My ANEF account: access, application tracking and login problems
ANEF (the French digital administration for foreign nationals) is the Ministry of the Interior's official portal. This is where you create your account, follow the progress of your residence permit application and download your documents. This page gathers the essentials: where your space is, how to get in when login fails, and how to read your application status.
Access my ANEF account
Your personal space is on the official portal of the Ministry of the Interior. You log in with the email address used when the account was created.
Open my ANEF accountRendez-vous Préfecture is an independent private service. We do not manage your ANEF account or your application: this link takes you to the official website.
Where my ANEF account is
Your personal space is hosted on administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr, the Ministry of the Interior's portal. There is no official mobile app and no other address: beware of websites offering paid access to your own application.
Once logged in, the dashboard lists your ongoing procedures and their status. This is also where you download your attestation de prolongation d'instruction or your récépissé when they become available.
Logging in when it does not work
The most common cause is not a wrong password but an email address different from the one used to create the account. An application filed at the prefecture or through a third party was sometimes attached to another address: try every one you may have used.
If the password reset loops and you receive no email, check your spam folder, then wait a few minutes between attempts: requests sent too close together may be ignored.
- Account never activated: the confirmation link received at sign-up was never opened.
- Email address typed with a mistake or an extra space.
- Account created by a relative or a lawyer with their own address.
- Browser keeping old credentials: try again in a private window.
Reading my application status
Tracking shows the state of the application, not an appointment date. "En cours d'instruction" means the file was received and nothing is asked of you: there is nothing to do until the prefecture contacts you.
A status requesting additional documents is the only one that requires a quick reaction from you. Reply from the ANEF space rather than by email, so the answer is attached to the file.
When a prefecture appointment becomes necessary
Some procedures do not end online: collecting a permit, fingerprinting or a first application require an in-person visit to the prefecture. That is when the difficulty changes in nature, because slots are scarce and go within minutes.
Rendez-vous Préfecture continuously monitors the official appointment pages and alerts you by email and SMS as soon as a slot opens, so you can book it yourself on the prefecture's website. We have no access to your ANEF account or your application.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the official address of my ANEF account?
administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr. It is the Ministry of the Interior's only official portal: access to your space and your application is free there.
I forgot the email address of my ANEF account, what can I do?
Try every address you may have used, including that of a relative or a lawyer who filed the application for you. If none works, only the prefecture or ANEF support can find the account: a private service has no access to that information.
Tracking has shown "en cours d'instruction" for months, is that normal?
Yes, this status can last a long time depending on the prefecture and the type of permit. It means the file was received and nothing is asked of you. Only a status requesting additional documents requires an answer from you.
Can Rendez-vous Préfecture unblock my ANEF account?
No. We are an independent private service, with no access to ANEF accounts or applications. We only monitor prefecture appointment slots and alert you as soon as one opens.
Do I need a prefecture appointment if everything is done on ANEF?
Not always. Many procedures end online, but collecting a permit, fingerprinting or a first application require a visit to the prefecture.
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