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FRENCH RESIDENCY

What to do in case of problems with France’s online immigration services

Administration processes in France are rapidly moving online, especially those that concern immigration. For many people this is a welcome development but problems can arise if the system fails or for people not comfortable with using online platforms - immigration lawyer Paul Nicolaÿ explains your rights and recourse.

Published: 10 November 2023 12:23 CET
What to do in case of problems with France's online immigration services
What can you do when the computer says no? Photo by MEHDI FEDOUACH / AFP

The quick digitization of immigration procedures has not come without concerns about the accessibility and effectiveness of the platform set up by the French government, especially considering that, initially, there was no alternative for those who had difficulty using it.

Since then, the government was compelled to soften its position, and had to implement measures to assist users in need, and, if necessary, offer them another option.

Created in 2020, the ANEF platform (Administration Numérique des Etrangers en France) is now well-known to most foreign French residents for being the central website for almost all administrative paperwork related to immigration: not only applications for residence permits but also changes of address, declarations of loss of a residence card, applications for French naturalisation, etc.

Many users that were initially delighted to avoid the tremendous problems induced by the former system (giant queues in front of préfectures, extensive delays, cold reception by préfectures staff etc.) but soon they began to complain about the new platform’s many bugs, its lack of flexibility, and the absence of any alternative.

This is obviously an issue for those who lack a computer, internet access, or who are simply not familiar enough with the IT tool.

READ ALSO 7 handy shortcuts for French administration

Since 2021, préfectures are supposed to receive and assist any foreign user who cannot use the ANEF platform, for whatever reason. 

But only on June 3rd, 2022, did the Conseil d’Etat (French highest administrative Court) render a judgement forcing the government to implement an “alternative option” to ANEF, in case the latter proves inaccessible, even with the aforementioned assistance.

Finally, on August 1st, 2023, a government decree drew a detailed step-by-step process that must be followed by users in need of help. 

1 Send a message or call the Centre de contact citoyens (CCC)

The centre de contact citoyens (CCC) is, to sum things up, the “customer service” of the ANEF platform. It is attached to the agence nationale des titres sécurisés (ANTS) which is the agency in charge of running the ANEF from a technical standpoint.

They have no competence whatsoever in the field of immigration and nationality law and they cannot submit any application for you. However, they can provide some assistance and information in order to solve basic IT issues that are only related to the functioning of the ANEF.

You can reach them via the free phone number 0 806 001 620, or you can send them a written message through the platform itself by clicking on “contact us”.

Very often the assistance of the CCC proves insufficient. In such a case, the foreign user can seek a second type of help.

READ ALSO 8 French admin services that are available online

2 Schedule an appointment at the Point d’accueil numérique (PAN)

All préfectures are now supposed to host a point d’accueil numérique (PAN), ie a physical reception centre dedicated to foreign users. However, each préfecture can decide how they will be able to access it.

For example, in Paris, you can seek assistance at the two points d’accueil numérique (one located Rue Truffaut and the other Place Louis Lépine) by requesting an appointment by mail, by phone (34 30), or on the prefecture’s website.

This way, users can be given basic information on how to use the ANEF platform and, if necessary, be advised on the preparation of their digital file. However, the PAN is only an adviser and does not consist in a way to bypass the digital platform.

3 Schedule an appointment at the préfecture

If, after having requested the support of the CCC and the PAN, the user concerned still cannot achieve the submission of their application, then (and then only) the préfecture has to receive their file by another mean than ANEF.

Nonetheless, the impossibility for the user to submit their file through ANEF must be recognised by the préfecture itself. Moreover, the aforementioned government decree does not give much detail on what form these decisions will take, nor on any kind of timeline.

By exception, this impossibility can also be confirmed by a decision of the CCC, but under unknown conditions.

Once that confirmation is obtained, the user must appear physically by appointment to the préfecture’s offices for the submission of their application, in conditions that will be similar to the former procedure, involving the issuance of a temporary récépissé.

Considering how restrictive is the possibility offered to foreign applicants to avoid the ANEF platform, we clearly understand that the government did not intend to make of the latter an option among others, but rather the predominant intermediary between préfectures and the foreign public.

However, even if the aforementioned alternative is of limited access, it could prove necessary for a lot of people.

We still need to wait and see how it is implemented and if it really works.

Paul Nicolaÿ is a French lawyer based near Paris and specialising in French immigration and nationality law – find his website here.

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TRAVEL NEWS

What’s the deal with passport stamping in France?

There are clear guidelines in place about who should have their passport stamped when they enter or leave France - but the letter of the law doesn't always seem to be applied on the ground. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 17 May 2024 14:24 CEST
What's the deal with passport stamping in France?

When you pass through a French border control post, officers will check your passport and – in some cases – stamp the date of your entry or exit of the country onto one of the blank pages in the booklet.

Although the system should be clear and simple, it becomes complicated when conflicting information is given on the ground.

Here’s what the rules say, and whether it’s really a problem if your passport is incorrectly stamped.

Who should be stamped?

The purpose of the date stamps for entry and exit is to calculate how long you have been in France, and therefore whether you have overstayed your allowed time – whether that is the time allowed by a short-stay Schengen visa or the visa-free 90-day allowance that certain non-EU nationals benefit from. 

Those people who are exempt from 90-day restrictions should therefore not have their passports stamped.

EU passport – people who have an EU passport should not have it stamped, because they have the right to unlimited stays due to EU freedom of movement.

Dual nationals – people who have passports of both EU and non-EU countries should not be stamped when they are travelling on their EU passport. However, because the passports of dual nationals are not ‘linked’, those travelling on their non-EU passports will be stamped, unless they have other proof of residency.

READ ALSO What are the rules for dual-nationals travelling in France?

French residents – the passports of non-EU citizens who have a residency permit in France (carte de séjour) should not be stamped, because they have the right to stay in France for as long as their permit is valid.

Visa holders – people who have a long-stay visa or a short-stay visitor visa should not be stamped, because they have the right to stay in France for as long as their visa is valid. 

Tourists/visitors – people making short visits to France who do not have a visa should be stamped, with the stamps keeping track of their 90-day allowance. Visitors from nationalities who do not benefit from the 90-day rule (eg Indians) are also stamped.

Travel practicalities

When crossing a French border, you should present your passport along with other documents – visa or carte de séjour – if relevant. Don’t wait for border guards to ask whether you are a resident.

It should be noted that the carte de séjour is not a travel document and cannot be used to cross borders, not even internal Schengen zone borders. The only valid travel documents for entering France are a passport or national ID card. Any other forms of ID – driving licence, residency card etc – cannot be used for travel purposes.

Border problems

While the rules on stamping are simple in theory, many readers of The Local have reported having their passports incorrectly stamped at the border, and this seems to be a particular problem for non-EU nationals who are resident in France.

Travellers are also often given incorrect information by border guards – for example being told that only holders of the post-Brexit Article 50 TUE carte de séjour are exempt from stamping, that all non-EU nationals must have their passports stamped or that only being married to a French national exempts you from stamping.

None of these are correct.

It’s also sometimes the case that people whose passports should be stamped – tourists, visitors and second-home owners who don’t have a visa – do not receive the stamp. For frequent visitors this can be a problem because it looks as though they have had a long stay in France, due to their exit not being recorded.

The system of stamping itself is also a bit haphazard with stamps scattered throughout the passport book in random order, so border guards sometimes make mistakes and miss an entry or exit stamp and therefore think that people have overstayed when they haven’t.

So how much of a problem actually is it if your passport is wrongly stamped?

It’s one thing to know the rules yourself, it’s quite another to have an argument with a border guard, in French, when a long queue is building behind you. Numerous Local readers have reported feeling that they had no choice but to accept a stamp when an implacable guard insisted upon it.

But is this really a problem?

One thing is clear – if you are a resident of France then you have the right to re-enter, and your proof of residency (visa or carte de séjour) takes precedence over any passport stamps. So it’s not a question of being barred from the country – it can, however, be inconvenient as it might lead to delays at the border while your passport record is queried.

Meanwhile people who did not receive correct exit stamps can be incorrectly told that they have over-stayed and even be liable for a fine. 

Will the new EES passport control system improve this?

Theoretically, the EU’s new Entry & Exit System – which does away with the manual stamping of passports – should get rid of these problems.

However, as we have seen, theory and what actually happens on the ground are two different things.

The EES system, due to come into effect later this year, brings in two main changes – it makes passport checks more secure by adding diometric data such as fingerprints and facial scans and it does away with manual stamping of passports and replaces it with scans which automatically calculate how long people have been in France.

You can read full details of how it works HERE. 

So that should eliminate the problems of unclear stamps, stamps being read wrongly or passports not getting the stamps they need.

Residents in France – carte de séjour and visa holders – are not required to complete EES checks and should have a separate system at ports, airports and railway terminals.

However, at present it’s pretty common for border guards to give incorrect information to non-EU residents who are resident in the EU – let’s hope that they are properly briefed before EES is deployed.

Have you had problems with passports being incorrectly stamped? Please share your experiences in the comments section below

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