When should you apply to renew your French post-Brexit residency card?

For tens of thousands of Brits in France, an important admin task looms – renewal of the post-Brexit residency permit. But when should you make the application and is it worth submitting early?

The French Interior Ministry has recently clarified the procedure for renewing the five-year post-Brexit residency cards, focusing the minds of Brits in France on their next admin task.

This is a very specific group that we’re talking about here – Brits who were already living in France before the end of the Brexit transition period and who have the special post-Brexit card known as the carte de séjour Article 50 TUE (sometimes called the WARP).

Some of those Brits were given 10-year cards while others, who had been in France for less than five years, were given a five-year card – and it’s those which are coming up for renewal.

It’s estimated that there are around 45,000 people in France who have the five-year cards and will therefore need to renew them.

So when do you need to do this?

First find the expiry date, which is on the front of the card.

As those cards were mostly distributed in early 2021 it’s likely that the expiry date will be at the start of 2026; however some préfectures began issuing them late in 2020, giving some people expiry dates later this year.

The interior ministry has clarified that you should apply to renew once the card is within two months of its expiry date.

This is shorter than many other types of carte de séjour, such as the visitor card or salarié card, which typically tell people to renew their card once it is within four months of expiry – some types of card even specify that you must renew before the card comes within two months of its expiry date.

However, what is true for other types of cards is not relevant to the carte de séjour Article 50 TUE. The interior ministry has made it clear that applications should not be made before the card is within two months of its expiry date.

Préfectures vary on exactly how strictly they enforce these rules, but applying too early risks your application being rejected, and you having to start all over again once you get to within two months of the expiry date.

But what if the préfecture take longer than two months to process it?

This is likely the main reason why people want to apply early – fear that their préfecture will take longer than two months to process the application, leaving the person with no valid residency permit.

However, this is not a valid reason for applying early – and if too many apply early, this will likely slow down the préfectures’ systems even further.

The interior ministry specifies that it has outlined a ‘simplified’ process for the renewal of the Article 50 card, requiring a lot less documentation than other types of card renewal. This is likely the reason for the shorter deadline.

OK, but say they do take more than two months?

The scenario of the old residency permit expiring before the new one is ready is not especially unusual – speak to Americans, Canadians or Australians in France and they’ll likely shrug and tell you that has happened to them multiple times.

It’s important to note that not having the new permit does not make you undocumented or here illegally, provided that you applied for the renewal before the card’s expiry date.

Once you have made the application, you will receive a confirmation which – together with your old card – can be used as proof of your legal status in France. You can also use this for travel (more on that below).

But what if I need to travel around the expiry date?

Technically travel is not a reason for an early application, and any application made before that two-month window risks being rejected (although not all préfectures enforce that rule strictly).

If you need to travel and your old card has expired but the new one is not ready, you can use the récépissé as a travel document. Most préfectures issue this automatically once you apply for a renewal, but in others you have to specifically request it.

The récépissé is, in essence, a receipt, proving that you have made your application for renewal. It is an official government document and can be used for travel – when crossing a border, you show your old carte de séjour and the récépissé – together with your passport.

It’s important to remember that even if a border guard stamps your passport in error, this does not affect your right to live in France. Having valid proof of residency (such as a carte de séjour and/or récépissé) trumps a passport stamp.

How do I renew the card?

You can find the step-by-step breakdown of how to do the renewal HERE, and a list of the process at each préfecture HERE.

When should you apply to renew your French post-Brexit residency card?

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