To renew your Brexit WARP carte de séjour in France, apply through your préfecture — online via the ANEF portal where available — starting about two months before it expires. Renewal is free, with no language test and no income requirement. A récépissé keeps you legal while you wait. Most renewals now produce a 10-year card.
Updated June 2026. If you are a UK national living in France, 2026 is the year a very large cohort of WARP cards comes up for renewal. Most Withdrawal Agreement cards were issued in 2021 with five years' validity, so they expire in 2025 and 2026 — and the renewal wave is now in full swing.
French authorities estimate that around 50,000 British nationals need to renew their cards during this 2025–2026 window. That is a lot of people doing the same procedure at the same time, which is exactly why the préfectures and the official portal are under pressure right now.
The good news: because the WARP is a Withdrawal Agreement card, your right to live in France is already protected. Renewal is a formality to get a fresh physical card — not a re-assessment of whether you can stay. The bad news is that the process varies by département and the online portal has had well-documented technical problems, so it pays to start early and know exactly what you're entitled to.
If you want the wider picture first, read our companion post-Brexit carte de séjour guide for UK nationals, and AdminLanding's free post-Brexit guide.
This article is general information, not personalised legal advice. Préfecture processes differ — always confirm the exact procedure on the official ANEF portal and your own préfecture's website.
WARP stands for Withdrawal Agreement Residence Permit — the French titre de séjour issued to UK nationals who were legally resident in France before 31 December 2020. On the card itself you'll see the mention "Accord de retrait du Royaume-Uni de l'UE / Article 50 TUE", or on the permanent version "Séjour permanent — Article 50 TUE".
France implemented this under Décret n°2020-1417 du 19 novembre 2020. The card exists because the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement (Part Two) guarantees that British citizens already living in an EU country before Brexit keep broadly the same residence rights they had as EU citizens.
That protected status is the whole reason your renewal is so much simpler than a standard third-country carte de séjour: you are not being asked to re-qualify. As long as you have continued to live in France, your right to renew is essentially automatic.
The WARP is a protected, renewable right — not a discretionary permit.
Timing matters, and the window is narrower than people expect.
Apply about two months before expiry — not earlier, not later.
If you have a trip planned or your passport is close to expiry, sort those out first: you'll want a valid passport for the renewal and a récépissé in hand before you travel.
This is the part where uniformity breaks down, so read it carefully.
The renewal is increasingly handled online via the ANEF portal (Administration Numérique pour les Étrangers en France) at administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr. But not every préfecture uses the same channel:
Procedures change, so the only reliable source is your own préfecture's website and the ANEF portal. Note too that in May 2026 the Conseil d'État ordered the Interior Ministry to fix "grave dysfunctions" in the ANEF portal within six months — so if the site misbehaves, you are not alone, and keeping screenshots and confirmation emails of every step is wise.
If the ANEF interface is confusing — and for many people it is — AdminLanding's Guide walks you through ANEF, the préfecture, and 23 French government sites step by step, annotating each field in English as you fill it in.
Exact lists vary by préfecture, but the core dossier for a WARP renewal is short — there is no proof-of-income, no employment contract, no language certificate.
| Document | Notes | |
| --- | --- | |
| Valid passport | Make sure it has several months' validity left | |
| Your current WARP card | The expiring "Article 50 TUE" card | |
| Justificatif de domicile | Proof of address, usually issued in the last 3–6 months | |
| Proof of continued residence in France | Tax notice (avis d'imposition), utility bills, etc. | |
| ePhoto / photo code | Or 3 standard passport photos where the préfecture still asks for them | |
| Email / phone for ANEF | To receive your récépissé and status updates |
For the photo, use an approved photo booth or photographer and ask for the ePhoto (e-photo) format, which generates the digital code the ANEF portal needs. Some préfectures request extra items (such as a birth certificate), so always check the liste des pièces for your area.
If your préfecture wants a covering letter explaining your situation — for example, a gap in documents or a posting abroad — AdminLanding's admin-letters generator produces a clean, correctly formatted French courrier to the préfecture.
The single biggest question at renewal is whether you'll receive another 5-year card or the coveted 10-year permanent card. The rule turns on your length of continuous residence in France.
| Your situation | Card you renew into | Validity | |
| --- | --- | --- | |
| 5+ years' continuous residence in France | Carte de séjour permanent — "Séjour permanent / Article 50 TUE" | 10 years | |
| Under 5 years' continuous residence | Carte de séjour — "Article 50 TUE" | 5 years |
Most people renewing in 2026 were already resident before Brexit and have now comfortably passed five years — so the typical outcome is an upgrade to the 10-year card. Your underlying permanent residence right under the Withdrawal Agreement is already secured; the 10-year card simply reflects it.
Reach 5 years' continuous residence and you move to a 10-year card.
Beware long absences: a 5-year WARP holder should not spend more than roughly six consecutive months (or about ten months in total) outside France, while a 10-year holder has far more latitude. If your residence has been interrupted, get advice before assuming you qualify for the permanent card.
When you file your renewal, you should receive a récépissé (or, via ANEF, an attestation de prolongation) — an official document confirming your application is in progress.
This matters for two reasons:
The ANEF system can issue an attestation valid for up to 12 months while processing continues — generous, given how long préfecture backlogs can run in 2026.
Don't travel on an expired card alone — carry your récépissé.
Keep a digital and paper copy. If you're flying, allow extra time and be ready to explain your Withdrawal Agreement status, as not every border officer is familiar with the WARP.
If the online procedure stalls or the interface is unclear, AdminLanding's Guide sits on the ANEF page with you, explaining each field in English so you can finish the application with confidence.
Run through this before you submit your WARP renewal:
Free · no language test · no income test · 5→10-year upgrade · stay legal on the récépissé — these are the five facts that define a WARP renewal. Get them right and the process, while bureaucratic, is firmly in your favour.
Yes. Renewing a Withdrawal Agreement (WARP / Article 50 TUE) carte de séjour is completely free — there is no timbre fiscal and no administration fee. Free renewals were a negotiated benefit of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, and this applies to subsequent renewals too.
No. There is no language test and no civic test for a WARP renewal. Because your residence is protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, renewal is unconditional — the new language and civic requirements introduced for standard residence permits do not apply to WA beneficiaries.
Apply about two months before expiry to avoid this. Your WARP is generally treated as valid for up to three months beyond the printed expiry date, and once you've filed, your récépissé or attestation de prolongation keeps you legal. If your card has already lapsed, contact your préfecture promptly — your underlying right to stay does not disappear.
Usually, yes. If you now have at least five years' continuous residence in France, you are entitled to the 10-year permanent card marked "Séjour permanent / Article 50 TUE". If you have under five years, you renew a 5-year card instead. Most people renewing in 2026 qualify for the 10-year upgrade.
Yes. Once you've filed, your récépissé (or ANEF attestation de prolongation), together with your passport and expired card, supports travel while your new card is produced. Carry it with you, keep copies, and allow extra time at the border, as not all officers are familiar with the WARP.
Typically: a valid passport, your current WARP card, a recent justificatif de domicile (proof of address), proof of continued residence in France (such as a tax notice or utility bills), and an ePhoto code (or passport photos). No proof of income, employment, or language is required. Always check your préfecture's specific list.
For more practical insights on this topic, explore our related articles:
Conclusion: Renewing your WARP carte de séjour in 2026 is, at its core, a paperwork exercise — not a fresh test of whether you can stay. The Withdrawal Agreement has already secured your right to live in France: renewal is free, asks for no language or income proof, and for most people now upgrades to a 10-year permanent card. The real challenges are practical — a narrow application window, a portal that varies by département and has had technical wobbles, and border officers who may not recognise the card. Start about two months before expiry, confirm whether your préfecture uses ANEF online, keep your récépissé close, and check the official portal for your area. Handle those details and a renewal that feels daunting becomes routine.
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Julien is a European expat guide sharing practical, tested advice for navigating life abroad. Contact: [email protected]
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