Following up form my last post - Seeking Advice - Préfecture
I am a Portuguese national currently residing and working in Massy, France. My wife is an Indian national who entered France legally on 25 September 2025 on a short-stay (Type C) Schengen visa as my spouse.
On 8 October 2025, we submitted her application for a residence card as a “family member of a Union citizen” (carte de séjour – membre de famille d’un citoyen de l’Union européenne) with the Préfecture of Essonne (Palaiseau). Upon submission, we received only an initial PDF confirmation via the ANEF system.
Current Situation
Since the date of submission, we have received no further communication from the prefecture. Specifically, we have not received:
Any request for additional documents
An attestation de prolongation d’instruction
A récépissé or temporary proof of legal stay
Any update on the status of the application
Her short-stay visa expired on 11 January 2026. However, based on Directive 2004/38/EC, we understand that her right of residence is derived from her status as the spouse of an EU citizen exercising treaty rights in France, and from having submitted the application within the required timeframe.
Despite this, the absence of any official document confirming her legal status — now approaching eight months — has placed us in a situation of significant legal uncertainty.
Steps Already Taken
We have made multiple attempts to follow up on the application, including:
Several follow-up emails to the prefecture
Two formal registered letters (lettres recommandées avec accusé de réception), both confirmed as delivered Structured it as a “mise en demeure” ( Formal Notice as well).
Attempts to obtain information in person at the prefecture
Contact with the Défenseur des droits
The only response received has been that the file has been “accepted and is awaiting processing,” with no timeline or further action provided.
Questions / Guidance Requested
Given that nearly eight months have passed without any formal acknowledgment of processing, we would be very grateful for guidance on the following:
How should we proceed given the ongoing delay? Would it be advisable or even possible to resubmit the application through a different prefecture?
Should we consider hiring a lawyer to pursue legal action against the prefecture for administrative inaction?
How should we proceed if travel becomes necessary? What are the implications of leaving and re-entering France or the Schengen Area in the absence of a valid residence document?
We would be extremely grateful for any advice or direction the community can offer. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Follow up with the Défenseur des droits. Personal Legal action for administrative inaction will most likely just cost you money and fail as there are no provisions in law to respect set timelines.
Jes, this is a completely unacceptable position that your wife - entirely innocently - finds herself in. I can clearly see that you’ve followed some of the specific advice we’ve previously given on this forum when you last raised the issue , including the use of mise en demeure and recourse to the defendeur des droits. It’s very disappointing that these haven’t led - yet - to any resolution.
I’m tempted to suggest that you send one final mise en demeure note to the Prefecture, saying that you will launch legal action in front of the tribunal administratif if they do not respond within [14] days.I think you now need a lawyer who can file the appropriate legal challenges to force a response. (See below). Obviously there will be a cost..My strong conviction is that filing the application in another Prefecture will simply lead to it being referred back to your Prefecture, and delay matters even further.
I would strongly advise against travel outside Schengen unless your wife wants to arm herself with the entire suite of relevant documents including the EU regulation 2004/38/CE. There is no guarantee that a border guard will necessarily understand the issue.
Sorry - I have more or less exhausted my knowledge of the issue (as somebody also married to an EU citizen). I’ve also now had a quick Google and it seems the legal challenges I’ve referred to above have technical names - a référé injonction or a recours pour excès de pouvoir. I am not a lawyer and would obviously defer to one who is, and is familiar with immigration law.
Best of luck and please do let us know how it all goes..
Unfortunately I can’t add anymore than Jane and George. It’s worth pursuing the DDD as their services are free but if you’re not getting anywhere with them then your only option may be the suggestion by George.
Thank you for the response I really do appreciate the support !
Do you know of any lawyers that i could reach that could help me with this ? Asking because i dont speak any french and find it extremely difficult to communicate
I don’t know if people here will know the names of immigration lawyers. There’s a website for notaires that lets you select the location and has a filter for whether they speak English or other languuages.
An internet search suggests Maitre Louise Dubreux, in the Essonne area,(Evry) +33 762280766 for starters..She would appear to specialise in both administrative and immigration law and speaks English! Failing that, put your requirements into your preferred AI (if you have one). and ask for lawyers who also fit the above profile in the Paris/Essonne area.