VisaBritish residents in France renew five-year Withdrawal Agreement cards through their prefecture
Holders approaching expiry should use the local renewal route and prepare evidence for the ten-year permanent card.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
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Identify the five-year card and its replacement
This guide is for British nationals and qualifying family members in France whose five-year Withdrawal Agreement residence card is approaching expiry. Check that the card refers to Article 50 TUE and Article 18(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement. It is not a renewal route for every British citizen living in France, or for an ordinary residence permit obtained after moving there under the post-Brexit immigration system.
Service Public explains that at least five years of residence allows an application for the ten-year permanent Withdrawal Agreement card. It directs applicants to the prefecture for their home address, where arrangements can involve online filing, post or an appointment. Its national renewal checklist includes a valid passport, address evidence, three identity photographs, the expiring card and evidence of relevant changes such as marriage, divorce or widowhood.
Prepare local evidence and resolve the filing-window discrepancy
The Côtes-d’Armor prefecture’s specific 2026 notice illustrates why the local instructions matter. Its checklist adds a birth certificate and evidence of presence in France during the preceding five years, such as tax notices or water and electricity bills. It specifies French address evidence less than six months old, alongside the valid passport, expiring card and any civil-status changes. Keep the sequence of residence records understandable rather than sending an unexplained collection of bills.
The notice requires its linked Démarches simplifiées procedure and says not to send a paper dossier. It calls for applications three months before expiry, whereas Service Public specifies the two months preceding expiry. These are different published instructions. Residents should seek clarification from that prefecture when approaching the earlier point, rather than silently treating the windows as identical. The notice also says appointment arrangements will be published later; an indexed instruction does not establish that an appointment is available now.
Distinguish permanent residence, card validity and the fee
The governing decree provides for a ten-year permanent card after five years of residence while lawfully staying under the relevant Withdrawal Agreement provisions. Article 21 therefore concerns qualifying residence, not simply possession of a plastic card bearing a five-year validity period. A person with a complicated residence history should present it accurately and ask the prefecture which evidence establishes the applicable condition.
Article 11 makes issue and renewal under the decree free of charge. Article 10 gives holders access to professional activity within the applicable legislation. There is no residence-card tax to infer from a different French immigration category. The decree also distinguishes the permanent document’s printed validity from absence rules: Article 23 says a permanent card is no longer valid after more than five consecutive years outside France. Do not apply that permanent-status rule automatically to the earlier qualifying residence period.
Use today’s prefecture procedure instead of the closed original portal
The French government’s Brexit guidance says the original dedicated application website closed on 4 October 2021. That historical closure does not mean that a holder cannot renew now. The same guidance has a specific renewal answer directing holders to locally organised procedures, including Démarches simplifiées, postal filing or an appointment at the prefecture. Follow the renewal instructions for the present home department rather than an old first-application deadline.
This distinction also matters for someone who never obtained a Withdrawal Agreement card. The government describes separate situations for eligible late first applications, newly adult children and qualifying arriving family members. Those are not resolved by selecting a renewal form for a card the person never held. Identify the actual administrative task before uploading a passport or sending civil-status records. The existence of an online form elsewhere in France does not establish that it accepts residents of another department.
Track the application and check travel evidence before leaving
The UK government’s current Living in France guidance expressly warns against using the general ANEF renewal service for this task. It advises keeping contact information current and checking spam folders for appointment and collection notices. When asking the prefecture about an application, include the foreign-national identification number printed on the card and the case reference. Retain submission evidence and any subsequent requests so the office can locate the file.
For unresolved problems, the guide identifies a French Interior Ministry Brexit support contact after the prefecture has been approached. It asks for identity details, prefecture, card expiry, reference and a brief account of steps already taken. It also advises following prefecture guidance before travel and, where a récépissé has been issued during renewal, carrying it with the valid passport and previous residence card. This reporting does not establish that a particular applicant has received that document or can travel on an expired card alone.
