What Are the Grounds for Rejection and the End of the Right to Remain in France? (Withdrawal of the Asylum Application Certificate)

The grounds for rejecting an asylum application or the termination of the right to remain in France vary depending on the file's status and decisions issued by the competent authorities.
This may lead to the withdrawal of the asylum seeker's certificate and the initiation of other procedures, while preserving the right to appeal within legal deadlines. Here are the key cases under which the right to remain in France comes to an end.

01 - Automatic Loss of the Right to Remain in France:

You lose your right to remain in France (and the prefecture may refuse to issue, renew, or may withdraw the asylum application certificate / Attestation Demande Asile) in the following cases:

- First case: The OFPRA office takes an inadmissibility decision according to the law and pursuant to Art. L.723-11 of the Ceseda.

- Second case: In the event of withdrawing your asylum application pursuant to Art. L.723-12 of the Ceseda.
- Third case: The OFPRA office may decide to close your application pursuant to Art. L.723-13 of the Ceseda.

- If a final deportation order has been issued against you.

02 - New Grounds for Losing the Right to Remain in France:

The law of September 10, 2018, added new cases resulting in the loss of the right to remain on French territory:

- If an OFPRA decision rules that your request to reopen the file is inadmissible pursuant to Art. L.743-2, paragraph 4, of the Ceseda.
Or if the application is rejected after the interview pursuant to Art. L.723-2, I, of the Ceseda.

- If the application is rejected because you come from a country deemed a safe country of origin (POS) or because your presence in France constitutes a threat to public order / public security or state security, pursuant to Art. L.743-2, paragraph 7, and Art. L.723-2, I, and paragraph 5 of 3 of the Ceseda.

- If OFPRA has issued a decision of rejection or inadmissibility of your asylum application because you are subject to an expulsion measure (other than an OQTF), an entry ban, or an administrative ban on entry pursuant to Art. L.743-2, paragraph 8, of the Ceseda.

Notes:
- An expulsion order may be issued in cases of a serious threat to public order, conduct likely to undermine the fundamental interests of the State, links to terrorist activities, or acts constituting deliberate, overt incitement to discrimination, hatred, or violence against a specific person or group of persons, or if your personal conduct represents a genuine, present, and sufficiently serious threat to a fundamental interest of society, pursuant to Articles L.521-1 or L.521-3 to 5 of the Ceseda.
- A criminal court may issue an entry ban for a crime or offense (Criminal Code, Articles 131-30).
- An administrative ban on entry may be imposed in the event of a genuine, present, and sufficiently serious threat to a fundamental interest of society, or a serious threat to public order, internal security, or France's international relations, pursuant to Articles L.214-1 or L.214-2 of the Ceseda.

03 - Breach of "Asylum and Migration Pact" Obligations and Immediate Removal:

With the entry into force of stricter European rules and recent French amendments, protection and the right to remain lapse in the following cases:

• Accelerated border procedures (Procédure à la frontière): The asylum seeker loses the right to travel deeper into French territory and is held in waiting zones if they entered irregularly and are subjected to the rapid border screening mechanism.

• Refusal to sign or abide by the contract of "Respect for the Principles of the Republic": Signing this contract has become an essential condition, and any conduct blatantly contrary to these principles grants authorities the right to withdraw residence documents or refuse to withhold deportation.

• Decisions of the National Court of Asylum (CNDA): The right to remain officially ends upon the reading or notification of a negative decision issued by the appellate court (CNDA), allowing the prefecture to issue an immediate Obligation to Leave French Territory.

04 - OQTF and the Loss of the Right to Remain on French Territory:

- Article L. 743-3 of the Ceseda provides that any person whose asylum application has been definitively rejected or who has lost their right to remain on French territory for one of the reasons mentioned in Article L. 743-2 cited above must leave French territory, "under penalty of being subject to removal measures," in practice an OQTF.

- If your asylum application is still under review before the CNDA, but you have lost the right to remain on French territory due to the new grounds added by the law of September 10, 2018 (see Section 02 above), you may, in this case, request the Administrative Court to suspend the removal measure notified to you after losing your right to remain pending the CNDA's decision.

- For example, if your application is rejected by OFPRA and you originate from a safe country of origin, you will lose your right to remain on French territory and the prefecture will withdraw your asylum application. You will be notified of an OQTF decision; you may then request the Administrative Court to suspend its measures while the CNDA reviews your appeal.
Note: There is a significant jurisdictional difference between the Administrative Court and the National Court of Asylum (CNDA).

05 - House Arrest or Detention:

- If you are subject to an OQTF under one of the grounds for loss of the right to remain on French territory added by the law of September 10, 2018 (see Section 02 above), you may be placed under house arrest for 45 days, renewable once; you may also be placed in detention, pursuant to Article L. 744-9-1 of the Ceseda.

- If, prior to lodging your asylum application, you were already subject to an OQTF and were detained or placed under house arrest, you may again request the Administrative Court to suspend the execution of the removal measure until the CNDA issues its decision, pursuant to Article L. 743-4 of the Ceseda.

- Note: Specific measures apply to individuals subject to an expulsion order, judicial ban on entry, or administrative ban on entry pursuant to Article L. 743-2, paragraph 8, and Article L.571-4 of the Ceseda.
If an individual is already subject to an expulsion order, or an administrative or judicial ban on entering French territory, they may request the Administrative Court (TA) to suspend the execution of the measure within 48 hours following notification of a decision of rejection or inadmissibility from OFPRA (Ceseda, Article L. 571-4).

06 - Extradition or International Arrest Warrants:

The right to remain terminates automatically if the foreign national is subject to an extradition decision by another state or has been issued a surrender order under a European or international arrest warrant, as asylum procedures in this case do not protect them from immediate removal [L542-2].