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

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

The file must then be dispatched by mail for filing with the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) within 21 days from the date of receiving the asylum application certificate. Usually, the reception structure/association or your lawyer undertakes 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 recorded delivery (acknowledgment of receipt) so that you hold formal proof of submission. This serves as evidence to present to the prefecture in the event that Ofpra delays issuing the registration certificate/receipt when it is time to renew the asylum application certificate, which must be renewed every 6 months.

The form/file must be accompanied by two recent passport-style photos, a copy of the asylum application certificate Attestation Demande Asile granted to you by the prefecture, and copies of any other documents supporting and substantiating your story.

If you hold a passport or an identity card, copies must be enclosed with the file, while you retain the original documents, if in your possession, until you are summoned for an interview, where you will be required to present them (all original documents must be submitted during the interview).

Warning: You must retain a copy of the complete file (the Ofpra form, the asylum narrative, and all attached documents).

01 - Details of the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) File/Form:

The asylum application file (and likewise the stateless file) contains several pages comprising sections that must be filled out to complete the application, namely:

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

Make sure to fill in the boxes regarding your civil status accurately. In case of an error, it will necessitate a rectification request to the public prosecutor, meaning that receiving an answer will take a long time, which is not in your favor. You could also encounter the same problem after receiving asylum, particularly when issuing the "Birth and Civil Status Certificate," which will reflect the exact same information you provided in the file. Therefore, you must focus and thoroughly review the file.

02 - Family Members Section: Contains full details about your parents, siblings, and family (full names, date and place of birth, current place of residence and their present status, occupation or activity, whether they are married... etc.).

Possibly also your affiliation with an ethnic minority, your religious affiliation, or belonging to a minority subjected to racial discrimination... etc.

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

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

03 - Travel Route Section: Contains all details, especially dates, starting from your departure from your country of origin, the countries and places you transited through, up until your arrival in France. The information must be coherent and precise, without any contradictions.

04 - Language or Dialect:

You must specify the language or dialect you understand and wish to use to communicate 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 specific dialect). Do not state a language you do not master.

05 - The Story Section:

This is the most critical part because an asylum claim is a request for protection based on your life story and your fears of persecution; therefore, it must contain all precise details and information.

- The form may be supplemented at any time (up until the interview date). Additional information and copies of supporting documents proving 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 the event of a change of residence and address, it is mandatory to inform the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

02 - Official Correspondence with the "OFPRA" Office:

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

*- Update: In recent years, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons established a secure digital personal account that allows notification of all decisions. Asylum applicants who meet all requirements will receive a secret access key to enter the user portal for this purpose. Find more details via the article link:

Official Correspondence for Asylum Seekers with OFPRA: How and Where Does It Take Place?

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

After receiving the asylum application form and file, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) may decide to place your application under the accelerated procedure even if the prefecture granted you the standard procedure status. This occurs in the following cases:

- In case of "fraud": meaning presenting false statements, forged documents, or submitting multiple asylum applications under different identities... etc.
- When your statements are "clearly contradictory and inconsistent."

- When presenting irrelevant subjects: for instance, if the asylum narrative is very weak and unconvincing, or duplicated and copied from another narrative submitted previously.

Based on the foregoing, your application will be reviewed within 15 days, after which an approval or rejection decision is issued.

04 - Rejection of the Application File by Ofpra:

There are several circumstances in which Ofpra refuses to accept your file, most notably:

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

- When you request a re-examination ("Réexamen") without introducing a "new ground or emerging event" supporting your narrative. The new element must also be relevant, coherent, and substantiate the subject of "personal fears" with evidence. This new event must have occurred after the proceedings before the National Court of Asylum (CNDA); otherwise, you must prove that you were unaware of it prior to the hearing.

05 - Closing and Terminating Your Asylum Seeker File:

There are many cases and reasons why the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons Ofpra closes an asylum application file, and you must be aware of them. They 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 21 days without providing a legitimate justification and a "compelling reason" (the mentioned "compelling reason" may be, for instance, a change of your address or experiencing significant health problems... etc.), the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons Ofpra will ask you to regularize your situation within 8 days. If you fail to meet this deadline, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons Ofpra will issue a decision to close the 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, your identity, your nationality... etc., or fail to provide your address within a reasonable timeframe, or in the event that you cannot be contacted for the purpose of examining the asylum application.

- If you fail to 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 post due to an address error—will be deemed the date of issuance of the office's decision.

- Following a closure decision, you have the right to request the reopening of your file within nine (9) months, starting from the date the rejection decision was issued.

*- Special report prepared by France News