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AMERICANS IN FRANCE

Reader question: Do I need to change the address on my carte de séjour if I move house?

Non-EU citizens, including Britons, living permanently in France who do not have dual nationality of another EU country are required to hold a residency permit, known as a carte de séjour.

Published: 16 July 2021 16:34 CEST
Updated: 18 November 2021 14:18 CET
Reader question: Do I need to change the address on my carte de séjour if I move house?
Photo: Jean-Pierre Muller | AFP

Once you receive your card, you will notice that your home address is printed on the document.

So if you subsequently move after receiving your card, you need to change the address.

You have three months from the date you move to inform authorities of your change of address. In common with many aspects of public administration these days, the process can be started online here. 

If you are moving house but staying within the same département, your address change is handled by the préfecture which issued your card.

If you have moved to a different départment, you will need to contact the préfecture responsible for your new home. Again, the process can be started online. Be aware that additional documentation may be required.

Requests made online will be directed to the préfecture or sub-préfecture of the place of residence for further directions. 

Once you have made the request you do not need to do anything else unless you are contacted with a request for extra documentation.

Once the renewal process is complete, and all requested documents verified, a new carte de séjour will be issued.

Problems accessing the online portal 

Many of you have written to us after experiencing difficulty accessing the online platform to change your address. 

The online process is fairly new and it seems that it doesn’t work for everyone, with several Local readers who got the post-Brexit carte de séjour for UK nationals reporting that their card number is not recognised. 

In order to create the online account necessary to change your address, you must enter your visa or titre de séjour number (also known as a numéro AGDREF). This is a 13-digit number which on a standard carte de séjour is either along the top or the side, as below.

On the post-Brexit carte de séjour it is listed as the Numéro personnel and is just above the signature on the card.

Unfortunately, the online portal often bugs and displays a message indicating that your number is not recognised. 

If this happens, you need to book an appointment at the préfecture which issued your card in the first place. If the system doesn’t recognise your card number then it may not be possible to use the préfecture’s online booking system.

Préfecture appointment

If you’re unable to use the online booking system you will have to either email, call or show up at the préfecture and explain the situation in as much detail as possible. It may be worth taking screenshots showing that the online system rejected your card number.

Different préfectures have different systems but in Paris, where carte de séjour applications are dealt with by the Préfecture du Police, the online form to send such a mail, can be found here or email [email protected] 

Préfectures will then send you either an appointment, or a letter inviting you to visit when convenient. Some have their own list of required documents which can be different to the ones demanded by the online portal, so take careful note of what they are asking you for.

READ ALSO Visas and residency permits: How to move to France (and stay here)

Is the carte de séjour compulsory? 

The residency permit has always been required for non-EU nationals and since Brexit that includes Brits.

Under the Brexit Withdrawal agreement, Britons who were already resident in France before December 31st 2020 have the right to continue living here – BUT they need to apply for the carte de séjour.

Application for this is compulsory for almost every Briton – including people who have been in France for a long time, people married to French or EU nationals and people who previously held a European carte de séjour. Only those who have dual nationality with an EU country are exempt from this requirement.

The deadline for applications for the post-Brexit residency cards was September 30th – but Brits have until January 1st 2022 before they are legally required to be in possession of the card.

Member comments

  3. We’ve not moved, but we have been given a “proper” road name and number (was Lieu-Dit…) Should we still have this corrected?

  4. We moved house a few weeks ago and have to make an appointment online to be able to collect the new cards from Laval.
    There are 3 cards which need a separate appointment for each of us. Bizarre as the originals were sent by registered post.
    There is a fee payable for the new cards too which has to be paid by Timbres Fiscal/stamps. It is either 25 or 29 euro’s, unfortunately the price is handwritten on our letter and is illegible.

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READER QUESTION

How do you get a British passport for a baby born in France?

While French citizenship is not automatic for children born in France, those who are born to British parents are entitled to British nationality (and therefore a passport) from birth. Here's how to apply for the passport.

Published: 3 May 2024 16:06 CEST
How do you get a British passport for a baby born in France?

A child born in France to British parents who  are living over here will be considered British and will therefore – initially at least – need a British passport in order to travel overseas.

This is because the process to become French, even for those born on French soil, is not a given. Unlike countries, such as the USA which confers citizenship automatically to anyone born on US soil – with all the benefits and issues that may have in later life (yes, we’re looking at you, FATCA), the process is rather more complicated for children born in France to foreign parents.

READ ALSO Guide: How to request French nationality for your child

But the child will be considered British from birth, which means that a British passport will be required for any trips outside of the country.

Registration

First of all, you can register your France-born child’s birth with British authorities, so that it is recorded in the UK with the General Register Office or at the National Records Office of Scotland.

Parents do not have to do this, but if you choose to, you can then order a consular birth registration certificate for a fee.

Passport

However, Britons born in France can still apply for a British passport, even if their birth was not originally registered with UK authorities.

Assuming the first application for a passport is made while the applicant is still a child, you can find the online process here, on the British Government website.

If you’re applying for a passport for your child, you will need to supply:

  • A suitable digital photograph of the child/baby – examples of acceptable photographs are displayed here … good luck!
  • Original or certified copies of any necessary supporting documents, plus translations as necessary;
  • And payment, using a credit or debit card. The fee for a standard passport is £101 for an adult, and £65.50 for a child, plus a £19.86 courier fee. NB: you can also apply by post, but it is cheaper online.

For reference, supporting documents will include:

  • The child’s birth certificate – plus a translation, unless you previously registered with the consulate / UK authorities;
  • One of your parents’ birth certificates / naturalisation / registration certificates. If this is your father, his marriage certificate to your mother

To get copies of birth, marriage or death certificates issued in England or Wales, go to www.gov.uk/bmdcertificates

For documents issued in Northern Ireland, go to www.nidirect.gov.uk and for Scotland go to www.nrscotland.gov.uk

You will need to pay a fee for the certificates, and normally these can only be sent by mail so allow time for delivery.

On a first application, you will also need to have a countersignatory confirm the applicant’s identity.

They need to confirm that, to the best of their knowledge, the details you have given in your application are correct, and they must also confirm that the photo is of the applicant – it’s possible to do this this online, you provide their details and they will receive an email from the passport office.

For child applications (aged under 16) it is also to confirm that they have known, for at least 2 years, the adult who signed the declaration in section 9 of the application form. They must also confirm that the person has parental responsibility for the child and confirm the child’s photo is a true likeness.

The countersignatory must:

  • have known you personally for at least two years – they can be a friend, neighbour or colleague but not a relation by birth or marriage
  • be a ‘professional person’ or a person of ‘good standing in their community’ – you can find a list of the accepted professions here (journalists and MPs are decreed to be sufficiently respectable professions – go figure)
  • live in the UK;
  • hold a current British or Irish passport.

Once you have made the application, you will receive the passport through the mail. Waiting times are usually around the same as renewing an adult UK passport.

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