France Extends Foreign Residence Permits and Asylum Certificates Amid COVID-19 Crisis

The legislative institution has adopted the extension of 6 months of the validity of the residence permits of foreigners and 3 months of the asylum application certificates.

After the announcement by the Ministry of the Interior at the end of April, to extend by six months the residence permits, receipts and long-stay visas that expired between March 16 and May 15, the French parliament has just given its approval. According to the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, the measure voted by the deputies inscribes this principle in the law and takes into account the "two months of confinement", which prevented the "support" of the persons concerned.

Suspended due to the lockdown decreed on March 17 because of the coronavirus epidemic, the administrative procedures for the renewal of residence permits, which allow people to work or access social rights, have resumed with a vengeance in most prefectures and sub-prefectures of France.

Since the resumption of procedures, the presentation of files will now only be done upon summons, after making an appointment with the relevant service. In Île-de-France, the registration devices for residence and asylum applications will not be reopened to the general public until next June and "on a date to be specified later".