Can French Brexit card be renewed early if need to return home?

Reader Question: I have a five-year Brexit card but have been living in France for eight years now. It expires in December 2026 but I need to return back to the UK for a family health issue, and expect to be there for two years or so. I asked to renew my card for a 10-year version and the prefecture told me to wait. Is there anything I can do? 

All holders of a five-year Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (WA) card will soon be required to update their cards for a 10-year version to stay on in France. 

These five-year cards were given to those who had not yet been living in France for five years at the time of Brexit, and had therefore not acquired permanent residency rights. 

They will all receive 10-year cards upon renewal, as they will have been living here at least five years, however in some cases such as yours this mark will have already been passed prior to this. 

French authorities generally recommend that you should apply for your card to be renewed around two months before its expiry date. 

In your case this is too late as you will already be out of France. 

However, the Withdrawal Agreement and the French decree putting it into action state that you can apply for the 10-year card – as soon as five years of residency is met – and this was also reaffirmed by the British Embassy earlier this year.

Furthermore, an official page about Britons’ cards was updated recently to confirm this rule and official information is provided here on the documents needed when doing so. 

However, as you need to apply through the prefecture and they have already told you when to apply, this may be tricky.

If you approach them again, we suggest not using the expression ‘renouvellement’ (renewal) in this case, but simply say you are requesting the 10-year ‘carte de séjour permanent’ that is your right after five years of ‘résidence stable et régulière’, as stated in the 2020 French decree on Britons’ residency documents (tinyurl.com/decret-titre). 

This should help avoid any confusion, as ‘renewal’ typically refers to replacing an expiring card, which is not the case here (also, ‘renewal’ often refers to situations where the replacement card has the same status as the first).

You could also show the information linked to above about required documents. 

There have, however, been reports of inconsistent attitudes at different prefectures. It is hoped that in due course a centralised online system will be provided, but this may be too late for you. 

Permanent residency rights already available 

It is worth noting that in theory, according to the WA, you receive permanent residency rights – that include the ability to spend more time outside of France than on a five-year card – after five years of consecutively living in the country, regardless of the type of card held. 

People with ‘permanent’ WA rights can spend up to five years outside of France without needing to return and will still retain their rights, which means you would remain unimpacted by a two-year absence. 

Understandably, however, it will be more reassuring to you to have the appropriate card as proof. 

People on five-year cards and who do not yet have ‘permanent’ residency rights can in theory only spend six consecutive months outside France or 10 in total in their five five years in France, however longer absences may be permissible for reasons deemed ‘exceptional’. 

Seek help with renewal 

If further requests to the prefecture meet with a refusal, you could engage an immigration avocat (lawyer) to help you, based on your WA and French decree rights. 

He or she may be able to help you apply ‘early’ – even if your prefecture has advised otherwise. 

However, before taking this step we would advise making a formal written appeal to the prefecture by recorded-delivery letter (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception) explaining the reasons you believe you meet the conditions for renewal, including proof of living in France for more than five years.

In this case, we recommend citing the French decree article that shows the 10-year card may be obtained once the five-year threshold has been reached. Further information on how to send the appeal can be found here on the Service public site.