Last updated: 17 March 2026

This post is a collection of the information collected during my research into the carte de résident de 10 ans . This is simply a translation and gathering of information on this specific residency permit. Please always check your préfecture or sous-préfecture for the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding your personal situation.

How I Applied for My French 10-Year Residency Card

After a few years of annual and then two-year renewals, there comes a point in the French residency process where you become eligible for something far more appealing: the carte de résident de 10 ans. Ten years without a renewal. Ten years of not assembling a dossier, not booking a préfecture appointment, not waiting on a récépissé. I applied as the spouse of a French national and I got it. Here is how the whole thing worked.

Important note: The requirements for the carte de résident changed significantly in January 2026 under the 2024 immigration law. The language threshold and the civic exam requirement are both new. If you are applying now, read the updated requirements section carefully before you start putting your dossier together.

What Is the Carte de Résident de 10 Ans?

The carte de résident is a 10-year renewable residency permit. It is not the same as the carte de séjour pluriannuelle (which runs 2 to 4 years) and it is not naturalisation. It sits between the two: a long-term, stable right to live and work in France without having to renew every couple of years.

It can be issued either as a first permit (in specific circumstances) or as a renewal of an existing residency permit. The decision to grant it rests entirely with the préfecture. You can request it, but you cannot demand it. This request is made at the time of the renewal of your current titre de séjour.

As the spouse of a French national, you become eligible after 3 years of marriage and 3 years of regular, uninterrupted residence in France, provided the marital community of life has been maintained throughout.

Requirements as of January 2026

The 2024 immigration law introduced two new conditions that apply to all first-time carte de résident applications from January 2026 onwards. These are in addition to the existing requirements.

Existing Requirements (Spouse of a French National)

Married to a French national for a minimum of 3 years (1 year if you are Tunisian)
3 years of regular, uninterrupted residence in France
Continuous community of life with your French spouse
Your spouse holds French nationality at the time of application
If your marriage was celebrated abroad: transcription of the marriage into the French civil registry

New Requirements from January 2026

French language certificate at B1 level minimum (previously A2 was sufficient)
Attestation of success at the national civic exam (examen civique) — passing is now a legal condition of obtaining the carte de résident; the préfecture can refuse the card without it

Note on the civic exam: This is a separate step from the formation civique training. You register independently at an accredited centre (CCIP or France Education International) and there is a registration fee of approximately 70 to 80 euros.

Note for applicants over 65: The B1 language requirement and the civic exam requirement do not apply if you are over 65.

Documents to Prepare

The dossier for a carte de résident as a spouse of a French national is broadly similar to what you will have submitted at previous renewals, with a few additions. Your préfecture may ask for more or fewer documents depending on your individual situation. Always check the list specific to your préfecture before finalising your dossier.

Here’s everything that I submitted for my application:

Proof of Civil Status

Copy of my current carte de séjour, front and back
Completed form for the renewal request
Passport: information page, visa page, and entry stamp page
Most recent EDF bill (both names on the contract)

Proof of Married Life Together

Declaration of common life, signed by both of us
EDF contract for our apartment (both names present)
Habitation tax
Tax returns since we started filing them
Letter to previous landlord to add my name to the lease after our marriage
Letter to previous landlord with our intention to leave that apartment
Lease for current apartment
Pages from our livret de famille
French wedding licence
Thomas’s nationality card, front and back

One thing I did not need to include: a copy of my birth certificate, since I already held a current and valid carte de séjour. Confirm whether this applies to your situation with your préfecture.

Submitting the Application Online

Update for 2025 and beyond: When I submitted my application, Hauts-de-Seine required submissions through Démarches Simplifiées, which I accessed using my FranceConnect account. This has changed. Applications for the carte de résident as a conjoint de français are now submitted through ANEF — the Administration Numérique pour les Étrangers en France. ANEF is the national platform that has replaced individual préfecture portals for most residency permit categories, including renewals and first-time carte de résident applications for spouses of French nationals. If you are applying now, this is where you go.

The underlying process is broadly the same regardless of platform, and my experience with how to organise and submit your dossier still applies: When saving your documents, include your first and last name and the document type in the filename. It is a small thing but it makes it easier for whoever is processing your file to identify documents at a glance.

On ANEF, you will create a personal account (using FranceConnect or a direct login), complete your application form online, and upload your documents. The platform gives you an attestation de dépôt , a digital confirmation of receipt, immediately upon submission. This replaces the old récépissé. Note that the attestation de dépôt is not proof of legal right to remain; if your current permit expires before your new one arrives, you will receive an attestation de prolongation d’instruction (ADP) via your ANEF account, which is what authorises your continued stay during processing.

A timing note: you can submit your application no earlier than 4 months and no later than 2 months before your current permit expires. My first submission was rejected because I applied too early, outside that window. I duplicated the application and resubmitted when the timing was right. On ANEF, as on Démarches Simplifiées, the platform saves your progress, so resubmitting is straightforward once you are in the window.

About a month after my second submission was acknowledged, I received a message that my application had been accepted and that further instructions would follow. Those instructions led to picking up the card.

If you run into technical difficulties with ANEF, the Centre de Contact Citoyen (CCC) is the support line: 0806 001 620.

The Result

I got the 10-year card. After years of annual renewals and then two-year renewals, it was a genuine relief to have a decade of stability in hand. The process itself was not dramatically different from a standard renewal, the dossier is bigger, the stakes feel higher, but the mechanics are the same.

If you are coming up on eligibility, start gathering your community of life documents well in advance. Two documents per month for the three months preceding your application is a minimum. Having them organised before you start the online form makes the whole thing considerably less stressful.