Conseil d’État: The Important Decision of May 5, 2026 on ANEF

The Conseil d’État issued a very important ruling on May 5, 2026, and we are going to discuss it in this article. Before looking into the content of the decision itself, it is necessary to clarify, so that readers fully understand the importance of this ruling, that it was handed down in Assembly (Assemblée). This means it is the court’s highest and most important formation.

When the Conseil d’État issues a decision, it can be by a single judge (for instance, for interim relief), by a single section (the litigation section), or sometimes by several combined chambers. When an Assembly decision is handed down, it means it is among the most significant rulings.

This ruling by the Conseil d’État comes after many years of legal battles against the ANEF platform and all the dysfunctions it has generated since its launch in 2020. I will not go over every malfunction, but we can mention: the failure to issue the certificate of extension of application processing (attestation de prolongation d’instruction), the impossibility of submitting a residence permit application if the previous permit has not been collected or if the administration failed to properly register its collection, and the inability to change the address while a residence permit application is pending…

Faced with these numerous problems, decisions had already been rendered by the Conseil d’État, notably last year when it recalled that issuing an API (attestation de prolongation d’instruction) did not cancel the emergency situation of a foreign national in the process of renewing their residence permit.

Decisions had also been handed down regarding the impossibility of submitting a residence permit application via ANEF and the implementation of an alternative procedure.

But this time, the Conseil d’État goes even further and serves formal notice to the State to restore a public service that has become too degraded due to these dysfunctions. This means the State has a deadline to restore the public service for residence permit applications and to upgrade the ANEF platform.

The main points are as follows:

• The Conseil d’État recalls that it is the State’s responsibility to guarantee respect for the principle of equality among public service users and to ensure the continuity of service.
• The Conseil d’État establishes an obligation for the State to automatically issue a processing extension certificate to anyone applying for the renewal of their residence permit.
• Le Conseil d’État obliges the State to ensure that social rights attached to temporary documents are better respected.
• A foreign national must be able to submit multiple residence permit applications simultaneously via the ANEF platform.
• A foreign national must be able to correct and complete their file on their own, without the administration being the only one allowed to initiate it.

The principle of a formal notice is therefore that the State is given a deadline to resolve all the points mentioned. Obviously, at the end of this period, if nothing has been done, it will be interesting to see what action the Conseil d’État will take.

This decision is primarily symbolic and serves above all to “motivate” the State to continue restoring the public service for foreign nationals. T

he new minister has already issued a circular to this effect. This is where we understand that the Conseil d’État’s ruling carries this symbolic value rather than a major legal interest. It clearly would have been much more impactful if it had been delivered one or two years ago.

However, this is still a step in the right direction and can be used at the level of administrative courts to launch appeals if there are still problems with ANEF.