How do you apply for or renew a French residence permit in 2026?

EU citizens normally rely on free movement rather than the standard non-EU permit process. Some non-EU newcomers arrive with a VLS-TS, a long-stay visa that also acts as a residence permit after validation. Others hold a visa that expressly requires a first residence-card application after arrival.

For a first permit, open the official Service-Public.fr page for the exact basis, such as employee, student, private and family life, visitor, entrepreneur, or family member. It will direct you either to ANEF (France's online foreign-national administration portal) or to the préfecture, the local state administration responsible for your address. ANEF coverage is not universal, and local prefectures can use appointment, email, or document-upload systems for routes not on ANEF.

For renewal, check the card and route page months before expiry. Many ANEF renewals use a filing window from four to two months before the current document expires, but prefecture-based routes and special statuses can follow different instructions. Use the deadline stated for your permit rather than treating that window as universal.

Start with a valid passport, current visa or permit, recent address proof, compliant identity photographs or digital photo code, and civil-status documents requested for the route. Add the evidence that proves the permit basis: an employment contract and work-authorisation material, enrolment and resources for study, family records, or business documents.

Foreign birth and marriage records may require an apostille or legalisation, which confirms a document for use abroad, plus a translation by a translator accepted in France. Names, dates, and addresses should match across the passport, civil records, lease, employer, and online form.

Save the submitted form, upload list, confirmation email, and any request for more evidence. A draft left in ANEF is not a filed application.

An online attestation de dépôt, meaning submission certificate, confirms filing but is not automatically a temporary residence document. When the legal conditions are met, ANEF may issue an attestation de prolongation d'instruction, meaning temporary proof of lawful stay while a complete application is being examined. A prefecture-filed case may instead produce a récépissé, another form of temporary application proof.

Read the actual document. Work permission depends on the application type, prior card, and wording. International travel and re-entry can also depend on whether the document relates to a first application or renewal. Never assume a receipt grants either right.