Applying for the renewal of a « Passeport talent – chercheur » residence permit

Researchers wishing to stay in France beyond the expiry date of their residence permit must apply for a renewal with the prefecture of their place of residence between 2 and 4 months before the expiry date of the residence permit.

The procedure has to be made on line on the Administration Numérique des Etrangers en France (ANEF) web site. It is dealt by the local préfecture according to the home address of the applicant.

List of the documents to be submitted for the request of the renewal of the Passeport Talent Chercheur residence card

The documents to be submitted are as follows (documents to be scanned or photographed for the dematerialised procedure) :

• valid « passeport talent » residence card : visa + confirmation of online validation of the visa or multi-year residence card ;
• passport (pages related to marital status, validity dates and entry stamps) ;
• [depending on the prefectures, you can be asked for a birth certificate]
• proof of address less than 6 months old :
  • if tenant: electricity bill (or gas, water, landline telephone or Internet service bill) or rental lease agreement less than 6 months old or rent receipt or housing tax statement ;
  • if staying at a hotel: hotelier’s certificate and last month’s bill ;
  • if staying with an individual : statement from the host (« attestation d’hébergement ») dated and signed by the host, with a copy of his/her identity card or residence card, deed of ownership (or the host’s statement of residence tax or copy of the rental lease agreement or the host’s electricity, gas, water, landline telephone or Internet service bill).
• e-photo ;
• new « convention d’accueil »(hosting agreement) or extension, subscribed with a public or private body with a previously approved research or higher education mission ;

Specific additional documents :

• if the researcher is enrolled in an institution to prepare a doctoral dissertation, also provide an employment contract executed with the host organisation on the same subject as that of the dissertation and a diploma at least equivalent to a master’s degree ;
• In the case of a change of status from student to researcher : diploma at least equivalent to a Master degree (master 2) ;
• for researchers wishing to renew their residence permit on the basis of their rights for unemployment benefits : provide the Pôle-Emploi certificate indicating the duration and the amount of the benefit or, if it has not yet been obtained, the documents delivered by the employer at the end of the work contract (the « certificat de travail » and the « attestation de l’employeur destinée à Pôle-Emploi »).

Progress of the procedure of the request for the renewal

In the past, the researcher received a receipt (« récépissé ») when applying for the renewal of his/her residence permit, then was invited to go and pick up his/her residence card.With the dematerialised procedure, there is no more issue of receipts.

Following the filing of his/her application on the ANEF web site, the researcher receives successive certificates ( « attestations ») as and when his/her application is being processed by the agents of the prefecture on which he/she depends:

• first, a certificate of filing a renewal application : « Confirmation du dépôt d’une demande de renouvellement »,
• then a certificate of extension of instruction for the application « attestation de prolongation d’instruction de demande de titre de séjour » (processing of the application is underway)
• and finally a positive decision certificate, « attestation de décision favorable » (if the request is accepted).

The last two certificates extend the rights given by the mention of the renewed residence permit. Everything is specified on the certificate.

It is possible to download the certificates within the personal account created on the ANEF web site.

It is not necessary to go to the prefecture anymore. The certificates replace the receipts (« récépissés »), while the residence card is being made.

On the day of the appointment, researchers must pay a € 225 tax in the form of a tax stamp.

Purchase of the tax stamp

Online on the ANEF web site (save and print your receipt)

There is no need to buy a tax stamp (timbre fiscal) when you submit your residence permit request (the stamp may expire before use) because it will only be requested when you obtain your residence permit. Thus, you can purchase it just before retrieving your residence permit at the police headquarters (prefecture).

Information about e-photos

Only professional photographers and approved photo booths such as Photomatons can provide photographs and a digital signature that are compatible with the visa request teleservice. They can be identified by a blue sticker that indicates « Agréé services en ligne ANTS » (Online approval services from the French National Agency for Secure Documents).

Once your photo is taken, you are asked to ad your signature using a pen to a tablet or touching the screen. It is important to write your real signature and not a point or a sign to allow the making of your residence permit.

• Your photos will be printed in the same way as they are for a normal photo.
• You will also receive an individualised 22-number code. When you are filling out your online residence permit request form on the ANEF website, you need just indicate this number in order to link it to the photo and the digital signature.