You depend on the Haut-Rhin prefecture in Colmar for your residence permit, its renewal, the collection of your card, or a naturalization application, and you are looking for an appointment. Here, concretely, is where to go, what can now be done online, what still requires coming to the counter, and what to do when no slots are available.
Contact details for the Haut-Rhin prefecture in Colmar
- Address: 3 rue Fleischhauer Cité administrative, 68000 Colmar
- Phone: 03 89 29 20 00
- Email: pref-courrier@haut-rhin.gouv.fr
- Official website: www.haut-rhin.gouv.fr
- Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 08:15-11:45
Hours and addresses may change; check them on the official website before you go, 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 3 sub-prefectures:
- Sub-prefecture of Altkirch (Monday to Thursday: 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 | Friday: 09:00-12:00, 13:00-15:30)
- Sub-prefecture of Mulhouse
- Sub-prefecture of Thann-Guebwiller (Monday to Thursday: 08:30-12:00, 14:00-16:00 | Friday: 08:30-12:00, 14:00-15:30)
Your municipality of residence determines the district, and thus the competent site. For foreigner procedures, many departments have centralized the 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 based on your address, see which prefecture my municipality depends on and the map of prefectures.
Making an appointment at the Haut-Rhin prefecture in Colmar: the procedure
- 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 own channel.
- First go through the ANEF (administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr) for anything that is dematerialized: most renewals, first applications for certain categories, address changes, extension of instruction certificates. 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 www.haut-rhin.gouv.fr and choose the relevant service. Slots are released in waves, often in the morning or at the beginning of the week.
- Keep a record of each unsuccessful attempt (dated screenshot of the message indicating that no slots are available). These proofs are useful if you need to write to the prefecture or involve the judge.
- Get notified rather than refreshing the page: rendezvousprefecture.com allows you to receive an email or SMS alert as soon as a slot opens for your procedure (create an alert).
For special cases, see making a new appointment at the prefecture, modifying an appointment, and cancelling 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 summons or by appointment, with the tax stamp paid and the old title or receipt; fingerprinting, 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 requested title and is available on the department's website, but the core is always the same:
- valid passport (identity pages, visa, entry stamps);
- proof of residence less than six months old, or a hosting certificate accompanied by the host's ID and proof of residence;
- 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, resources;
- 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 hosting certificate, see how to properly establish it.
Deadlines to know and recourse if nothing progresses
Two deadlines govern your procedures, regardless of the department. For a residence permit, silence from the prefecture for four months after a complete file constitutes implicit refusal, which opens up recourse. For naturalization, the processing cannot exceed eighteen months from the receipt, twelve if you have been residing in France for ten years. Renewal should be requested between four and two months before the title expires: within this window, the receipt or extension certificate maintains your rights.
If nothing progresses: check the status of the file, then follow up in writing. When no slots are offered for weeks, the Council of State requires the prefecture to provide an alternative (decision of June 10, 2020) and the "useful measures" summary allows for obtaining an injunction; our guide on deadlines by prefecture details these recourses. The observed deadlines 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 Colmar. The department's website specifies this procedure by procedure.
Can I go to the Haut-Rhin prefecture in Colmar without an appointment?
For foreigner procedures, no, unless otherwise stated on the department's website: reception is by summons or by appointment made online. Some general receptions remain accessible without an appointment during the indicated hours, but they do not process 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 extension certificate, 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 email or SMS alert on rendezvousprefecture.com will notify you as soon as an appointment appears for your procedure, which avoids having to check the site multiple times a day.
