Just recently done one of our driving licences, applied end june 24 and received french driving licence mid jan 25. So 7 monthish.
That’s more encouraging Peter, thanks very much for letting us know.
May I ask if you submitted your certificate of entitlement at the time of your initial application and, if so, whether you were asked for a fresh one further down the road?
I’ve submitted mine along with a birth certificate, tax assessment notice, utility bill, proof of “date d’installation normale en France” (I have an Irish passport so am not required to hold a residence permit, in which case ANTS want this proof) etc. etc.
But my certificate of entitlement was already a couple of months old so I might request a new one in the summer in case ANTS wants an up-to-date one. Unlike with DVLA in Swansea, I can’t generate a code. I have to request the certificate from the Northern Ireland agency and it takes a couple of weeks.
Hello Helen, they didn’t request a new Cert of Entitlement the one that we supplied on application was sufficient.
Super, thanks Peter.
That is why the new recommendation for renewal is to start 12 months before it expires - often repeated by our license / carte de sejour expert @kim
To be fair I only got the 6 months uplifted to 12 in September 2024.
Your attestation de droits is valid for 6 months from the date of issue.
They may or may not ask for an updated one, there’s no set answer.
Thanks Kim. 6-month validity is what I reckoned. If I haven’t heard from ANTS by the summer, it would do no harm to get a fresh cert of entitlement and have it ready to upload in case ANTS asks me for one.
Hi Helen, unless your entitlement is difficult to get hold of, I personally wouldn’t bother until you are asked for it.
Unfortunately I don’t have (and can’t easily create) an NI Direct account that would let me generate a code. So to get a certificate, I have to request one from DVA in Coleraine and it takes a couple of weeks to arrive.
No matter. I’ll get a fresh one early summer, just in case.
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Hopefully you’ll be processed quicker than that. Applications go through phases so volume of applications will determine this.
Currently it’s about 5-6 months, but that is to get your attestation de droits (temp licence which is valid for 4 months) when you are asked to send in your licence. I would say 90% that come through me are matching this target.
Thanks for all your help Kim. Will keep you posted.
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Jane, I have heard (from unreliable sources!) that France Identitie is being, or will be modified to take ten year residency cards - have you heard the same?
I try daily to scan my card without any joy. I also wait for the card vitale to be digital in 11, but this too is like waiting for the second coming!
I wonder when France Identité will be available to those of us in France with a CdS? The last time I saw an announcement about it (last August?) it was ‘coming soon’.
I don’t think that it is correct when it says “The system is only available for French citizens”?
I am not a French citizen (I take it that by that they mean, have French nationality) but I have been using the France Identité app for years.
Have you had an electronic version of your CDS on it though? That’s what this is about. Before it could only be used for ID cards.