Background:  

The Sub-Directorate for Residence and Employment of the General Directorate for Foreign Nationals in France (DGEF - Ministry of the Interior) is facing difficulties with regard to the renewal of residence permits in the prefectures. In practice, long processing times for renewal of residence permits have led to breaches of rights for foreign nationals. For this reason, France has put in place several measures, such as the issuance of a temporary residence permit, digitalisation of the procedure, and improved guidance throughout the administrative process, to try to reduce processing times at the prefectures.  

Respondents:  

23 EMN Member and Observer Countries (including BE) provided a public answer to this ad hoc query.  

Findings: 

A preliminary analysis of the results of the ad hoc query shows that:  

• The place where applications for the renewal of residence permits are received and issued varies among EMN Member and Observer Countries. In most countries, applications for the renewal of residence permits, as well as their issuance, are carried out by local, regional, or national government institutions. However, in some countries, this task is (partially) assigned to (local) police (and border guard) services (e.g. EE, HR and SK).  

• Deadlines for submission of the application for renewal of a residence permit differ slightly among EMN Member and Observer Countries. Some countries have defined the earliest instance at which an application for the renewal of a residence permit may be submitted, for example, no earlier than 6 months prior to the expiration date (e.g. NL). Other countries stipulate the latest date at which such an application should be filed, for example, no later than 1 month prior to the expiration date (e.g. HU). 

• Initiatives such as the Bridging Visa in CZ provide a temporary solution in cases where a residence permit has expired, and a new residence permit has been applied for but has not yet been issued. The Bridging Visa allows the individual to travel outside of CZ. Other EMN Member and Observer countries also indicate having such temporary residence permits available. However, these temporary residence permits do not always allow the individual to travel (e.g. BE, PL). 

• Other measures that EMN Member and Observer Countries employ to avoid situations of interruption of residence of third-country nationals in their country include, for example, an automatic notification system that informs the individual that their residence permit will soon expire (e.g. EE, LU), digital platforms facilitating the online submission of application for the renewal of residence permits (e.g. DE, ES, FR, GE, NL), the availability of an accelerated procedure (e.g. IT, LU, LT) and the creation of a flexible, non-location based Foreigners’ Case Processing Unit that can take on case processing tasks for immigration offices that are facing staff shortages or a high caseload (ES). 

For further details, please read the compilation of the answers attached above.