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Préfecture appointment or ANEF procedure without paying a middleman: what the official sources say

Source: Service-Public, ANEF online procedure (R59398), checked on 13 August 2026, read on 18 October 2026.

Last checked: 18 October 2026. This is a general guide, not legal advice. Check the official page: https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/R59398.

For a titre de séjour (residence permit), the official pages describe two ways: the website of the ANEF (Administration numérique des étrangers en France, the online administration for foreigners in France) at administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr, or the préfecture (the local office of the State) of the area where you live. For the préfecture, Service-Public says: « Dans la plupart des préfectures, vous devez prendre rendez-vous. » (In most préfectures, you must make an appointment.) It refers you to the préfecture's website and points out that some companies charge for doing the procedure in your place.

Which procedures are done on ANEF?

Service-Public sheet R59398 sends you to this site. The page of the Ministry of the Interior on ANEF (undated) lists:

  • 1st application: permits for private and family life (vie privée et familiale), international protection, EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, student, talent, seasonal worker, visitor;
  • renewal: EU long-term resident cards (carte de résident longue durée-UE), 10-year resident cards or 10-year Algerian residence certificates;
  • others: validation of the VLS-TS (the long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit), travel document, circulation document for a minor, change of situation, duplicate, naturalisation by decree.

For these procedures, the ministry page says that an appointment at the préfecture to submit your file is no longer needed (« n'est plus nécessaire, pour les démarches concernées, de prendre rendez-vous à la préfecture pour déposer son dossier »). You go to the préfecture « 2 fois maximum » (2 times at most): to give your fingerprints if they were not taken before, then to collect the permit.

Which procedures still go through the préfecture?

It depends on the permit and the reason. For the renewal of a multi-year card, Service-Public (F35799) says:

  • « salarié » (employee) or « entrepreneur/profession libérale » (entrepreneur or liberal profession): you submit « auprès de la préfecture ou la sous-préfecture de votre domicile » (to the préfecture or the sous-préfecture of the area where you live);
  • « étudiant » (student): you submit on ANEF;
  • « vie privée et familiale » (private and family life): it depends on the reason.

The private and family life sheet (F2209) sends you to ANEF or to the préfecture, depending on your situation. For submitting at the préfecture and for receiving the card, it repeats: « Dans la plupart des préfectures, vous devez prendre rendez-vous. » (In most préfectures, you must make an appointment.)

The « student » renewal is not in the ministry's list: follow the Service-Public sheet for your permit.

How to make the official appointment

Service-Public writes: « Renseignez-vous sur le site internet de la préfecture. » (Find out on the préfecture's website.) The official pages read do not name any other channel. For a problem with ANEF, the Centre de Contact Citoyens (CCC, the citizens' contact centre) answers on 0 806 001 620 (free call) or by online form. Préfectures also have points d'accueil numérique (PAN, digital help desks) for people who have difficulty with digital tools.

Free or paid?

  • On the help page for the procedure « Demande de titre de séjour » (residence permit application), Service-Public writes that « l'ensemble des services en ligne sur Service-Public.fr sont accessibles gratuitement » (all the online services on Service-Public.fr are free to use), even if getting some permits may involve fees or taxes. It adds: « Certaines sociétés proposent sur internet de faire la démarche à la place de l'usager en lui faisant payer cette prestation. » (Some companies offer on the internet to do the procedure in place of the user and make the user pay for this service.)
  • For nationality, Service-Public (F2213, F2726) targets paid private websites: « Par exemple, pour vous obtenir un rendez-vous en préfecture. » (For example, to get you an appointment at the préfecture.) Yet « excepté le timbre fiscal, sachez que l'acquisition de la nationalité française est une démarche gratuite » (apart from the tax stamp, acquiring French nationality is a free procedure).
  • The permit has a cost: €250 in timbres fiscaux (tax stamps) to renew a multi-year card, in the general case (F35799).

No official page read says in so many words that the préfecture appointment for a residence permit is free. Service-Public also reminds readers that « les administrations et grandes plateformes en ligne ne demandent jamais de renseignements sensibles par message ou par téléphone » (administrations and big online platforms never ask for sensitive information by message or by phone).

While you wait for the decision

  • Submission at the préfecture: if the file is complete, you receive a récépissé (receipt) (F15763). For a 1st application: 4 or 6 months, and it « peut être exceptionnellement renouvelé pour 3 mois maximum » (can exceptionally be renewed for 3 months at most). For a renewal: 3 months from the day after the card stops being valid.
  • Submission on ANEF: the attestation de dépôt (filing certificate) « n'est pas un document provisoire de séjour » (is not a provisional residence document) (F36206). A complete file submitted within the legal deadline gives an attestation de prolongation d'instruction (certificate of extended processing), « valable 3 mois maximum » (valid 3 months at most), which is renewed as long as no decision is made.

Your rights (work, travel) vary with the document: see the ministry page.

If your procedure is stuck

If your application is not registered although you think you meet the conditions, Service-Public (F31969) mentions a recours gracieux (a request to the préfet to reconsider) (head of the préfecture) and/or a hierarchical appeal to the ministry. « Le recours est gratuit. » (The appeal is free.) Only after that can you contact the Défenseur des droits (Defender of Rights): form on defenseurdesdroits.fr, letter without a stamp (Libre réponse 71120, 75342 Paris CEDEX 07), the delegate of your region, or 09 69 39 00 00 (cost of a local call).

For an appeal before a court, see a lawyer or an association.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay to get an appointment at the préfecture? For nationality, Service-Public says the procedure is free, apart from the tax stamp. For residence permits, we did not find an equivalent official sentence; the permit itself may carry a fee (timbres fiscaux).

Is my application made on ANEF or at the préfecture? It depends on the permit. According to Service-Public, the renewal of a multi-year « salarié » (employee) card is submitted at the préfecture, and the renewal of a « student » card on ANEF.

Does the ANEF attestation de dépôt prove that my stay is legal? No. Service-Public says it is not a provisional residence document. The attestation de prolongation d'instruction, however, proves that your stay is legal.

Who should I contact if ANEF does not work for me? The Centre de Contact Citoyens, on 0 806 001 620 (free call) or by online form.

Civic exam and first multi-year card

For a first multi-year card requested for the same reason, Service-Public (F35799) asks you to show that you passed the civic exam, unless you are over 65. See the civic exam for the multi-year residence card, CSP (in French) and the free civic test (in French).

Do I have to take the civic exam? Take the 1-minute test

Sources

All read on 18 October 2026. Hexaciv is an independent service, not linked to the administration. General information, not legal advice.

Hexaciv is an independent tool for preparing the French civic exam. This is not an official site and is not affiliated with any ministry. Last updated: 2026-10-18.