Moroccan Man, 58, Born in France Faces Residency Limbo and Financial Strain

Born in Nord-Pas-De-Calais, Abdellah, a 58-year-old Moroccan, finds himself "living off his son" and "with 2,224 € in unpaid rent" because he is struggling to renew his residence permit. He can no longer work since the expiration of the precious document. He claims that he sent his renewal request via the ANEF website in November 2023 and that he only received two receipts for six and three months. After that, nothing. Without the possibility of inquiring about the progress of his file at the Caen prefecture, the MRE confides that he feels "taken hostage."

The fifty-year-old can only connect to the ANEF website, which still displays the message "file under review." Like Abdellah, many are experiencing this ordeal. "Do we put ourselves in these people’s shoes for a second?" denounce in unison the departmental councilors of Calvados, Edith Heuzé, Antoine Casini, and Martine Kerguélen, to Ouest-France.

Contacted by phone, the Caen prefecture provides explanations. It appears that they have recorded "a 27% increase in residence permit applications between 2021 and 2024," during the period when the ANEF platform and the dematerialized procedure were launched. According to them, the dematerialization of the residence permit renewal procedure in France, instead of being a panacea, represents a huge difficulty for immigrants who submit their applications. The transition to the dematerialized procedure has had "an impact within the immigration services, which had to rethink their operating methods and overcome computer bugs," indicate the state services.

Taking stock of the situation, the Caen prefecture intends to "strengthen its staff in the second half of the year." It is also working on launching two "destocking operations," aimed at prioritizing the renewal of so-called "employee" permits.