Algerian residence certificate: one year or ten, and at what cost
Algerian nationals do not receive a residence card but a residence certificate, under the rules of the 1968 Franco-Algerian agreement.
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Algerian 10-year certificate: cost and absences
Certificate kept
yes
| Maximum continuous absence | 3 years |
| 10-year certificate | €0 |
| One-year certificate (first) | €350 |
An adult Algerian national staying more than three months in France does not apply for a residence card under the CESEDA immigration code but for a residence certificate (certificat de résidence), governed by the Franco-Algerian agreement of 27 December 1968. There are two: the one-year certificate, with a mention (private and family life, employee, student, visitor and so on), and the ten-year certificate. The ten-year certificate is free, on first issue and on renewal; the spouse of a French national can get it after one year of marriage, against three years for the resident card of other nationalities. The one-year certificate generally follows the stamp schedule: €350 for a first private and family life certificate, €150 for a student, €250 for most renewals. The ten-year certificate stops being valid after more than 3 consecutive years of absence. For a certificate ending on 31 May 2027, renewal is filed on the ANEF portal between 31 January 2027 and 31 March 2027.
What the 1968 agreement says
The agreement of 27 December 1968 on the movement, employment and residence of Algerian nationals sets its own rules, most recently published by decree no. 2002-1500 of 20 December 2002. The official page on compulsory permits states that an Algerian must hold a long-stay visa, a one-year certificate, a ten-year certificate or a retiree certificate. There is no multi-year card and no permanent resident card: the official permanent-resident page sends Algerians back to the residence certificate.
Certificates are applied for like cards: on the ANEF online portal for most grounds, at the prefecture for others, with an OFII medical check before the first certificate (OFII is the French immigration and integration office). Civil-status documents must come with a translation by an approved translator.
The one-year certificate: grounds
The official one-year certificate page, checked on 1 August 2026, separates family grounds from work and study grounds. Family: spouse or adult child of an Algerian admitted through family reunification, spouse of a French national (a short-stay visa is enough to count as lawful entry), parent of a French minor, young person born in France, habitual residence of over ten years (fifteen if part of it was as a student), health, personal and family ties. Work and study: employee, self-employed activity, temporary worker, researcher, artist, student, trainee, visitor.
| One-year certificate | First issue | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Family admitted through reunification | free | €100 |
| Spouse of a French national, family life | €350 | €250 |
| Employee, self-employed (on a visa) | free | €250 |
| Change of status to a work ground | €250 | €250 |
| Student, trainee | €150 | €100 |
When the applicant's stay is irregular, the €300 regularisation visa fee is added. With no answer in four months, the application counts as refused.
The ten-year certificate: who qualifies
The official ten-year certificate page has not been updated since 1 October 2024: its substantive rules come from the agreement and were not changed by the 2026 reforms, but check it before filing. It grants the ten-year certificate to the spouse of a French national married for at least one year, the child or dependent parent of a French national, the parent of a French minor at the end of their one-year certificate, the family of an Algerian holding the ten-year certificate admitted through reunification, the holder of a work-accident pension, a person living in France since age ten or lawfully for more than ten years, and someone with five years on a family-life certificate.
A last case is up to the prefect: after three years of lawful, uninterrupted residence on a one-year visitor, employee, family life, temporary worker, scientist or artistic profession certificate, the prefect may grant or refuse the ten-year certificate, weighing your means of support and your intention to settle for good.
Cost, absences and renewal
The ten-year certificate is free, on first issue and on renewal. Only filing late costs €180, unless there is force majeure or a valid visa. Renewal is filed on the ANEF, at the earliest 4 months and at the latest 2 months before the certificate ends. It stops being valid after more than 3 consecutive years of absence, unless the administration agrees to extend the absence: the mini-calculator above flags this.
While the renewal is examined, the receipt (récépissé) issued for a one-year family life certificate or a ten-year certificate lets you keep working. Refusals follow the CESEDA procedure rules (articles L432-1 onwards): an appeal to the prefect, the minister or the court within two months.
The practical file
For a first certificate on the ANEF, plan for the long-stay visa (or the entry visa for a French national's spouse), the passport pages showing identity, validity and entry stamps, a birth certificate extract showing your parents, the marriage certificate and the children's birth certificates where relevant, proof of address under three months old and the code of an e-photo (a digital photo from an approved booth or photographer). The OFII medical certificate is handed in unless an exception applies. A married applicant from a country that allows polygamy adds a sworn statement of non-polygamy. The exact list depends on the ground and is set out on the official page for each case.
A worked example
Take an Algerian engineer who married a French national in Lyon on 10 June 2025 and entered France on a short-stay visa. She first receives a one-year family life certificate, paying €350 in tax stamps. Once the marriage is a year old and the couple still lives together, she can ask for the ten-year certificate, which is free. If she later spends two years working in Algiers, the certificate stays valid; beyond 3 consecutive years away she would need the prefecture's prior agreement. When it comes up for renewal, she files on the ANEF in the window above and pays nothing if she is on time.
How this regime differs from other nationalities
Three differences come up most often. The marriage period for the ten-year permit is shorter. The ten-year permit is free, whereas the resident card costs others €350. And there is no multi-year card: you move straight from the one-year certificate to the ten-year one. Our which-permit calculator flags the agreement when you pick Algerian nationality, without simulating it in full. This page is general information, not legal advice.