Temporary Protection in France 2026: Who Qualifies, APS

Temporary protection in France runs until 4 March 2028. It is documented by an APS (autorisation provisoire de séjour) valid for 6 months, it carries the right to work, and since 31 July 2026 new applicants have to show that they are in order with their military obligations to Ukraine. We, the “Vibe South of France” community, have put the rules together from primary sources - Council of the EU decisions, European Commission guidance and the pages of the prefectures of the South - and checked them between 11 and 19 October 2026. Below: who qualifies, how an APS is obtained, what rights it gives and what is known about the period after 2028. If you have a practical question about your own prefecture, you can ask it in the “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram.

At a glance, October 2026

• Duration. Protection is extended to 4 March 2028 by Council of the EU decision 2026/1912 of 30 July 2026; the new period starts on 5 March 2027.
• Document. In France it is a temporary residence permit (APS) for 6 months, renewed for as long as the scheme runs.
• The new condition. From 31 July 2026 (5 August by the Commission’s count), protection is granted for the first time only to people who are in order with their military obligations to Ukraine. Anyone already under protection on 30 July 2026 who keeps it in the same country is not affected.
• Cost. The first APS and the first renewal are free; from the second renewal there is a €100 stamp (since 1 May 2026).
• One country. You hold protection in one EU country only, and the rights apply where the document was issued.
• Numbers. According to Eurostat, 45,525 Ukrainian citizens were under protection in France at the end of September 2026.

Who qualifies

The circle of people is set by article 2 of Council decision 2022/382 of 4 March 2022. Protection covers people displaced from Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022:

• Ukrainian citizens who lived in Ukraine before 24 February 2022;
• stateless people and nationals of other countries who had international or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022;
• family members of these people, if the family already lived in Ukraine before 24 February 2022: a spouse or a partner in a stable relationship (a partner only where the country’s law treats such couples like married ones), the unmarried minor children of the person or of the spouse (their own, adopted or born outside marriage), and other close relatives who lived together as one family and depended fully or mainly on the person.

A separate point of the decision concerns foreigners and stateless people who lived in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 on a permanent residence permit and cannot return safely to their own country: the state applies to them either temporary protection or adequate protection under its own law. The Vaucluse prefecture (page of 21 July 2026) names this category outright: foreigners with a “titre de séjour longue durée”, not a short-stay one.

Prefecture pages sometimes put it more briefly than the decision does: “arrived in the Schengen area after 24 February 2022”. The rule is the one in decision 2022/382: displacement on or after 24 February 2022, and residence in Ukraine before that date.

The military-obligations condition (from 31 July 2026)

Article 2 of decision 2026/1912: temporary protection is granted only to people who fulfil their military obligations in Ukraine, with proof “where necessary”. The rule does not apply to anyone who had temporary protection in the EU country in question on 30 July 2026 or earlier and has kept it without a break in that same country.

From which date. Under article 3 of the decision, article 2 applies from 31 July 2026. The decision was published on 4 August 2026 and entered into force the next day; recital 17 ties the requirement to the day of entry into force, which is why the European Commission writes “from 5 August 2026”, and the Haute-Garonne prefecture (page of 9 September 2026) does not apply the condition to people whose protection was issued before 5 August 2026. If you applied during those days, ask the prefecture which date it uses.

Who is concerned. The decision names no sex, age or call-up categories: the obligations are set by Ukrainian law, and the EU does not restate it. Recital 20 adds that military obligations can also rest on people who are not liable to call-up, whatever their age or sex: for instance someone who has joined the armed forces or has other duties connected with military activity.

How to prove it. According to the recitals of the decision and the Commission’s guidance of 18 August 2026, the check has two steps:

1. In countries bordering Ukraine, a lawful crossing of the border at a checkpoint is enough. France does not border Ukraine, so what is needed is an exit stamp from the Ukrainian border guards in the passport, as a rule no more than 90 days old on the date protection is requested, except in exceptional circumstances. Stamps are not put in systematically, so the Commission advises asking the Ukrainian authorities for an exit stamp in advance.
2. If a lawful exit cannot be confirmed, you need a verifiable official document, paper or electronic, for example from the Ukrainian state app Reserv+: first name, surname, date of birth, whether the person is exempt and until what date. For now the document exists only in Ukrainian, so the Commission suggests ordering a sworn translation into English or French in advance - from the Ukrainian authorities before leaving, or through a Ukrainian consulate.

The burden of proof lies with the applicant. For people who lived in another European country and received protection there, the Haute-Garonne prefecture lists three routes: an exit stamp less than 90 days old, the Reserv+ form with a translation made through a diplomatic mission, or another document, such as a certificate from an embassy.

Who is not checked. People who received protection before the rule took effect and have kept it. People who applied earlier but did not get protection for reasons beyond their control: the Commission treats them as eligible. People to whom the condition did not apply when they applied: if circumstances later change (their age, say), they do not need to prove again that their military obligations are met, and the status stays.

Moving from another EU country. If you held protection elsewhere and are requesting it in France, you will have to show a lawful exit from Ukraine, because France cannot verify how the criteria were applied in the first country.

Returning from Ukraine. According to the Haute-Garonne prefecture, the new conditions apply if the APS has expired and the person did not tell the prefecture they were leaving.

How to get an APS

The APS is issued by the prefecture of the département where you live. Each prefecture has its own procedure; the general outline is this:

1. First application - by appointment or online, as your prefecture says; every prefecture has its own list of documents. Given the conditions of protection, you will need an identity document, proof that you lived in Ukraine before 24 February 2022, since 31 July 2026 proof on military obligations, and an address in the département. The Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture (a 2022 page) requires a translation only for passports written in Cyrillic alone.
2. The 6-month APS. Minors are not issued an APS: a document for staying in France is compulsory from age 18. Children are still under protection.
3. OFII and ADA. After the first APS you can apply to OFII (the French immigration and integration office) for the ADA allowance (allocation pour demandeur d’asile); it is paid if you have accepted OFII’s reception conditions and your income is below the RSA level. The amount is €6.80 a day for one person, €10.20 for two and €13.60 for three; if no housing is offered, add €7.40 a day. The money is loaded onto an OFII payment card.
4. Renewal. In advance, in the window the prefecture sets (from 15 days to a month before the end of the term). The Haute-Garonne prefecture (a block of its page dated 15 December 2022) asks for civil-status documents, fresh proof of address, a photo and the expired APS, which you hand in. From the second renewal there is a €100 stamp.

The Vaucluse prefecture warns separately that no company is accredited by it for these procedures.

Prefectures of the South: how people apply

A summary of the prefecture pages. We checked them on 11 and 19 October 2026, but the pages are often undated and keep changing, so confirm the procedure with your own prefecture before you go.

In the Gard, since the end of January 2026, OFII sees people who have just received their first APS by appointment only: you ask for one by writing to ukraine-ada-montpellier@ofii.fr, and the sessions are on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the OFII office in Montpellier, 130 rue de la Jasse de Maurin. In the Alpes-Maritimes the ADA renewal is done remotely: the form from the prefecture goes to OFII at ukraine-ada-nice@ofii.fr together with the new APS.

Hérault. We found no official procedure for 2026; for what else the department offers, see the Hérault department guide. In our chat people have asked about renewals in the Hérault; one member said they requested the renewal by letter to the relevant prefecture department, enclosing the old APS and asking to be given an appointment. That is one person’s experience, not a prefecture rule.

What an APS gives you

Work. The APS “protection temporaire - Ukraine” lets you work as an employee or run your own business, and the employer does not need to request a work permit. According to the 2022 Interior Ministry reply, access to the labour market is full. How to look for work is in our guide Working in France.

France Travail and unemployment benefit. The list of documents for registering a foreigner (service-public, checked 21 January 2025, before decree 2026-308 of 24 April 2026 on the registration of foreigners) includes an APS with the right to work. For ARE (the main unemployment benefit) and ASS (the solidarity allowance) the type of permit is not named in the conditions: for ARE, per the service-public card for contracts that ended before 1 April 2025, you need at least 6 months of work (130 days or 910 hours) in the last 24 months (36 months from age 55); for ASS, 5 years of work in the 10 years before the last contract ended. We found no direct official text on benefits for people under protection specifically.

Health. According to ameli, with temporary protection a person gets basic cover (PUMa) and free top-up cover (Complémentaire santé solidaire) for 12 months from arrival, together with their family and without paying the doctor up front. The prefecture usually passes the data to the CPAM itself. Not everyone gets a Carte Vitale; the right to care is confirmed by a certificate (attestation de droits). More in Carte Vitale and sécu.

CAF. CAF (the family allowance fund) accepts the temporary protection APS as a document proving lawful residence (CAF webinar of the Hauts-de-Seine, 27 November 2025, service-public F2787), so APL (housing benefit), family benefits and child benefits can be claimed if the conditions of each benefit are met; the prime d’activité, per the 2022 Interior Ministry reply, is also paid to them. RSA (income support) is an open question: the list of permits for RSA (service-public, 1 April 2026) does not name the temporary protection APS, and there is no direct answer. More in CAF and APL.

Housing. Under the EU directive, people under protection must have access to suitable accommodation or the means to pay for it. France has been cutting back collective places: the Prime Minister’s circular of 4 December 2024 set a target of 4,000 places by the end of 2025 (9,000 were open at the time) and kept support for individual housing for 11,000 people, the most vulnerable first. It also says that at the end of 2024 half of the people under protection lived without any state housing help. We found no circular for 2026. On renting and guarantors, see Renting a home.

Bank. The Banque de France says you can open an account if you present an identity document (for example the permit or the receipt of the application) and proof of address no older than three months; the decision stays with the bank. If a bank refuses and you have no other account, the Banque de France designates a bank for you free of charge under the droit au compte procedure; the condition is living in France, and nationality does not matter. More in Bank account in France.

School and study. Children under protection study on the same terms as French ones: state school is free, and attendance is compulsory from 3 to 16. Children aged 3-10 are enrolled at the mairie, those aged 11-18 directly at the collège or lycée or through the département’s education service (School and nursery). For university you enrol directly; Crous can give urgent help of up to €500 after an assessment by a social worker, and a diploma comparison from France Éducation international is not compulsory - the university decides.

Driving licence. A Ukrainian licence stays valid for the whole period of protection, with no exchange or translation - details in the guide Driving licence in France.

Travel

With an APS you can travel to other EU countries for up to 90 days in any 180, but the rights of protection apply only in France. According to the Commission, a short trip to Ukraine - visiting family, collecting documents - is not a voluntary return, and the protection should not be withdrawn because of it. The Commission’s guidance does not name a length for such a trip (it leaves that to the countries), and we found no official French text on permitted absence.

Anyone leaving for Ukraine for a long period must tell the prefecture. Such people are taken off the register under the country’s rules, and on coming back they apply for protection again and have to prove a lawful exit under the new condition.

Moving to an ordinary residence card

According to the Interior Ministry page on Réfugiés.info (updated 7 September 2026), when you renew the APS the prefecture considers whether a residence card can be issued to you, especially if you have a job or family in France. The Prime Minister’s circular of 4 December 2024 expressly asks prefects to do this and, where a card cannot be issued, to renew the APS.

The cards the Interior Ministry names:

• vie privée et familiale - marriage to a French citizen, a parent of a French child, strong personal and family ties;
• salarié (permanent contract) or travailleur temporaire (fixed-term) - if the employer has requested and obtained a work authorisation, even though none was needed with the APS;
• talent - without a work authorisation, through ANEF;
• étudiant - up to a year, if you are studying and have enough money to live on.

Once a card is issued, the temporary protection status and the rights tied to it are lost and the ADA allowance stops, but health cover, CAF payments, the right to work and the right to ask for social housing stay (Interior Ministry, Vaucluse prefecture). In the Vaucluse the application for a card is filed when the APS is renewed. Since 1 January 2026, under the general rules, a first multi-year card requires a civic exam and French at level A2, and a first carte de résident level B1 (Bouches-du-Rhône and Pyrénées-Orientales prefectures); their lists contain no exception for people under temporary protection. More about the cards in Titre de séjour: residence permit in France.

Asylum. A person under protection may apply for refugee status. While the application is examined, temporary protection stays in place, and if asylum is refused it is kept until the end of its term. More in Asylum and refugee status.

What happens after 4 March 2028

France has no official position: a written question from a deputy to the government on this was published on 9 June 2026 and, as of 19 October 2026, remains unanswered. What the EU rules say:

• when temporary protection ends, the general rules for foreigners and the ordinary forms of protection apply (directive 2001/55, art. 20);
• the Council of the EU may end protection earlier if return becomes safe (art. 6); the preamble to decision 2026/1912 says that, given a lasting ceasefire, the Council is ready to act under that article (art. 6, para. 1 b);
• the Council recommendation of 16 September 2025 (non-binding) asks countries to ease the move to national residence permits - for work, study or family - and, for those who decide to return, to offer voluntary-return programmes with a departure date generally within a year after protection ends, and to let families with schoolchildren finish the school year.

One thing follows from these texts: at each APS renewal the prefecture already considers whether a residence card can be issued. If you have a job, studies or family in France, it is worth saying so at the next renewal, bearing in mind that with a card the protection status and ADA are lost.

How many people are under protection in France

The data come from Eurostat (dataset migr_asytpsm, updated 15 October 2026); minors are largely not counted in the French data. According to the Interior Ministry’s reply to a senator, from 4 March 2022 to 4 August 2024 France issued 351,472 protection APS: 110,098 first-time ones and 241,374 renewals.

If you are applying for or renewing protection in the South of France, you can ask in our chat how it is going at your prefecture right now, and find your own people nearby.

The “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram - relocation and life in the South of France

See Also

• Ukrainians in France
• Asylum and refugee status in France
• Titre de séjour: residence permit in France
• Driving licence in France
• School and nursery in France
• CAF and APL: housing benefit
• Moving to the South of France: paperwork step by step
• Social housing (HLM): who can get it and how to apply
• Pension in France: retirement age, minimums, ASPA and years worked abroad