The French Council of State (Conseil d'État) has ordered the government to "rectify the malfunctions" associated with the platform of the Digital Administration for Foreigners in France (ANEF), an online portal essential for applying to renew a residence permit. The court has given the Ministry of the Interior six months to fix these glitches and is asking it to take "all necessary measures," according to a May 5 ruling.

Around a dozen associations brought the case to the Council of State in April 2025. The court ruled in their favor, telling the government to "rectify the malfunctions affecting" access to residence permit applications for foreigners, deeming that these malfunctions "are such as to abnormally limit users' right of access or compromise their exercise of the rights granted to them by law".

'A great victory'

France’s Defender of Rights Claire Hédon, who has been critical for years of the website’s shortcomings, will be “particularly vigilant on the proper implementation of this decision," according to a press release.

"This is a great victory. It will force the State to guarantee effective, high-quality access to this public service and limit the risk of losing rights," commented Riwanon Quéré of the association La Cimade. Meanwhile, France Terre d'Asile, "welcomes these initial steps, which will finally allow those concerned to continue their integration process without hindrance."

The Federation of Solidarity Actors (FAS) also welcomed a decision "that recognizes the harm caused and major malfunctions."

"This decision paves the way for a way out of the paralysis that exposes too many people to disruptions, with serious consequences," continued the federation, which represents more than 900 associations.

Procedures like applying for a residence permit, renewing one, or declaring a change of address or family situation are exclusively carried out online via the ANEF. Going to the prefecture in person serves no purpose in carrying out these procedures. 

'I can’t take it anymore'

Yet the platform is notorious for its numerous glitches. Between the administrative paralysis, numerous bugs and absence of human responses, using the ANEF often becomes a nightmare for foreigners in France. If they don't obtain a residence permit quickly enough, which they have the right to obtain, they not only find themselves undocumented, but can also lose their jobs, their housing and their benefits.

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InfoMigrants witnessed the malfunctions of the platform while reporting from La Cimade’s legal aid clinic. "I can't wait any longer. Why are they doing this to me? I've always done things properly, I don't deserve this!" said Jawad, a 34-year-old Afghan man. “I applied for a residence permit through ANEF in December 2022 and haven’t heard back from them since. I’m exhausted,” confided Mehdi, a Moroccan man.

“People are stressed because of the technological obstacles and because their applications for permits are being denied,” explained an activist from La Cimade. “Our role as volunteers has changed:  we now spend much more time helping people with IT issues rather than with accessing their rights.”

“Sometimes it’s the ‘foreign national identification numbers’ that aren’t recognized, or simply a change of address that hasn’t been registered on the online platform,” said Alexandre Delavay, a lawyer specialized in immigration law in Paris. “It’s small things that block the entire system.” Foreigners are also increasingly taking legal action in response to these glitches and the absence of responses from prefectures.

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The issuance of certificates

The Council of State also recommends the issuing of temporary certificates to ensure residents have proof of legal status while their file is under review. In “many cases, this certificate is neither issued nor renewed in a timely manner, resulting in lapses in the right to remain."

Worse still, the Council of State noted that when the temporary certificates are issued, the documents often fail to maintain people's rights to remain, work and receive allowances.

Paimann, an Afghan man interviewed by InfoMigrants, recounted losing his job because of this inconsistency. The Afghan had been using a series of temporary certificates confirming that his residence permit had been renewed. Yet at one point, his employer said he required a real residence permit from Paiman to continue employing him.

The Council of State also recommended opening the possibility of simultaneously submitting multiple applications for residence permits for different reasons. This is currently impossible until the administration has ruled on the first application. In other words, a person cannot, for example, renew their residence permit and open another application to change their address if they move.

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'Technology cannot replace face-to-face meetings'

The French Ombudsman already slammed the ANEF in a report published at the end of 2024. Between 2020 (when the system was first rolled out to students) and 2024, the institution recorded a 400 percent increase in the number of complaints.

Hédon called for "the possibility of interacting with the administration through multiple channels, not just digital ones" to guarantee equitable access to public services, in a March 25 interview with Ouest-France. In other words, it must be possible to speak to humans in case of technological glitches. Digital technology "cannot replace face-to-face meetings, phone calls, or the submission of paper documents," argued Hédon.

The Council of State had already urged the government in June 2022 to implement support for users and alternative solutions in case the existing support was not suitable for their needs. The support in question was limited to the Citizen Contact Center (CCC), an online form and – in theory – a telephone number. "I already tried calling the CCC. I waited 50 minutes reaching someone over the phone who I couldn't hear and who asked me to send an email to the CCC," Marie-Sophie Olivera, head of a day center run by Secours Catholique in northern Paris (CEDRE), told InfoMigrants.