(Dec 2025)

Carte de Séjour Automatic Renewal

The French National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) has just adopted a bill in favour of automatic renewal for long-term residence cards.

Passed on 12 December 2025, it applies mainly to multi-year, five and ten-year residency permits, not the shorter one-year or seasonal permits.

Its aim is to cut down on  delays and administrative burden in the current system.

Proposals include simplified online procedures,  (eg uploading proof of address, photo, tax documents through ANEF), leading to fewer, if any, prefecture appointments and reduced risk of falling into an irregular situation because of delays

Some proposals also include reducing renewal fees and creating a new appeal channel.

The bill still needs to go to the Senate for further discussion before becoming law, but if it is passed, cartes de séjour could be renewed automatically unless the administration can show a legal reason not to.

The law would introduce “tacit renewal” (renouvellement tacite meaning that the card is renewed automatically if the prefecture doesn’t raise an objection within a set period.

The Aim of the Reform

To cut down...
….Long delays at prefectures
….Stress caused to elderly residents
….Situations where people legally resident for decades lose rights temporarily because of admin backlogs

This reform is designed to protect people who are settled, not newly arriving migrants.

DON’T LET THIS STOP YOU!

It is not yet law and still needs Senate approval and discussion on ways to make it work in practice.

Realistically, it is unlikely to take effect before the end of 2026 so please don’t hold your breath. If your card needs renewing soon, don’t hang about!