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The 2026 civic exam
Since January, a first multi-year card asks for something it never used to. Most people who write to me about it turn out not to need it at all.
On 1 January 2026 a new condition attached itself to two French residence documents: the carte de séjour pluriannuelle and the carte de résident. A non-European applying for either for the first time now has to pass a civic exam.
That sentence contains the part people miss. It applies to a first application. If you are renewing a multi-year card or a resident card you already hold, the exam is not part of your file.
I mention this first because it is the single most common reason someone contacts me about the civic exam, worried, when they did not need to be.
Who is outside it
Three groups are not subject to the exam:
- anyone over 65;
- beneficiaries of international protection;
- nationals of countries covered by certain bilateral agreements with France.
That last category is narrower than people hope, and it depends on which agreement and which permit you are applying under. It is worth checking rather than assuming.
What the exam actually is
Forty multiple-choice questions, in French, over forty-five minutes. You need thirty-two correct answers to pass, which is eighty per cent. There are different levels of difficulty depending on whether you are applying for a multi-year card or a resident card.
The question bank is published. The Ministry of the Interior put the official list online, and it costs nothing to work through. If someone offers to sell you the questions, they are selling you a copy of a free document.
The language requirement is a different thing
These two arrived together and get treated as one. They are not.
From the same date, a non-European applying for a first multi-year card must show French at A2, and for a first resident card at B1. That is a certified language level, evidenced by a diploma or a recognised test. The civic exam is knowledge of how the country works, answered in French.
You can hold a B1 certificate and still fail the civic exam. The reverse is harder but the point stands: satisfying one requirement does not satisfy the other, and a file that treats them as interchangeable comes back.
How this lands in the Bas-Rhin
Almost everything to do with residence permits here now goes through ANEF, the interior ministry's online platform. For most procedures there is no counter appointment at the préfecture any more; the file is submitted and tracked online.
Two practical points that cost people time in this department:
The préfecture is explicit that you should create the ANEF account with a personal email address. Not a work address, not one belonging to an employer or a school. When that account is the only channel through which decisions reach you, losing access to the mailbox is a genuine problem.
And for renewals, the window is fixed: the application goes in between the 120th and the 60th day before the current permit expires. Early is not better here, and late is considerably worse.
What I do and where I stop
I am not a lawyer and this page is not legal advice. I do not represent anyone before the préfecture, and no one can guarantee the outcome of an application; that decision belongs to the administration.
What I do is the assembly. Working out which requirement genuinely applies to your situation, getting the supporting documents into the form the file expects, watching the ANEF account, and telling you plainly when something needs a lawyer instead of me. For files that turn on a point of law I work with immigration counsel rather than improvising.
If you want the wider picture of what a settling-in file involves, that is on the relocation and mobility page.
Sources
The rules above come from the official texts, not from summaries of them:
- L'examen civique pour demander un titre de séjour, Direction générale des étrangers en France
- Carte de séjour pluriannuelle et carte de résident : comment passer l'examen civique ?, Service-Public
- Arrêté du 10 octobre 2025 setting the programme, tests and organisation of the exam, Légifrance
- Official question bank, Ministère de l'Intérieur
- ANEF procedures in the Bas-Rhin, Préfecture du Bas-Rhin
Rules change. This page was checked in August 2026; if you are reading it much later, check the sources before acting on it.
Common questions
I am renewing my carte de séjour pluriannuelle. Do I need the exam?
No. The requirement falls on a first application for a multi-year card or a resident card. Renewals of either are outside it.
I am 67. Does it apply to me?
No. Applicants over 65 are not subject to the civic exam.
Is the civic exam the same thing as the French language test?
No, and this is the confusion I see most often. They are two separate requirements introduced at the same time. The civic exam tests knowledge of French institutions and civic life. The language requirement is a certified level: A2 for a multi-year card, B1 for a resident card. Passing one says nothing about the other.
Where can I practise the questions?
The Ministry of the Interior publishes the official question bank on formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. It is free and it is the actual list, not a commercial imitation of it.
Can you sit the exam for me, or promise I will pass?
No to both. I am not able to sit it and nobody can promise you a result. What I can do is make sure the rest of the file is not the reason it fails.