# France Multi-Year Card — Time in France Residency rule, France. Page: https://usecountr.com/trackers/residency-fr-multi-year/ ## Summary To renew most French multi-year residence cards (carte de séjour pluriannuelle) you must prove that you live in France in a habitual way. The law defines this with two conditions: the centre of your private and family life is in France, and you stay in France at least six months in each calendar year. The years checked are the three years before your request, or the whole life of the card if it is shorter. The rule has applied since 28 January 2024. The prefecture can refuse renewal when the proof is missing. - Goal: At least six months in France in each calendar year - Years checked: The 3 years before the request, or the whole card period if shorter - Second condition: The centre of your private and family life is in France - Law: CESEDA, articles L433-1, L432-2 and L433-3-1 - In force since: 28 January 2024 (Law no. 2024-42 of 26 January 2024) - Run by: The prefecture, under the Ministry of the Interior ## Who it applies to - Holders of a multi-year card for employees, self-employed people or private and family life who travel a lot. - People who keep a French card but work abroad for long periods. - People who spend several months each year in their home country with family. - Anyone who will apply to renew a multi-year card in the next three years. - Holders of a 10-year resident card, because the same definition is now used when that card is renewed. ## The rule The law of 26 January 2024 on immigration added a residence condition to renewals. Article L433-1 of the CESEDA, the French code on the entry and stay of foreigners, now says that renewal of a multi-year card depends on proof by the foreigner of habitual residence in France. Article L432-2 adds that renewal can be refused, by a reasoned decision, when this proof is not given. Article L433-3-1 defines habitual residence. A foreigner is treated as living in France in a habitual way when two things are true together. First, the person has moved the centre of their private and family interests to France. Second, the person stays in France for at least six months during the calendar year, in the three last years before the request is filed. If the current card has been valid for less than three years, the test covers the whole period of validity of the card. The count is by calendar year, 1 January to 31 December, and each year is checked on its own. A very long stay in one year does not make up for a short stay in another. The law says six months and gives no number of days, and it does not say how to treat the day of arrival or the day of departure. Some multi-year cards are outside the rule. Articles L433-1 and L432-2 name them: the talent cards (articles L421-9 to L421-24), the seasonal worker card (L421-34), the student mobility programme card (L422-6), and the cards for people with subsidiary protection, stateless people and their families (L424-9, L424-11, L424-18 and L424-19). The same definition is also used for the 10-year resident card: its renewal can be refused when habitual residence in France is not proved, with an exception for refugees. Why it exists: A multi-year card is meant for people who are building their life in France. Before 2024 a person could hold a card for four years while living mostly in another country, and still renew it. Parliament added the condition so that long-term permits go to people who really live in France. The talent cards were left out because their holders often travel for international work, and the seasonal card has its own limit that works the other way. ## Counting the days You count the days you were in France in each calendar year covered by the test. The goal is at least six months in every one of those years. This is a minimum to reach, not a limit to stay under. 1. Find the date you will file your renewal request. Requests are normally filed in the last months before the card ends. 2. List the calendar years to check: the three years before the request, or every year of the card if the card has been valid for less than three years. 3. For each of those years, list your stays in France with arrival and departure dates and add up the days. 4. Check that each year reaches six months. To be safe, aim for 184 days, the longest possible six months. 5. Keep proof for each year: passport stamps, tickets, payslips, rent receipts, bills, bank statements showing payments in France. 6. Collect proof of the first condition as well: family in France, lease or home, work, children's school. How Countr counts it: Countr counts every day on which you were in France for any part of the day, from 1 January to 31 December, and shows how far you are from 184 days. Six months is counted as 184 days, the longest six months, so the app asks for a little more than the law, never less. The card shows the current year only. The rule looks at every year of the test, so check past years in your history as well. Countr does not judge the first condition, the centre of your private and family life, and it does not know whether your card type is one of the exempt ones. ## Examples ### One weak year out of three Sofia holds a four-year employee card valid from 15 March 2024 to 14 March 2028. She files her renewal request in January 2028, so the years checked are 2025, 2026 and 2027. She was in France 240 days in 2025 and 255 days in 2027. In 2026 she worked on a project in Singapore and was in France only 150 days. That year is below six months, so the prefecture can refuse the renewal, even though her total over three years is high. ### A two-year card Karim receives a two-year multi-year card valid from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2027. The card has been valid for less than three years when he asks to renew, so the test covers the whole period of validity of the card. He spends every summer, 1 July to 31 August, in Morocco and the rest of the time in Lyon. In 2026 that is 62 days away and 303 days in France, well over six months. ### Exactly six months Mei is in France from 1 January to 30 June 2026 and leaves for the rest of the year. January to June is six calendar months but only 181 days. The law says six months and gives no day number, so this may meet the rule. It leaves no margin if one stamp is unclear. Countr asks for 184 days, so it would show her three days short of its goal. ## Exceptions - Talent cards under articles L421-9 to L421-24 are outside this condition. - The seasonal worker card (article L421-34) is outside it too: its holders must keep their home outside France and stay at most six months a year. - Cards for people with subsidiary protection, stateless people and their family members (articles L424-9, L424-11, L424-18 and L424-19) are outside the condition. - The multi-year card for students in a mobility programme (article L422-6) is also exempt. - When the card has been valid for less than three years, only the period of validity of that card is checked. - Refusal is a power of the prefecture, not an automatic result: article L432-2 says renewal can be refused by a reasoned decision. ## Common misconceptions - "Once I have a four-year card I can live abroad and come back to renew it." Not since 28 January 2024. Renewal now depends on proof that you stayed in France at least six months in each calendar year checked and that your private and family life is centred in France. - "The six months are counted over any 12 months." Article L433-3-1 says during the calendar year. Each year from 1 January to 31 December is looked at on its own. - "Days are all that matter." There are two conditions and both must be met. A person with 200 days in France whose family, home and work are all in another country may still fail the first condition. - "This rule only concerns multi-year cards." The same definition of habitual residence is used when a 10-year resident card is renewed. The resident card also has its own rule on absences of more than three years, covered by the France Resident Card tracker. ## Questions and answers ### How many days do I need in France each year to renew a multi-year card? The law says at least six months in each calendar year and does not give a number of days. Six months is between 181 and 184 days depending on the months, so 184 days is the safe goal. ### Do the days need to be in a row? No. The law speaks of staying at least six months during the calendar year. Several stays in the same year are added together. ### Which years will the prefecture check? The three last years before you file the request. If your current card has been valid for less than three years, the check covers the whole period of validity of that card. ### Does a holiday in my home country put my renewal at risk? Not by itself. You can be outside France for up to half of each calendar year and still meet the day condition. The risk starts when your time away in one year is longer than your time in France. ### What proof can I give of my days in France? The law does not list the documents. Useful proof is anything dated that places you in France: payslips, rent receipts, bills, medical visits, bank statements with card payments, tickets and passport stamps. ### Is this the same as French tax residence? No. Tax residence is decided under the General Tax Code and looks at your home, work and economic interests. This rule is an immigration rule for renewing a card. The two use similar words but are decided by different offices under different laws. ## Sources - [Légifrance, CESEDA, article L433-3-1 (definition of habitual residence)](https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000049055791) - [Légifrance, Law no. 2024-42 of 26 January 2024, article 46 (changes to articles L432-2, L432-3, L433-1 and L433-2)](https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000049040245) --- Countr is an app for iPhone that counts your days in every country for visa, tax and residency rules, from the photos on your phone and your location. It explains rules and counts days. It does not give legal or tax advice. https://apps.apple.com/app/country-days-tracker-countr/id6810720800