Préfecture letters: convocation, défavorable, and the OQTF nobody wants

If you are on a French residence permit — titre de séjour, récépissé, visa long séjour valant titre — your préfecture is the agency that decides whether you can stay. Their letters are short, in French, and usually printed on white paper with no logo. The wording is bureaucratic, the deadlines are real, and the consequences of ignoring them can be permanent.

Convocation

A summons to appear in person at the préfecture or a sous-préfecture. The letter lists a date, a time, a guichet (window) number, and the documents to bring. The most common reason is to collect your titre de séjour or to give your fingerprints for the biometric file. Less common: an interview about a pending demande. If you cannot make the date, write back as soon as possible — you almost never get a second slot without explaining why.

Demande d'éléments complémentaires

Your file is being processed but they want extra documents. Usually a tax notice, proof of resources, an employer attestation, or a translated diploma. The deadline is on the letter, typically one month. Missing it can be treated as withdrawing your request — the file is closed and you start over.

Décision défavorable / refus

Obligation de quitter le territoire (OQTF)

The most serious préfecture letter. It orders you to leave France, usually within 30 days. There is a 30-day (or 15-day, or 48-hour for some procedures) window to appeal at the tribunal administratif. Missing it makes the OQTF final and any future ban on entry harder to lift. If you receive one, get a lawyer the same week. A free consultation is available at the maison de la justice et du droit in most large cities.

ANEF letters

Since 2024 most préfectures have shifted renewals and changes of status to the ANEF online portal. The letters from ANEF look different — usually an email with a PDF attached — but the legal weight is identical. The deadlines on an ANEF notification count from the date the email was sent, not from when you noticed it. Check the portal weekly when you have a demande pending.

Practical checklist

• Keep the original envelope — the postmark proves the date.
• Photograph the letter the day you receive it.
• Diary the deadline at +5 days earlier than printed, to leave a buffer for paperwork.
• If the letter mentions a recours, the two-month clock starts on the date printed at the top of the letter.
• Reply by lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception (LRAR) for anything that contests a decision. Email is fine for additional documents, not for contestation.

When in doubt

Préfecture letters are the category most worth getting right the first time. If you are not sure whether a letter is a convocation, a demande, or a refus, photograph it into Mes Papiers — we surface the type, the deadline, and the recommended next step (collect, reply, contest, escalate) before you spend a weekend Googling acronyms.