The Interior Ministry says an emergency action plan launched in spring 2026 is finally paying off: average processing times for residency-card applications fell from 123 days in June to 114 days in July, and the national backlog shrank 19 % by 31 July. The update, published 23 September, follows legal pressure from the Défenseur des droits and a Council-of-State ruling that ordered the state to fix its glitch-prone ANEF online portal within six months. Key measures include: 500 extra staff deployed to prefecture immigration units, automatic 12-month extensions for expired récépissés, and a ban on requesting non-listed documents. Monthly KPI dashboards now land on Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez’s desk, a sign that residency processing has become a political priority. For employers, the improvement could shave weeks off onboarding timelines for non-EU hires, especially in Paris and Hauts-de-Seine where delays had exceeded four months. Faster card renewals also reduce the risk of employees falling into illegal-status limbo—an exposure that can trigger compliance fines. Nevertheless, lawyers report that some prefectures continue to demand in-person appointments for trivial updates, contradicting ministry guidance. Companies should keep screenshots of the ANEF submission receipts and escalate unreasonable document requests via the ministry’s dedicated ombudsman. The ministry hinted at further digital upgrades: biometric self-service kiosks will roll out in 15 pilot prefectures by December, allowing foreign residents to capture fingerprints and photos without queueing—a step that brings France closer to the fully online models used in Denmark and Estonia.
Source: The Connexion
