France: EU, EEA and Swiss Citizens Can Now File Residence Permit Applications Online

According to the Directorate General for Foreigners in France, as of September 28, 2022, all nationals of the EU, EEA, and Switzerland will be able to apply for the above mentioned documents through the centralised online filing system, ANEF, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

Fragomen explains that eligible applicants, as well as their family members who hold EU, EEA, or Swiss citizenship, including those who are currently residing in France, are able to apply through the system based on their EU identity documents.

This means that they do not need additional documents other than their identity ones when filing the application online.

According to the official site of the French administration, residence permits get issued to several groups of nationals from other countries. In addition, the same notes that the residence permit card allows its holders to work while in France and can get renewed once its validity period is over.

“If you have family ties in France, you can get a residence card private and family life, under certain conditions. This card allows you to work. In principle, it is annual, renewable, when delivered as residence document, or multiannual (two to four years) for the renewal of a previous title,” the statement of the official site of the French administration reads.

Moreover, the same source points out that all nationals of the EU, EEA, or Switzerland wishing to obtain a residence permit must submit their card application to the prefecture or sub-prefecture at least two months before the date of their visa or of their residence permit if they already hold a valid one.

Regarding the terms, the French authorities explain that all EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals who hold a long-stay visa, those who entered France without a long-stay visa, as well as the ones who already hold another residence permit, can file initial and renewal applications.

Earlier in July, France said that it would make some changes to carte de séjour too. The French authorities said that the country is planning to make language test mandatory for foreigners who wish to obtain a carte de séjour residency permit.

The Interior Minister of France, Gérald Darmanin, revealed that such a proposal followed the request of the country’s Prime Minister.

Back then, it was noted that France would propose to condition the issuance of multi-year residence permits to the mastery of the minimum level of the French language to reinforce integration.