The long road to residency for foreigners in France

For many foreigners in France, applying for a residence visa can be a long and hard-fought battle. For several years now, local prefectures have been taking appointments electronically and applicants are required to carry out administrative procedures on the internet. However, the demand for visas is so high it can take up to a year to score a highly-sought-after appointment. In the meantime, foreigners are unable to work legally and live in fear of being deported at any time. Our reporters investigate the long road to residency for foreigners in France.

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In the vast majority of French prefectures, online appointment scheduling has now become the norm. But while the shift to digital was supposed to simplify the administrative process, in practice it has led to longer delays in obtaining appointments. Applicants trying for a time slot are repeatedly met with the following message: "There are no more available time slots for your appointment request. Please try again later". Some people take months, or even longer, before obtaining a slot that is an essential step in the residency process.

Many foreigners who want to formalise their situation or renew their residence visa can find themselves caught up in a Kafkaesque system. Sometimes, if they don't get an appointment within the allotted time, they’re left without the required legal papers, automatically falling into a precarious situation. They then run the risk of being arrested and locked up in an administrative detention centre. This was the case for 33-year-old Idrissa, who was finally returned to Senegal after eight years in France.
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