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I am a non-EU citizen in France and have a valid residence titre de séjour that expired.

I have had multiple renewals before so this is not my first time to have my residence permit renewed.

I have a temporary Récépissé de Demande de Carte de Séjour paper which states that my card is being renewed, together with my expired titre de séjour card.

The problem is that I left France through Zurich and the passport agent said that leaving is fine, but if I come back on my return flight, I need an actual return visa, and that paper won't be valid.

From my research this is only true if you're a first time renewer. But I am not, so why did she say that to me? My whole holiday is now ruined and my whole family is stressing.

I have no idea what to do, and no time to even apply for any visa was it a mistake on the agent's part?

What if I just take my return flight anyway. Whould it be risky?

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    The agent presumably didn't look that information up, because, as noted in the answer, it is incorrect. When you return, you might even see the same officer in Zürich. At that point, she will (or whomever else you see will, if they also think the récépissé is insufficient) look it up and see that it is in fact sufficient.
    – phoog
    Commented Aug 15 at 13:30

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Provided the document states it is a renewal, the agent was incorrect. The reference is Annex 22, which lists all documents that have the validity of a residence permit, and allow travel to and re-entry into the Schengen Area (via any point of entry).

For France, it explicitly lists (page 35) the “récépissé de renouvellement de demande de titre de séjour”, though you must also have the expired card (which you do).

Note that this is not a matter of it being the second of further renewal, but that it only works for renewals, not first applications. So the paper must clearly state “renouvellement”.

If anybody tells you the document is not valid, point them to annex 22 (it’s common for newbies to misunderstand the fact that the same document can be valid or not depending on whether it’s a renewal or first application, though that’s generally more likely for airline agents than passport control officers).

If on the other hand the récépissé does not mention renewal, it’s indeed going to be a problem. You would need to contact the local embassy/consulate for assistance to get some kind of document to allow you to return.

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    (+1) Regarding the last paragraph, the document you may get in that situation is called a “visa de retour”.
    – Relaxed
    Commented Aug 15 at 19:08
  • Me, and my whole family are extremely grateful and want to express out gratitude to you. I really mean it. We can finally enjoy the last few days of our holiday.
    – user1083148
    Commented Aug 19 at 17:47
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    UPDATE: Today we returned to France and transit through Zurich. The Zurich agent took my Récépissé and expired Carte de Séjour, looked and it and closed it, and let me pass, didn't bat an eye.
    – user1083148
    Commented Sep 1 at 11:59

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