I submitted my residence permit renewal application this morning at the Préfecture de Police, Centre de Réception des Étrangers (CRE) in the 17th arrondissement, on rue Truffaut. Some field observations to save you stress and time during your own appointment.
Time: Set aside the entire day
My scheduled appointment was at 11:00 AM. My file was actually processed at 1:30 PM. This is normal—it's standard practice. Set aside the whole day, bring something to do (a book, laptop, phone charger), and don't schedule any other commitments for the afternoon.
Bring a pen
A trivial but crucial detail: bring a black ink pen in your bag. You will need to fill out a double-sided form on-site titled «Délégation à l'immigration — Partie à remplir par l'étranger (à l'encre noire)». Without a pen, you'll have to borrow one from someone in line, which is more awkward than it sounds, and staff won't lend you theirs.
The first field on the form: «Titre de séjour demandé»
The most important line, right below the title. A common mistake: people write the administrative code for the permit (CST 1, CST 2, PT, etc.), because that's what appears on the summons letter.
Do not write the code. Write out the category name in full. Examples:
- Vie privée et familiale (spouse of a French citizen, parent of a French child, personal ties, etc.)
- Salarié (employee)
- Commerçant (business owner/director)
- Étudiant (student)
- Passeport talent (talent passport)
The officer receiving your file won't decipher an internal code like CST2 without context. Clearly state what you are applying for.
Documents: Copy or Original?
Main rule, counter-intuitive but confirmed by experience:
Only the passport (and the old residence permit, in case of renewal) needs to be presented as an original.
For everything else—proof of address, civil status documents, pay slips, certificates, K-bis (company registration), invoices, tax returns, etc.—a photocopy is sufficient.
Specifically:
- You can bring all originals just in case (marriage certificate, children's birth certificates, lease agreement, etc.), but in practice, the officer won't look at them or keep them.
- However, each document must be accompanied by a photocopy that stays in the file. It is the photocopy that remains at the Préfecture, not the original.
Practical consequence: Always prepare a photocopy of everything, including the passport (identity page + visa/entry stamp page) and the expiring residence permit. The originals go home with you.
The form has two sides
The front is filled out by you (personal details: first name, last name, date and place of birth, nationality, address, marital status, parents, spouse, children).
The back is filled out by the officer. Do not touch it, do not fill it out in advance, leave it blank.
In summary
- Expect 2 to 3 hours of waiting after your scheduled time.
- Bring a black ink pen.
- On the form, write out the category name in full, never the code (CST 2 → «Vie privée et familiale» or the corresponding actual category).
- Originals: passport + old residence permit only.
- Photocopies: everything else, always.
- The back of the form is reserved for administration.
Good luck with your process.