“I hope the new interest from the Minister actually results in changes to the process. People’s lives and livelihoods are on the line.”
That comment, from Local reader Conrad Tobin, sums up the experiences of those who responded to our survey on your experiences of obtaining or renewing the French carte de séjour residency permit.
We had asked for your views after French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced a ‘massive’ plan to tackle long delays for foreigners in getting or renewing the carte de séjour residency permit.
In an interview with regional newspaper Ouest France, Nunez admitted that waiting times “continue to grow” and promised that he would “boost staffing levels in the préfectures’ residence departments”.
The French rights organisation Défenseur des Droits in its annual report flagged up the soaring number of complaints from foreigners about immigration admin - foreigners now make up 45 percent of the agency's caseload, and 77 percent of the complaints are about delays in renewing a carte de séjour.
And that was certainly the case with Local readers who responded to our survey.
Tobin told us he had expected a smooth reapplication ride in July 2025, having had previous renewals go through without a hitch. But, by April 2026, having received an attestation de decision favorable, he was still waiting for news of his physical card from the Tours’ préfecture.
“The main problem … is the communication,” he wrote. “You can only contact them by email. And then you wait for a response, and it’s usually a generic [one] which never answers your questions. You can’t visit in person, so you are left with whatever they give you.”
A lack of information, or clarity of information was a regular bugbear.
Mary McKinley, also from Tours, noted the difference in her experiences of getting and renewing a visitors’ card between 2024 and this year. “In 2024, [it was a] very efficient and pleasant experience. This year, in response to questions about the delay, we received only a long auto-reply saying that I should be patient.”
Ronald Langdon, who is waiting for a card from Nice préfecture, said: “They will not make an appointment to meet me. Whenever I send them documents that they have requested, they take months to respond and then ask for more documents, even ones that they already have.”
READ ALSO What to do if you can’t get an appointment at the préfecture to renew your French paperwork
Cathe Bell has waited more than eight months for her renewal from Hérault préfecture, and made sure she had provided all the required information. Having applied in good time, she wrote: “When I asked about the status of the carte, months later, I was asked for more information. Apparently what I had given had become outdated.”
The biggest issue people have is with the time it takes to get a card, with the clock ticking on their legal right to remain in France.
Seb Rocco told us that, a month ago, his application for renewal to the Hérault préfecture was “rejected with no explanation, so no idea what the problem is or what needs correcting.”
His current card remains valid, but is due to expire shortly.
Another reader, who preferred to remain anonymous, has also had problems with the system in Hérault, after applying for a first carte de sejour 14 months ago and being approved eight months later.
“It is frustrating that they don’t answer the phone during the two hours a week they say they take calls; and it is frustrating that they answer emails with a form letter that says, in essence, that they don't answer emails.”
A major problem is people's cards expiring while they wait for the new ones - even if they have applied at the earliest possible time. We asked whether respondents had experienced this, and almost 90 percent said yes.
Ben Lloyd, for example said that delays were par for the course at the Saint-Denis préfecture in the Paris suburbs.
He has a six-month récépissé - the temporary document that allows people to remain legally resident while their application is being processed - that will expire in August 2026, but the website to renew the temporary document has added no more dedicated appointment slots since Spring 2025.
The préfecture has “instructed people to only apply within two months of the expiration of the current card,” he wrote, “but even then it still takes four months, so people on average have a two-month period without legal papers.”
He went on: “I have been told I will receive my card before the expiration of my récépissé in August. However, it took them two years to print a change of address on my last carte de séjour, so I have no hope this will happen.
“Also the system to get a renewal doesn’t work so I have no idea how I will get it extended when the time arrives. I don’t necessarily blame the préfecture as they are clearly understaffed."
Barry Epstein’s card expired in October 2025. He had applied for a renewal in June. By April, he was still waiting for news on his document from officials in Calvados, Normandy.
“I’m 81 and I requested a 10-year renewal anticipating that I will expire before having to go through this chaotic inefficient renewal process again!” he wrote.
READ ALSO Explained: How to travel if your French carte de séjour has expired
“I had to send a Breach of Rights email to get my most recent extension. I’ve also sent letters of recommendation from the Mayor of Lisieux and a member of the national assembly to validate my marital status.”
Elizabeth Lenheim’s post-Brexit residency card arrived in good time, but was stolen while she was on holiday in Italy. She requested a replacement from Nantes préfecture in May 2024. It has yet to arrive and, she said, she has been unable to get an interview and repeatedly asked to complete various forms.
“I have a copy of the stolen residency card and am taking no further action until contacted by the préfecture,” she wrote.
A holiday turned out to be problematic for Dijon-based reader Debbie, who received a message to attend an interview at the préfecture on a particular date, while she was out of the country.
“I replied that I could not attend at that time but would be happy to attend … on my return,” she said. “I expected the usual récépissé but instead was curtly informed that my application was now cancelled and that I needed to start again with the VLS-TS process.”
Thomas Buchanan was still waiting for his post-Brexit residency card, having sent off his renewal application in January. “I’m a fan of the online process and the staff at the préfecture have always been kind and helpful,” he wrote.
Things were, “all smooth for the online renewal process and meeting at the Préfecture de Paris to collect my récépissé,” he added, “but crickets since then. No communication, no card.”
READ ALSO Récépissé: Your questions answered on France's temporary residency permit
And Todd Foreman, who is also based in Paris, was still waiting for his post-Brexit card renewal to come through. The “préfecture was fine,” he wrote. “They gave me temporary paper card and said they will email me when permanent card is ready
“My card expired on April 1st, but I have a paper document which is good until June. I took the Eurostar without any problems: French immigration asked to see both the expired plastic card and the paper card.”
Another reader, from Bourg-en-Bresse, who raged against the “entirely opaque” process, also took pains to recognised the “very courteous staff”, but said, “when emails were responded to, they did not actually provide answers to specific questions; no advice provided on what action was required.”
Alan, who lives in Paris, waited 18 months for a so-called Talent Passport. He said: “It turned out that the renewed card was in the Paris Prefecture for over a year, but we were never notified that it was available to be picked up.”
Another talent card holder waited 11 months before their employer stepped in and “sent a lawyer … to argue with the people at the préfecture for an hour until they got someone to look into it.”
But those aren’t the longest delays recorded. Kabir Ahmed’s wait for a carte de séjour to go with a working visa has been: “Almost three years with no response.”
People without a valid carte de séjour face a number of problems in everyday life as they are unable to prove their right to legal residency in the country - including being unable to travel, being refused work or having healthcare cancelled.
People who are awaiting a préfecture decision should be able to get a récépissé - a piece of paper that confirms that their application is being dealt with. It is legal proof of the right to be in France, and can be used to travel - however people unfamiliar with the immigration system, including some employers, often fail to recognise it.
Défenseur des droits has accused the French government of "creating undocumented immigrants" through these endless delays.
They said the delays resulted in “life paths shattered, people prevented from working, companies deprived of employees, associations exhausted by dysfunctional procedures and préfectoral services struggling to unblock situations".
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