After 17 years in France, a Moroccan man receives an OQTF over a report dating back to 2012: judge intervenes

Born in 1978, the Moroccan national states that he entered France on 5 August 2009. He obtained his first temporary residence card in 2013, renewed until 2016, followed by multi-year cards from 2017 onward. His most recent permit was valid until 6 October 2025.

The Moroccan man had applied for its renewal on 16 June 2025. A year later, on 19 June 2026, the prefect of Var rejected his application, ordered him to leave France within thirty days, and designated the country to which he could be sent.

On Bladi.net : After 56 Years in France, This Moroccan Man Forces the Prefecture to Back Down

To justify this refusal, the administration considered that his presence constituted a threat to public order. According to the order issued on 5 August 2026 by the Toulon Administrative Court, the prefecture relied on the fact that he had been unfavorably known to the police and gendarmerie services on 11 May 2012 for alleged rape.

The report had never blocked his previous permits

Before the applications judge, the Moroccan man contested the reality of the facts. He also argued that he had never been convicted and that this fourteen-year-old report had never been invoked against him during the previous renewals of his residence permit.

These elements were enough to weaken the prefecture’s assessment. At this stage of the proceedings, the court considers that the argument based on an error of assessment regarding the threat to public order raises serious doubt as to the legality of the refusal to renew the permit. A situation similar to that of another Moroccan whose talent passport had been withdrawn on the basis of insufficiently established facts.

The urgency requirement was also recognized. When a person requests the renewal of a permit they already held, that urgency is in principle presumed. The Var prefecture presented no specific evidence capable of overturning this presumption.

The judge therefore suspended the refusal to renew the permit until the decision on the merits is issued. He ordered the prefect to issue the Moroccan man, within fifteen days, a temporary residence authorization allowing him to work. This document must be renewed for as long as the court has not definitively ruled on the dispute.

On Bladi.net : France revives a fifteen-year-old case to block a Moroccan man’s naturalization

The OQTF was not separately suspended by the applications judge. The action on the merits brought by the Moroccan man already legally prevents its enforcement until the court has ruled. The State must also pay him 1000 euros toward legal costs. This initial decision therefore does not yet guarantee him a new permit, but it allows him to remain temporarily in regular status and continue working.