VisaFrance introduces ninety-day residence-decision rule from 30 October, with category exceptions
Newly operative provisions change the complete-file clock and an employment-renewal rule; silence does not amount to approval and new jobs may still require authorisation.
Official source date: 2026-10-29
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
The ninety-day clock starts with a complete residence application
France’s revised residence-permit procedure takes effect on 30 October 2026. The consolidated Article R432-2 of the immigration code now requires written notification of a decision as soon as possible and generally within ninety days after a complete application is lodged. Applicants should identify when their file became complete, rather than count automatically from the first appointment request or an unfinished online draft.
The change follows Decree 2026-1001, signed on 26 October and published on 29 October. Service Public’s employee-residence guidance flags the 30 October commencement and warns that its page is being updated. That matters because older explanatory passages can still describe a four-month silence period. Keep the acknowledgement, attachment receipts and any request for missing evidence together, so the relevant dates can be discussed accurately with the prefecture or an adviser.
Exceptions and administrative silence require a category check
Article R432-2 provides a possible thirty-day extension for a particularly complex application, with the authority informing the applicant. It excludes specified categories from that extension and provides separate exceptions to the general decision and silence provisions. Applicants must therefore check the precise card category rather than assume every residence file has an identical timetable.
The general rule also creates an implied refusal after ninety days from a complete application; it does not make silence an approval. A person approaching that point should seek advice about the applicable procedure and any challenge deadline rather than wait for a plastic card to arrive. Where a file was lodged before commencement, the reviewed public guidance does not resolve every transitional calculation. Ask the prefecture or a qualified adviser which rule applies to that existing case, without assuming the entire clock has restarted.
The six-month employment rule concerns first renewal
The newly effective Article R5221-36 of the Labour Code changes a separate issue: the first renewal of a work authorisation can be refused where the employment contract ended within six months after recruitment, except in cases of involuntary unemployment or serious employer breaches of the employment relationship. The current text should be checked when an early termination may affect the renewal file.
This provision should not be converted into a blanket instruction that every worker must remain with one employer for six months, or that changing jobs becomes automatically unrestricted afterwards. It concerns a possible ground for refusing the first renewal, and its exceptions matter. Retain evidence explaining why the contract ended, including the employer’s termination record and relevant correspondence. A worker alleging serious employer misconduct should obtain advice on the evidence and immigration consequences before relying on the exception.
A new contract still has its own authorisation process
Article R5221-1 separately requires a work-authorisation application for each new employment contract where that authorisation regime applies. It identifies the employer as the normal applicant and sets out the different responsible parties for specified overseas-posting arrangements. A shorter renewal-related period does not erase this separate filing requirement.
Service Public’s employee-residence checklist distinguishes continuing in the original job, unemployment and changing employers. For a job change, it identifies the previous employer’s France Travail termination evidence and the new employer’s electronic work authorisation. Personal documents include the relevant passport or identity evidence, existing permission, recent accommodation evidence and photographs. Use the actual branch matching your situation and the prefecture’s filing instructions; do not begin a new role solely because a general decision period has elapsed.
Keep renewal dates and fiscal charges separate from decision time
The employee-residence guidance directs relevant renewal applicants to file no later than two months before their permission expires and to check the local prefecture’s procedure. That filing deadline remains a different question from the authority’s decision clock. An expiring receipt or temporary document also needs attention through the competent service while the substantive application remains pending.
The separate Service Public fiscal-stamp update explains that, from 1 May 2026, a first temporary, multi-year or resident card generally carries a €350 charge, while renewals generally cost €250, with category-specific reduced rates and exemptions. Confirm the applicable charge before purchase; this October procedure change does not establish a universal new visa fee. The practical next steps are to identify the card and employment category, preserve proof of a complete file, maintain valid interim documentation and obtain timely advice if a refusal or silence deadline is approaching.
