Delays in Residence Permit Processing Spark Protests in Val-de-Marne

About thirty associations gathered a few days ago in front of the prefecture of Val-de-Marne to protest against the lack of speed in the processing of residence permit applications for foreigners. "I feel like a ghost. It’s hard to live with every day," confides to France 3, Chris, a BTS student in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in Val-de-Marne. He has been waiting for months for the prefecture to respond to his request to cancel the Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) that was notified to him on April 25, 2024, during an identity check. His gracious appeal filed in May with the prefecture is also without follow-up.

"I went to the building several times, but they tell me I can’t enter the premises if I’m not summoned. Without this repeal, I can’t renew my residence permit. It’s a vicious circle." Chris just wants one thing: to obtain "his repeal to be able to move freely and continue my studies in France." In his uphill battle, the student has been supported by the Réseau Éducation Sans Frontières (RESF) association. "Chris’s situation is not an isolated case in the department. We are asking for more humanity in the management of regularization files by the prefecture," declares Pablo Krasnopolsky, spokesperson for RESF in Val-de-Marne.

According to the official, "this lack of support leads people to lose their jobs, their homes and their family allowances." Harouna, a resident of France since 2014, finds himself in this situation. Since July, when he filed an application to renew his residence permit, he has not received a response. "I no longer have a job and no longer have housing because of this. I need an appointment to go pick up a single document, but I’ve been waiting for months," he fumes. "The organizations that support and assist this public are unanimous on the findings of denial of rights," say the associations demonstrating this Wednesday.

"Families have been waiting for regularization since 2022," denounces Jean-Louis Marziani, co-secretary of the departmental union Sud Solidaires 94, adding that this situation leads these people, in a regular situation, to become de facto undocumented. "Sometimes the request for renewal or issuance of a residence permit has been processed. The document exists, but the applicants are not notified by the prefecture. It’s a factory of undocumented," asserts Gilles Poletti, spokesperson for the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme in Val-de-Marne. According to the associations, the situation is likely to worsen with the "Retailleau circular" which orders prefects to tighten the conditions for regularizing undocumented immigrants.