Before you start

A long-stay visa matched to your route, obtained before travel
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
A French address and a justificatif de domicile in your name
An ANEF account and the visa's reference numbers

Step-by-step

1
Validate your VLS-TS within three months of arrival
Done online with the visa number, your date of entry and an electronic tax stamp. This is the step that converts the visa into a valid residence permit. Missing the window puts you out of status, and the remedy is far worse than the fifteen-minute procedure you skipped.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 3 months of arrival
2
Work out which counter your file falls under before booking anything
The Seine-Maritime handles residence applications at the préfecture in Rouen and at the sous-préfecture in Le Havre, divided by arrondissement of residence. The préfecture's own pages are organised as 'I fall under the préfecture de Rouen' or the Le Havre equivalent. Establish which applies to your address first — collection of the finished permit follows the same split.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
3
Create and monitor your ANEF account from week one
Nearly all immigration procedures now run through the national platform. Requests for further documents appear inside the account rather than arriving by post or by email, so check it weekly whenever a procedure is live.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
4
Keep trying for a slot rather than concluding there are none
Appointments for residence procedures are released in batches, and the préfecture states plainly that if nothing is available you should try again at another time, particularly at the beginning of the week. An empty calendar at four on a Friday is not evidence that the system is closed to you. Bring the printed or on-screen confirmation to get through the door.
OnlineWho: You
5
Get a utility bill in your own name early
There is no municipal registration in France, but its administration constantly asks for a justificatif de domicile in your name. An electricity or internet account is the usual source, and having one unlocks a surprising number of unrelated procedures.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1–2
6
Start renewals at the earliest permitted date and screenshot everything
A renewal is filed at the earliest four months and at the latest two months before your current permit expires. Use the front of that window — an early application produces a récépissé that protects your status while the file is considered. Screenshot each submission: being able to show what you sent and when is your only leverage if a file stalls.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the long-stay visa
Proof of the date you entered the Schengen area
Justificatif de domicile in your name
Employment contract or proof of resources, depending on the route
Appointment confirmation, printed or on your phone
ANEF account credentials

Things most newcomers don’t know

One département, two counters — and your address decides which one, not your convenience.

The Seine-Maritime splits residence work between the préfecture in Rouen and the sous-préfecture in Le Havre by arrondissement, and its own guidance is written as two parallel paths. People book at whichever has a slot, turn up, and are turned away; the same split governs where the finished permit is collected. It takes two minutes to establish which applies to you and it saves a wasted appointment that may not be re-bookable for weeks.

Source: préfecture de la Seine-Maritime

An empty appointment calendar is a release schedule, not a verdict.

The préfecture releases residence appointment slots in batches and advises applicants to try again at other times, particularly at the start of the week. Newcomers see nothing available, conclude the system is broken or that they need an intermediary, and pay a commercial 'appointment finder' for something the state gives away. Persistence at the right hours is the actual technique.

Source: préfecture de la Seine-Maritime

The three-month validation deadline is the one that quietly ends people's stay.

A long-stay visa marked VLS-TS is not a residence permit until you validate it online and pay the tax stamp. Miss the window and you are out of status with no simple remedy — you may have to leave France and restart. It looks like a formality precisely because the visa in your passport appears to be doing the job already.

Source: service-public.fr

ANEF posts document requests inside the account and tells nobody.

The platform does not reliably notify you when a caseworker asks for something, and there is no letter in the post. Files sit untouched for months because an applicant never saw a request they could have answered the same day. Check the account weekly during any live procedure and treat email as unreliable rather than as the channel.

Source: service-public.fr

Common mistakes to avoid

Booking at the wrong counter because your arrondissement belongs to Le Havre rather than Rouen.
Missing the three-month deadline to validate a VLS-TS online.
Giving up after one look at an empty appointment calendar.
Not checking the ANEF account and letting a document request stall the file for months.
Applying for renewal too late and falling between a lapsed permit and an undecided file.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.