I agree. If @survive15 is referring to the renewal of an EU family member CdS or an EU citizen’s CdS, it remains an online process via ANTS, according to Service Publique’s website today…
I’m guessing but it may be the case that the Niort Prefecture deals directly with non EU CdS ie involving France’s own ‘domestic law’ CdS renewals…
Very useful information. Thank you.
Looking more closely at the webpage you cited- it is a commercial website, not the official prefecture page. It cannot be relied upon.
If it’s wrong, I’ll be happy. I didn’t like the look of it.
I’m still hoping for an easy online renewal of my warp cds.
Apologies for any misinformation I have supplied.
Next year my (Luxembourg) wife and I will hopefully qualify for EU permanent residence (10 year) CdS’, after 5 years continuous living in France. Unlike me, (a Brit) where an EU Family CdS is compulsory, she has never (voluntarily) applied for an EU (citizens) CdS.
She has often said it would be quite useful and convenient to have some form of ID, other than her passport, eg at the post office when collecting parcels. It made me wonder what she should apply for if she wanted an EU CdS, in that she’s not just arrived here, which would usually be a“first” 5 year CdS. Nor is she “renewing” a CdS, which would normally be the case for a 10 year CdS request (after the initial 5 years).
I wrote to the EU’s Your Europe Advice service, and received a helpful, same day response, confirming that she can simply apply for a (standalone) 10 year EU permanent residence CdS (irrespective of whether or not she has previously applied for a CdS) after living in France for at least 5 years.
“Dear Sir
Both your wife and you should apply for a permanent residence card, which will have to be with a 10-year validity and automatically renewable.
See: Carte de séjour d'un retraité (ou inactif) citoyen UE/EEE/Suisse - Après 5 ans de séjour | Service Public (for your wife)
And
Carte de séjour en tant que membre de famille d'un Européen | Service Public > Comment renouveler la carte de séjour… » > « Vous avez une ou des cartes depuis 5 ans ou plus consécutifs » (for you)
We confirm that the renewal of the card is obligatory for you, and only voluntary for your wife – the right of permanent residence is attested but not conditioned by holding a permanent residence card.
Ref. : EU Free Movement Directive 2004/38/EC, articles 16 and subsequent, and 25.1
With our best wishes,
Your Europe Advice
I had the same issue. I decided to get an Italian CIE which I had to fetch from the Italian consulate in Paris. I’ ll get permanent residency in France in 2 years.
Less than a month after filing my EU family CdS renewal, seeking a permanent residence EU CdS, I received a barrage of demands for more information today. Some were plain silly, some were irrelevant, and some pure box ticking.
They want a water bill from the month BEFORE I moved to France. Quite bizarre. I don’t have one. I will give them a bank statement from the following month to prove I was in France.
They want a translation of my marriage certificate, the same one they happily accepted on arrival (I’ve kept the same wife!) - untranslated.
They also demanded an Attestation d’assurance maladie française. They cannot insist that I have French private medical coverage. The EU rules (and official French interpretations) are quite clear that any comprehensive coverage, whether public or private, French or foreign will do. I will politely and respectfully draw their attention to both the EU’s and their own rules. I cannot (retrospectively!) seek French coverage. That would be impossible.
Finally they wanted 5 years of tax returns, which is irrelevant as I’ve already supplied them with 5 years of asset valuations of my wife’s investments, which again is exactly what the EU rules permit.
I suspect I may have a junior bureaucrat, unfamiliar with the EU rules, asking almost as a routine knee jerk default for tax returns, translation of marriage certificate etc.
At least they’re looking at my application quickly, and haven’t challenged anything of substance (sufficient resources, Scope of comprehensive medical coverage etc).
It landed on his desk. He doesn’t know what to do so he sent you on a snipe hunt and will be taking vacation soon. His backup will sort it.
Sympathies. I detect a ‘tightening’ around permanent cards, also being applied to those with ‘plein droit’. You cannot be refused, just mucked around!
I think Numthewiser’s got it. Someone’s picked it up that is off on holiday soon so they’ve fired off their standard list of demands. Without actually looking at your file. They’d probably do that even if not just off on holiday.
They may be junior, or not. Either way I wish you strength in restraining yourself while dealing with them. I have found excessive amounts of sugar appear to be required in dealings compared to what a Northern-Europe type (eg UK, Ne) might be used to (not) providing along with any answer or communication generally here. nuff said.
Btw I think the RFR (5 years worth) request was as much about proving your continuous residence aa resources.
Good luck and I hope you can quickly find a way to satisfy this individual that is painless for both. I’ll be interested to hear how it goes because with you there won’t be any real issue so it will be interesting if attempts are made anyway as in the nicest possible way you ought to be bulletproof!
Only 6 weeks after filing my application for a permanent (10 year automatically renewable) EU family CdS, and after surviving two waves of rather odd follow up questions, the Interior Ministry have written to me today to confirm they will be issuing me with the CdS. I honestly never doubted it, given my understanding of the EU regs, but it’s reassuring to have the confirmation I’m good to stay in France in my own right, ie no longer dependent on the EU status of my lovely wife…
You never were, surely? Congratulations - will you be having champagne? (only when you are clutching the card in your hands of course).
Definitely! My sole legal basis for being able to live in France for the past 5 years, having arrived post Brexit, was my wife’s EU citizenship, and her, not my, proven financial resources etc. For future CdS renewals, France cannot require me to prove either her (or my) financial resources, or her links with the EU or having to have comprehensive medical coverage. We will (obviously) continue our medical coverage. That’s what I meant by being in France on my own basis, not that of my wife’s, going forward.
Thanks for the congratulations though, much appreciated.
Of course, my apologies I didn’t mean to contradict you, I was only thinking that if you had not had an EU wife, you would still have been able to emigrate to / retire in France on the Visitor visa - though I’m not delving into the resource side.
It’s definitely a good feeling when you get that card marked ‘Permanent’ - and interesting that the dependence on the EU partner falls away after the 5 years.
I certainly didn’t see it as being contradicted, instead I thought it was an interesting question you raised…
True, although my EU family CdS route - despite requiring extracts from 36 documents - helpfully avoided any official costs, any proof of language skills, signing a contrat d’engagement or passing an Examen Civique.
I’m really looking forward to being a legal permanent resident, probably a bit like finally obtaining a US Green Card, though with hopefully less risk of being deported!
A US Green Card nowadays isn’t worth the plastic it is written on, I don’t think. If I were a naturalized US citizen I would be a bit nervous, too. They are starting to de-naturalize a fair number through the courts.
ANEF asks for that now when seeking an EU card, as we’ve discovered
There is a little dialogue box that opens in the ANEF application (which I used for my renewal) which makes it clear that completion of the contrat d’engagement is entirely voluntary for EEA, EU citizens and their families.Indeed you can even tick a box to show you understand that non-completion of it does not affect the success of your application.
As you know, the EU freedom of movement (FoM) rights derive solely from the EU regulation and approval cannot be conditioned by member states’ own ‘pet’ criteria. France definitely accepts that principle (ie that it is not granting me FoM rights, it is merely confirming that at a certain point in time I met the FoM criteria for permanent residence), and has even put that principle in writing in instructions to its Prefectures.
This is very interesting since some prefectures were insisting on it for WARP renewals even though it was not necessary. I think some were uploading a blank piece of paper or the relevant sections of the WA / legislation to jog their memories. I signed it anyway as it didn’t seem to say anything concerning!
Such a relief George1.
EU applicants and Brexit applicants definitely are lucky. The standard way now has these extra requirements and is expensive.
Congratulations.
I also understand the relief as, 6 working days after I submitted the application, I’ve also been approved for 10-year permanent residence visa. Thanks for the support on here, as French admin has really been overwhelming me.
Apparently I’ll receive an SMS to make an appointment to pick up the card, in about 3-4 weeks. The relief will be enormous.
