France’s Interior Ministry says emergency measures introduced this spring to unclog prefecture backlogs for carte de séjour renewals are finally paying off. In comments to The Connexion on 23 September, officials reported that average national processing times dropped from 123 days in June to 114 days in July, while the stock of pending files fell 19 % between 31 March and 31 July. Key to the improvement is a reinforced ANEF online portal, automatic 12-month extensions of temporary attestations while files are reviewed, an end to off-list document requests and the hiring of 500 extra staff. Monthly performance dashboards are now escalated directly to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, whose office faced legal action from rights groups and the Conseil d’État over excessive delays earlier this year. For employers the easing of the logjam reduces the risk that foreign staff fall out of status—an issue that had already led multinationals in Hauts-de-Seine to delay project start-ups and arrange emergency travel freezes. Immigration lawyers, however, caution that regional disparities persist: the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture is still subject to a group lawsuit, and peak-season demand may yet expose weaknesses in the ANEF system. The ministry’s figures have not been independently audited and advocacy groups want a public dashboard similar to the UK Home Office’s weekly visa statistics. Still, the trend offers relief ahead of the year-end rush when many two-year and four-year cards expire. Mobility managers are encouraged to file renewals at the earliest six-month window and to retain proof of automatic extensions to avoid payroll or social-security complications.
Source: The Connexion
