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 carte de séjour - visiteur – which is most likely if you have retired to France for example – 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.

If your permit was issued before 2011, the number will be in the top right-hand corner. Further information on this can be found here.

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.

Read also: French residency card u-turn - you can apply in person at préfecture

Withdrawal Agreement cartes de séjour

Withdrawal Agreement cartes de séjour protect the rights of British citizens living in 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 you will be 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.

The Connexion was told that you should wait for it to be close to expiry before applying to replace it with a 10-year card. We were told this will involve minimal paperwork.

If you had already been living in France for more than five years, your carte de séjour will be valid for 10 years and will be renewable on expiry.

Withdrawal Agreement permits, having only been issued in the past couple of years, do not yet need to be renewed and there is no online service currently available for this.

France’s Interior Ministry has previously told The Connexion that there are plans to move this service online, but this has not yet been achieved.

The UK government website states that people needing to renew should contact their local prefecture for further information on the procedure. We note, however, that no one should be concerned by this for several years, by which time the process may have gone online.

However if your carte de séjour is lost or stolen or you need to change the address on it due to moving home, you can already do this online at this website.

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