Asylum Application File in France: How to Fill It Out and What Information Is Required?

After attending your appointment at the prefecture to register your fingerprints (see details), you must fill out the asylum application form/file provided to you by the prefecture. It must be completed in French in order to submit your asylum application to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) in Paris.

The file must then be sent by mail for registration at the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) within twenty-one (21) days from the date of receiving the asylum application certificate. Usually, the reception structure/association or your lawyer handles this task.

Important: It is strongly recommended to send the file to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) via registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt (AR) so that you have proof of submission. This can be presented to the prefecture as evidence in the event that Ofpra delays sending the registration receipt/certificate when renewing your asylum application certificate, which must be renewed every 6 months.

The form/file must be accompanied by two recent passport-sized photos, a copy of the asylum application certificate (Attestation Demande Asile) issued to you by the prefecture, and copies of any other documents that support and substantiate your story.

If you hold a passport or national identity card, you must include copies of them with the file, and keep the original documents in your possession until you are summoned to the interview, where you will be required to present them.

Note: You must keep a complete copy of the entire file (the Ofpra form, the asylum narrative, and all attached documents).
— This article is accompanied by an explanatory video on the asylum application file prepared by "InfoMigrants".

01 - Details of the OFPRA Application Form/File:

The asylum application file (and likewise for the stateless person application) consists of several pages containing sections that are mandatory to fill out to complete the application, namely:

01 - Civil Status Section: Surname, first name, nationality, marital status... etc., and you will also be asked for your phone number and email address.

You must ensure the civil status boxes are filled out accurately. In the event of an error, it will require a review request from the public prosecutor, and consequently, receiving an answer takes a long time, which is not in your favor. You could also encounter the same problem after approval, especially when issuing the "birth and civil status certificate," which will be based on the same information you provided in the file. Therefore, you must focus and thoroughly review the file.

02 - Family Members Section: Includes complete information about your parents, siblings, and family (first and last name, date and place of birth, current place of residence and their present status, occupation or activity, whether they are married... etc.).

It may also include your belonging to an ethnic minority, religious affiliation, or a minority subjected to racial discrimination... etc.

Your current family status: married, customary marriage, or single; your children (gender, age); specify whether your family members are in France, in your country of origin, or have disappeared.

This section is very crucial, especially if you arrived in France alone and intend to bring your family over after your application is accepted as a refugee or stateless person.

03 - Travel Itinerary Section: Includes all details from your departure from your home country, the countries and places you passed through, up to your arrival in France. The information must be coherent, precise, and accompanied by dates.

04 - Language or Dialect:

You must specify the language or dialect you understand and wish to communicate in with the Ofpra protection officer, so that the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) can provide an interpreter who speaks your language during the interview (specify your exact dialect). Do not designate a language you are not proficient in.

05 - The Story (Asylum Narrative) Section:

This is the most critical part, as an asylum request is a request for protection based on your life story and your fear of persecution; therefore, it must contain all details and accurate information (see details in the attached link).

- The form can be supplemented at any time (up until the interview date). Additional information and copies of supplementary documents proving the fears of persecution must be sent via registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra).

Note: In case of a change of residence and address, it is imperative to notify the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

02 - Official Correspondence with OFPRA:

- When the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) receives the file and verifies that it is complete and fulfills all conditions, it will send a letter to your address containing the "asylum application registration letter."

*- New: In recent years, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons has established a secure digital personal account through which all decisions are notified. An asylum seeker who meets all conditions will receive a secure access key to log into the user portal for this purpose. Read more details via the article link:

Official Correspondence of an Asylum Seeker with OFPRA: How and Where Does It Take Place?

03 - OFPRA and the Accelerated Procedure (procédure accélérée):

Upon receiving the application form and file, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) may decide to apply the accelerated procedure to you even if the prefecture placed you under the standard procedure, in the following cases:

- In the event of "fraud": meaning presenting false statements, forged documents, or submitting multiple asylum applications under different identities... etc.

- In case of submitting irrelevant matters (for instance, an extremely weak and unconvincing asylum story).

- When your statements are "clearly contradictory and incompatible."

Based on the above, your request will be examined within a period of fifteen (15) days, after which an approval or rejection is issued.

04 - Rejection of the Application by OFPRA:

Several situations may lead Ofpra to reject your file, most notably:

- When it becomes clear to the office that you are a refugee in a European Union country other than France, or in another country (provided that the protection is effective and you are able to re-enter).

- When you request a review of the file without presenting a "new fact/element" supporting your story. The new element must be relevant, logical, and supported by evidence regarding the issue of "personal fears." This new development must have occurred after the proceedings at the National Court of Asylum (CNDA), or you must prove that you were not aware of it prior to the hearing.

05 - Closing and Terminating Your File as an Asylum Seeker:

There are numerous cases and reasons why the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons closes an asylum application file; therefore, you must be aware of them, which are generally as follows:

- If you do not send the form/file to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) within twenty-one (21) days without providing legal justification and a "compelling reason" (a "compelling reason" could be, for example, a change of address or experiencing severe health issues... etc.), the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) will ask you to regularize your situation within eight (8) days.

If you miss this deadline, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) will issue a decision to close your asylum application.

- The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) may terminate your asylum application if you refuse to provide information regarding your story, identity, nationality... etc., or fail to provide your address within a reasonable time, or if it is impossible to contact you for the purpose of examining the asylum application.

- If you do not send your address to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) within a "reasonable period," the date of issuance of the notice, which could not be sent to you by mail due to an incorrect address, will serve as the date of the Office's decision.

*- Following a closure decision, you have the right to request the reopening of your file within nine (9) months.

Explanatory video on the asylum application file prepared by "InfoMigrants"