The French authorities have announced that they will now offer new and modernised assistance to all foreigners who need services related to their residence permit.
Consequently, after validation of foreigners’ long-stay visas, which serve as residence permits, users of the student residence permits and “passport talent” residence permits can request a visitor residence permit, a duplicate residence permit, or report changes regarding their address online.
According to the Ministry of Interior of France, foreigners who need to make one of the three requests mentioned above are no longer required to make an appointment at their prefecture or travel there in order to carry out these procedures. They are required to go to their prefecture only to collect their residence permit.
In addition, they can check the stage of their application online at any time.
“The beneficiaries concerned will only present themselves physically to the prefecture for the delivery of the residence permit. Between the filing of the request and this delivery of the title, they can consult the status of their request at any time on their online account,” the statement of the Ministry reads.
Through the new service that will be provided to foreigners, they can apply online for a “visitor” residence permit if they wish to stay in France for more than three months. However, in order to be able to obtain such a document, the authorities have set a condition.
In line with the rules, foreigners need to agree that they will not work in France while holding a visitor residence permit. After its issuance, this type of document is valid for a maximum of one year. Nonetheless, foreigners can ask for it to be renewed.
As for the foreigners who have lost their residence permit, the same Ministry has revealed that they can now obtain a duplicate of it.
“As a reminder, the duplicate bears the same validity dates as the lost or stolen ticket,” the Ministry emphasised.
Additionally, foreign citizens who have moved from their old residence place to another one in the same municipality or in a different municipality and who hold a residence permit that has been valid for more than one year can change their address online by using the new service system. Foreigners must change their address within three months.
Previously, France granted citizenship to more than 12,000 foreigners who worked frontline jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Persons who benefited from such a mechanism mainly were healthcare professionals, security and maintenance agents, childcare workers, cashiers, home helpers, and garbage collectors.