member who recently applied to renew in the Alpes-Maritimes (a very busy prefecture) found this not to be required there and he was sent a récépissé in the post.

How long does it last and how to use it? 

Récépissés for residency card renewals are so far reported to usually be issued for three or six months.

This gives an extension from the date the residency card expires, and not the date you receive the paper (for example, if your card is due to expire in May 2026 and you receive the récépissé in March, it lasts until November 2026). 

Note that the récipissé can be renewed if your request has not been completed in the time frame, however to do do this, you will need to make an appointment at your prefecture. In the vast majority of cases, as Brexit card renewals are fairly simple, this should not be necessary.

The récépissé can be used in the same way that a residency card would, eg. to prove your right to live and work in France, or otherwise when travelling into the EU. 

Regarding the latter, it is vital to travel with your récipissé if your residency card has expired, to avoid being registered on the EU’s new border security Entry/Exit System database. You should also carry your expired card with you as additional proof.

Do not hand over your old, expired card, until you go to the prefecture to exchange it for the new one. 

More tips on renewing ‘brexit’ cards can be found in our article here.