This is an archived page.
The application window and the online portal are now closed and all remaining applications must be made to your local préfecture.
The basic information provided on this page however remains relevant.
The application window and the online portal are now closed and all remaining applications must be made to your local préfecture.
The basic information provided on this page however remains relevant.
Applying for your new residence card - who, when, how?
This is the second of a series of pages designed to give you all the information you need to navigate the process of applying for your new residence status and card under the Withdrawal Agreement. The previous page gave an overview and set the context for your application.
On this page we take you through the process of completing the online application form and answer some of the most commonly asked questions.
On the following pages we'll look at specific situations and categories, focusing on what conditions you need to meet for each category and what evidence you need to produce. Once you've read this page, follow the link in the box at the bottom for the page that covers your situation.
On this page we take you through the process of completing the online application form and answer some of the most commonly asked questions.
On the following pages we'll look at specific situations and categories, focusing on what conditions you need to meet for each category and what evidence you need to produce. Once you've read this page, follow the link in the box at the bottom for the page that covers your situation.
Who needs to apply?
- Every British citizen who was living in France at the end of the transition period (31 December 2025) and who continues to live here afterwards, and who is over 18 has to apply for a new residence status and a new carte de séjour under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), whether you have an existing carte de séjour or not.
- If you already have residence rights in France and you are absent from the country at the end of the transition period, but you remain within the 'permitted absence' period for your residence status (see our guide here) you must also apply.
- If you have adult family members - of any nationality - whose rights depend on yours, they also have to apply.
- You must apply even if you a a spouse or registered partner of a French citizen.
- Children and young people under 18 don't have to hold a residence card - a passport is enough. You can apply for a DCEM (document de circulation pour étranger mineur) for them if you wish, which can be helpful for travel outside France. Young people must apply for a residence card during their 18th year (and not later than their 19th birthday). It is recommended that anyone who will reach the age of 18 before 1 October 2026 (the date by which everyone must hold a residence card) applies now on the online application form.
- If you are a young adult who is still dependent on your parents, you need to apply in your own right; you need to indicate that you are a family member of a UK national and follow that route on the application form.
- If you are a young adult who is normally resident in France but is studying abroad, you must also apply for a residence permit indicating your family's address (unless you have your own home in France).
- If you are a dual national who holds both citizenship of the UK and that of a second EU country (not France), you don't need to rely on the WA for your residence rights in France as you'll continue to have the right to live here as an EU citizen, using your EU citizenship. However, you may still need to rely on some of the rights in the WA, for example, the recognition of your professional qualifications in the UK, social security coordination with the UK, or family reunification rights. You can choose to apply for a residence card on the online platform as evidence that you are covered by the WA, without losing your EU citizenship rights.
- If you are a dual national who holds both citizenship of the UK and of France, although you don't need to rely on the WA for your residence rights, you can benefit from its provisions if before the end of the transition period you had exercised your free movement rights to move here, and then later acquired French citizenship (whether by declaration or decree). Please see this page for further details: Dual UK and French nationals.
- If you moved to France on or after 1 January 2026 you are not able to apply for a residence status or card under this system. You will have to apply to live here under French national immigration rules as you will not be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.
- If you have a second home in France but are not resident here (ie you spend less than 6 months a year here and the centre of your interests is in the UK) you are not able to apply for a residence status or card under this system as you are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.
- If you applied on the 'no-deal portal' between 9 October 2026 and 31 January 2026 you do not need to reapply unless you have changed address to a different department - your application is already in the system and will be processed by your préfecture. If you have changed your address you will need to reapply.
- If, however, you previously applied for a residence card at your préfecture and are still awaiting your card, you must apply on the online application form.
When do you need to apply?
- The online application portal opened on 19 October 2026 and you can apply at any time. The original deadline for applications was 30 June 2021. The Ministry of the Interior has announced that the application portal will remain open for late applications until 30 September. You should include a reason for missing the original deadline in the comments section on the application form.
- You must make your application on the online form by 30 September 2021 at the latest. Current guidance states that you must hold a residence card by 1 October 2021.
- Late applications can't be automatically rejected. Your préfecture must decide whether you had ‘reasonable grounds’ for not respecting the deadline. There is no precision in the WA on what might constitute ‘reasonable grounds’, but that decision should take into account ‘all the circumstances and reasons’ and out-of-time applications should be treated ‘in a proportionate manner’.
HOW DO YOU APPLY?
All applications must be made online
- You must make your application using the online application form, which you can find on the links below.
- You cannot apply on paper, or in person at your préfecture.
- If you don't have access to the internet, or you don't have facilities to upload documents, you have a few options. You can:
(a) ask the préfecture of the department in which you live whether a computer is available for you to make your application;
(b) use a computer at your local médiathèque if you have one, or ask your Mairie for help;
(c) ask a friend or neighbour for the use of their computer;
(d) if you live in one of the areas covered by one of the UK Nationals Support Fund organisations, ask them for help. See below for more about these organisations.
Preparing to complete the application form
- Before you begin the process, it's a good idea to make sure you have all your supporting documents to hand and to have them stored on your computer ready for uploading. You can find out more about what is required on this flowchart prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, or for more information, on the specific pages for each category on this website (see the boxes further down this page).
- You can either scan or photograph your documents, and they must be in .pdf, .png, .jpeg or .jpg format.
- Each document you upload must have a different document name so that it can be identified separately.
- The maximum document size is 5MB. If you need to reduce the size of the document, you can easily do it online here: www.wecompress.com/en/.
- If you want to upload more documents than the form allows you to, scan several documents and save them under a single file. All scanning software will allow you to do this - look for a box that invites you to 'add a page'. Each multi-page file will then count as just one document.
- You can, if you wish, begin your application and then save it to go back to later, for up to 20 days. To do this, click on the tracking code - the Code de Suivi - at the top left hand corner of the form. This will save your entered data and allow you to continue with your application later. After 20 days, all your data will be deleted and you'll have to start again.
Beginning your application
- The first two pages of the form are the same for everyone, whatever your situation and circumstances.
- From the introductory page, you click the button marked 'Suivant' at the bottom right hand corner of the page to begin your application.
- The first thing you must do is accept the General Terms and Conditions by clicking the box.
- Next, you must indicate whether this is your first online application (click the First request button), or whether you have previously made your application and have now been asked to submit more documents (click the Complement button).
- Once you've done that, click the Suivant box and you'll be taken to the next page. Here you'll need to state whether you're a British national or a third country national who is applying for a residence status and card as a family member of a British national.
- If you're a British national living in France, you'll be taken to this page, where you have to tick a box to say whether you've been living in France for more than 5 years (left hand box) , or for less than 5 years (right hand box).
Continuing your application
- The online application form will now take several routes, according to how long you've lived in France and your personal situation.
- Each of these routes will ask you different questions, and ask you to upload different documents as evidence of your application for your status and card.
- We cover each route in detail on the specific pages below, with screenshots of the application form and details of the conditions you'll have to meet (if any) along with the evidence documents you'll have to upload.
After you've made your application
- At the end of the application form, you'll be presented with a summary page that contains all the information you've entered. If you need to correct anything, you'll have the chance to go back to the relevant page.
- When you're happy that everything is correct, you can click to submit the form.
- You'll then receive (by email, and usually within an hour or less) a confirmation of your application - an 'attestation d'enregistrement' - that will give you your unique registration number. Keep this email very safe, as it will serve as your receipt and will be needed until you receive your card if you travel outside France from 31 December 2020 onwards. If you lose it, you can't request a replacement.
- If you don't receive a confirmation, check your spam folder first. If you still don't receive a confirmation within a few hours, send an email to this address: contact-demandeenligne-brexit-dgef@interieur.gouv.fr.
- Your application will be transferred to the préfecture of the department where you live (sometimes the sous-préfecture), which will check it and process it. They will contact you if anything is unclear of if they need further documentation.
- It may take some time - weeks or even months - for your application to be dealt with - please be patient, as préfectures will have a big workload! It isn't be obligatory to have a residence card until 1 October 2026 so there is plenty of time.
- Once your application has been approved, the préfecture will send you an email inviting you to attend - by appointment - to have fingerprints taken and to present your photograph. This should take no more than 10 minutes. If you can't attend on the date given, you will have the opportunity to rearrange.
- You will only have to attend your préfecture once, as once you've given your fingerprints and your photo your préfecture will send everything off for the card to be produced. Your card will then be sent directly to your home.
- If you are in hospital you won't have to attend your préfecture and alternative arrangements will be made. If you are resident in an EHPAD or you are unable to attend your préfecture for any other reason, you should indicate this on the application form (there is a box for supplementary information) or to your préfecture when you receive your email, to see what arrangements can be made for you.
Support organisations
A handful of organisations have received funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to help people with their applications for residence if they are unable to complete the process themselves. Their remit is largely limited to practical assistance - they are unable to give legal advice or answer complex questions.
Here are the organisations and their area/remit of cover - click on each to go to their website where you'll find details of the help they can provide.
The Franco British Network - covers Dordogne, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
The International Organisation for Migration - covers Brittany, Normandy, Paris and Ile-de-France, Hauts-de-France, Pays de la Loire.
The Church of England: Diocese in Europe - covers Occitanie, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Centre Val de Loire, Corsica, Grand Est, Nouvelle Aquitaine, not including Dordogne.
SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity - covers forces veterans only, anywhere in France.
Here are the organisations and their area/remit of cover - click on each to go to their website where you'll find details of the help they can provide.
The Franco British Network - covers Dordogne, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
The International Organisation for Migration - covers Brittany, Normandy, Paris and Ile-de-France, Hauts-de-France, Pays de la Loire.
The Church of England: Diocese in Europe - covers Occitanie, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Centre Val de Loire, Corsica, Grand Est, Nouvelle Aquitaine, not including Dordogne.
SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity - covers forces veterans only, anywhere in France.