Growing Delays for Residence Permits in France

Anyone who has spent months waiting for a titre de séjour, struggled to obtain an appointment at the préfecture or found themselves going round in circles on the ANEF website may be relieved to know one thing: YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

France’s Défenseur des droits (Defender of Rights), the independent authority responsible for protecting people’s rights in their dealings with public services, has published a major report into the processing of residence permits across France.

And its findings are far from reassuring.

Longer waits and a growing backlog

The investigation looked at the way residence permit applications were handled between 2019 and 2023.

Over that period, the average time taken to issue a residence permit nationally increased from 78 days to 110 days – a rise of 41%.

For renewals, the situation has continued to deteriorate. According to figures supplied by the Ministry of the Interior, the average processing time for a renewal reached 117 days in 2025.

Meanwhile, the number of applications waiting to be dealt with has increased dramatically.

At the end of 2019, around 243,000 applications were awaiting processing. By the end of 2023, that figure had risen to almost 403,000 – an increase of 66% in four years.

Complaints have soared

Perhaps the clearest indication of the problem comes from the Defender of Rights itself.

In 2019, complaints concerning the rights of foreign nationals represented around 10% of cases referred to the institution.

By 2025, they represented 41%.

Problems involving residence permits, préfectures and the online administration system have therefore become one of the institution’s biggest areas of concern.

Why is the system struggling?

There is no single explanation.

The report points to a combination of increasing numbers of applications, insufficient staffing, increasingly complicated immigration legislation and administrative procedures that take considerable amounts of staff time.

Between 2019 and 2023, for example, the number of residence permit renewals increased by around 43%, while staffing levels dealing with applications increased by only around 10%.

Another factor is the amount of préfecture time devoted to immigration enforcement, including Obligations de Quitter le Territoire Français (OQTF) – orders requiring someone to leave France.

The report suggests that prioritising these procedures can reduce the resources available for processing ordinary residence permit applications.

ANEF: digital doesn’t necessarily mean faster

The online platform ANEF – Administration Numérique pour les Étrangers en France – was introduced partly to simplify and streamline applications.

For many applicants, however, it has become another source of frustration.

The Defender of Rights has been warning about problems with ANEF for several years, including technical failures, applications becoming blocked, difficulty updating personal circumstances and applicants being unable to obtain the documents needed to prove their continuing legal status.

In May 2026, France’s Conseil d’État also intervened over shortcomings in the system.

The Defender of Rights says that digital administration must not become the only option and recommends maintaining access to human assistance and alternative procedures when the online system fails.

The problem of being left without proof of legal status

Delays become particularly serious when an existing residence permit expires while its replacement is still being processed.

Applicants should normally receive temporary documentation – such as a récépissé or an attestation de prolongation d’instruction – allowing them to prove that they are legally resident while their application is being considered.

But these documents are not always issued or renewed promptly.

That can have very real consequences. Without satisfactory proof of legal status, people may encounter difficulties with employment, benefits, housing and other administrative procedures.

The Defender of Rights wants temporary documents to be issued systematically so that applicants do not lose their rights simply because the administration has not dealt with their application in time.

Not all préfectures are equal

One particularly frustrating aspect for foreign residents is that the experience can vary enormously depending on where they live.

Some préfectures process applications relatively efficiently; others have much larger backlogs and longer waiting times.

In other words, two people applying for similar residence permits in different departments can have very different experiences.

For those of us living in France, this is important because residence permit applications are generally tied to the préfecture responsible for our place of residence. We cannot simply choose a faster department.

What is being done?

The government announced an emergency plan in April 2026, including the recruitment of 500 temporary staff and additional funding for overtime.

The Defender of Rights welcomed the extra help but says temporary measures will not be enough. It is calling for a lasting increase in staffing, improvements to the ANEF system, better access to human assistance and greater protection for applicants whose permits expire while they are waiting.

What does this mean for foreign residents?

For most applicants, the report does not change the rules for obtaining or renewing a residence permit.

What it does do is officially recognise something that many foreigners living in France have experienced first-hand: long waits and administrative difficulties are not simply isolated cases.

If your residence permit is approaching its expiry date, don’t leave your renewal until the last minute. Apply within the permitted renewal period, keep copies and screenshots of applications and correspondence, and keep any confirmation or temporary documents you receive.

And if your application becomes seriously delayed or you find yourself unable to prove your legal status because of an administrative or ANEF problem, remember that the Défenseur des droits exists specifically to help people whose rights are being affected by the operation of a public service.

Source

This article is based primarily on the July 2026 report by France’s Défenseur des droits: “Dégradation des délais d’instruction des titres de séjour : enquête auprès des préfectures et recommandations.”

The official report and summary can be found on the Défenseur des droits website.