You depend on the Vaucluse prefecture in Avignon for your residence permit, its renewal, the collection of your card, or a naturalization application, and you are looking for an appointment. Here is, specifically, where to go, what can now be done online, what still requires coming to the counter, and what to do when no slots appear.
Contact details of the Vaucluse prefecture in Avignon
- Address: 2 avenue de la Folie, 84000 Avignon
- Phone: 04 88 17 84 84
- Email: pref-contact@vaucluse.gouv.fr
- Official website: www.vaucluse.gouv.fr
- Opening hours: Monday: 08:30-11:30 | Tuesday to Thursday: 08:30-11:30, 13:30-16:30 | Friday: 08:30-11:30
Hours and addresses may change; check them on the official website before visiting, especially for foreigner receptions which often have their own time slots.
Prefecture or sub-prefecture: where to submit based on your municipality
The department has 2 sub-prefectures:
- Sub-prefecture of Carpentras (Monday to Friday: 08:30-11:45)
- Sub-prefecture of Apt
Your municipality of residence determines the district, thus the competent site. For foreigner procedures, many departments have centralized processing at the prefecture; the sub-prefecture only handles certain formalities, or none at all. The department's website specifies, step by step, where to submit and where to collect.
To find the competent site from your address, see which prefecture my municipality depends on and the map of prefectures.
Making an appointment at the Vaucluse prefecture in Avignon: the procedure to follow
- Identify the procedure. First application for a title (student, employee, private and family life...), renewal, duplicate, address change, collection of a manufactured title, naturalization: each has its channel.
- First go through the ANEF (administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr) for everything that is dematerialized: most renewals, first applications for certain categories, address changes, attestation of extension of processing. No appointment is necessary to submit.
- For what remains at the counter (fingerprints, title handover, non-digital submissions), open the “Make an appointment” section of the site www.vaucluse.gouv.fr and choose the relevant service. Slots are released in waves, often in the morning or early in the week.
- Keep a record of each unsuccessful attempt (dated screenshot of the message indicating that no slot is available). These proofs are useful if you need to write to the prefecture or involve the judge.
- Get notified rather than refreshing the page: the Avignon page on rendezvousprefecture.com allows you to receive an alert by email or SMS as soon as a slot opens for your procedure (see the Avignon page).
For special cases, see make a new appointment at the prefecture, modify an appointment, and cancel an appointment.
Residence permit: first application, renewal, and collection
The first application is submitted on the ANEF for dematerialized categories (students, talent passport, certain “employee” cards), and by appointment or by mail for others, depending on what the department has planned. The renewal is done on the ANEF for the vast majority of titles, between four and two months before expiration. The collection of the manufactured title is always done in person, by invitation or by appointment, with the paid tax stamp and the old title or receipt; the taking of fingerprints, when required, is subject to a separate appointment (see why the prefecture requests your fingerprints). The guides on the main site detail each step: residence permit, renewal, naturalization.
Documents to prepare
The exact list depends on the title requested and is available on the department's website, but the foundation is always the same:
- valid passport (identity pages, visa, entry stamps);
- proof of residence less than six months old, or accommodation certificate accompanied by the identity document and proof of residence of the host;
- three compliant identity photos, or the e-photo code for online submissions;
- the current title or receipt for a renewal;
- documents specific to your situation: employment contract and pay slips, school certificate, marriage or birth certificate, income;
- the tax stamp, the amount of which varies depending on the title, to be purchased online at the time of handover.
The details by type of title are in our list of required documents, and for the accommodation certificate, see how to establish it correctly.
Deadlines to know and recourse if nothing progresses
Two deadlines govern your procedures, regardless of the department. For a residence permit, the silence of the prefecture for four months after a complete file constitutes implicit refusal, which opens up recourse. For naturalization, processing cannot exceed eighteen months from the receipt, twelve if you have been residing in France for ten years. The renewal should be requested between four and two months before the title expires: within this window, the receipt or attestation of extension maintains your rights.
If nothing progresses: check the status of the file, then follow up in writing. When no slot is offered for weeks, the Council of State requires the prefecture to provide an alternative (decision of June 10, 2020), and the summary “useful measures” allows for an injunction; our guide on deadlines by prefecture details these recourses. The deadlines observed in the department are compared to those of other departments on the prefectures barometer.
Frequently asked questions
Should I go to the prefecture or the sub-prefecture?
It depends on your municipality and the procedure. Municipalities attached to a sub-prefecture carry out certain formalities there, but foreigner procedures are often centralized in Avignon. The department's website specifies this procedure by procedure.
Can I go to the Vaucluse prefecture in Avignon without an appointment?
For foreigner procedures, no, unless otherwise stated on the department's website: reception is by invitation or by appointment made online. Some general receptions remain accessible freely during the indicated hours, but they do not handle residence files.
What should I do if my title expires before the appointment?
Submit the renewal application on the ANEF within the four to two months window before expiration: you will receive a receipt, then if necessary an attestation of extension of processing, which proves the regularity of your stay and the maintenance of your rights during the wait.
How can I know when a slot becomes available?
Slots are published in waves, without an announced calendar. An alert by email or SMS on the Avignon page notifies you as soon as an appointment appears for your procedure, which avoids having to check the site several times a day.
