French Passport Renewal in the UK 2026 (French Consulates / ANTS)

France has two general consulates in the UK for passport services: London and Edinburgh. The London Consulate is responsible for its UK consular district and the Edinburgh Consulate handles Scotland. Use the office responsible for your residence rather than choosing purely on appointment availability.

Identify whether the passport is still valid, recently expired, expired for more than five years, lost, stolen, damaged, or has exhausted visa pages. The documents requested can change significantly depending on this status.

Make sure your French surname, given names, date/place of birth and civil-status information are consistent across your passport, national identity card and French civil records. Resolve important data changes before the passport appointment where possible.

A French passport pre-application can be completed through ANTS before the consular appointment. It saves time when the application is lodged. Keep the pre-application number and/or QR code. It should not be confused with the experimental fully remote renewal service, which currently does not cover the UK.

Bring the original documents required for your situation and one recent compliant 35 x 45 mm photograph. Do not assume the UK 35 x 45 mm passport-photo standard is a substitute for French requirements; use a photo meeting the French specification.

For applicants abroad who supply the photograph, the current French passport fee is €96 for adults, €52 for ages 15–17 and €27 for children under 15. The consulate can also accept payment directly by methods specified for the post.

Contact or use the appointment system of the competent French consulate. Service availability and appointment procedures can change, so applicants should use the current London or Edinburgh consular instructions rather than third-party appointment websites.

Presence is normally mandatory because the passport application involves identity verification and biometric data collection. A parent or legal representative accompanies a minor according to the applicable parental-authority rules.

The passport is a biometric document. Fingerprints are collected from applicants who are not exempt by age or circumstance. In particular, children under 12 are exempt from fingerprint collection under the French passport rules, but they still have to attend the application with the required responsible adult.

The consular officer verifies the application, identity, photograph and supporting documents. If the passport has been expired for more than five years or nationality/civil status requires additional verification, additional documents can be requested.

In the UK, French citizens may request postal delivery where the conditions are met. The applicant must be registered in the French Register of French Nationals Established Abroad for the UK, have an email address and be able to complete the online receipt confirmation. If postal delivery is not requested or not available, the passport is collected personally at the competent consulate or another authorised collection point.

The passport is not manufactured at the consulate. Production time depends on the location and period of application. Applicants can track the application through the official ANTS passport-tracking service and may receive an SMS or email when the passport is ready or dispatched.

For postal delivery, the applicant receives an email notification with the relevant secret code and must confirm receipt through the official tele-service after the passport arrives. The previous passport must be returned by secure mail of the same type when postal delivery is used.

The old passport is normally returned or cancelled according to the collection method. If it contains a still-valid visa, the applicant can generally keep it for the visa's validity period even after the passport has been cancelled.