Can I show récépissé at the border?

I am a non-EU resident of France, and am in the process of renewing my carte de séjour, (currently valid for one year, vie privée et familiale). I am eligible to request a multi-year card but it takes months to receive a new card. I need to travel to the UK soon and when I return my card will have expired. Is the receipt document I received sufficient to show at the border on my return?

Some kinds of ‘receipt’ document are valid as a form of residency document in their own right, whereas others are not.

When you apply for a card in a prefecture, you are given a récépissé, which, for a first card request, is valid from four to six months – and can be renewed again for three if necessary. For a card renewal this is valid three months from the date of expiry of the card and can also be renewed if necessary.

These receipts are legal residency documents, so would be valid to show at the border as proof of being a resident. The same does not apply to the initial attestation de dépôt that is received when making an application via Anef, however, it does apply to an attestation de prologation.

If you are British, or another ‘visa waiver’ national, then you can in any case enter France without a visa under the 90/180-days rules, though you are right that it is best, to avoid questions at the border (and in future, issues surrounding the EES system), not to plan to travel without having valid residency documents that you can show on your return.