Applying for PR, or RC, with "expired" (but extended) French national ID

[kamoe]

As advised by the French foreign affairs ministry, from 2014 all French national ID cards issued for adults between 2004 and 2013 have been extended their validity, from 10 to 15 years. This means that a card might look expired, as the expiration date shows, but it is actually valid. They advise printing this page when traveling to the UK on these cards: https://media.interieur.gouv.fr/interie ... umeuni.pdf

Now, question: Has anyone used an "expired" (but not really expired) french id card + the above notice, as the main identity document to apply for permanent residence, certificate of registration, or residence card for a family member? We are thinking of doing it, as this way we won't need to send my partner's passport with the application. His card "expired" in 2015, so it falls into the group of expired-but-not-really-expired cards. We are scared though, that the case worker will ignore the notice and refuse the application.

Has anyone has done this successfully?

Best
Kamoe

[NikiGio]

From another immigration forum, I have heard of one French national who applied with an 'expired-not-expired' ID - they sent a covering letter explaining the situation and they attached a letter issued by the French Consulate letter which explains the five-year extension in English and French. They got PR in three months.
Other French nationals on the forum thought it was too risky in case the HO ignored the French Consulate letter, so they sent their passport.
Are you applying via the online form or via the paper form?
If you're applying via the online form - you can use the European passport return service, which allows you to hang on to your passport.
See:
https://www.gov.uk/.../european-passport-return-service

[kamoe]

From another immigration forum, I have heard of one French national who applied with an 'expired-not-expired' ID - they sent a covering letter explaining the situation and they attached a letter issued by the French Consulate letter which explains the five-year extension in English and French. They got PR in three months.

Thanks NikiGio! When doing a search to see if someone else had asked this, I realized I asked this very same question a couple of years ago when we were making our first RC application (making another one now as my RC recently got stolen ), and then I got no answers. I had given up hope of hearing another testimony.

Other French nationals on the forum thought it was too risky in case the HO ignored the French Consulate letter, so they sent their passport.

My and my friends' thoughts and feelings, exactly.

Are you applying via the online form or via the paper form?

Paper. Had to, as I am not eligible yet for PR so my partner cannot include me in his application (I tried, the online form would not let me). Non-EU nationals not included in their partner's application need to do it in paper form. Because I need to send his passport, made no sense to make his application online and mine on paper, so we did both on paper, together (as it's strongly advised). My local European passport return service advised me the service was only available for online applications.

[NikiGio]

Darn, sorry to hear about your stolen RC

Have you sent your paper application already?

If not, the options are then:
1. Send your partner's French 'expired-not-expired' ID + Consulate letter and potentially risk a refusal if you get an incompetent case worker - which means losing £65 or £130 and having to re-apply;
2. Send your partner's French passport - you probably already know that you can request return of the passport via the HO link: https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... ments.ofml

[kamoe]

Darn, sorry to hear about your stolen RC

Thanks. Yeah, it sucks. I was not expecting to have to make a fresh application at all.

Have you sent your paper application already?

Yeah. Last Saturday. Sent his passport.

If not, the options are then:
1. Send your partner's French 'expired-not-expired' ID + Consulate letter and potentially risk a refusal if you get an incompetent case worker - which means losing £65 or £130 and having to re-apply;

Didn't really fancy this scenario.

2. Send your partner's French passport - you probably already know that you can request return of the passport via the HO link: https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... ments.ofml

I actually did the exact same thing I did last time, which worked perfectly: Enclose a pre-paid priority envelope in the application with correct postage for the HO to send back the passports as soon as it's possible.