Foreign Residents in France Fall Victim to Permit Application Scams

Under the cover of fake companies, these intermediaries scam residence permit applicants who are faced with various difficulties related to delays in processing their files at the prefecture level or the complexity of the digitalized procedures. Some applicants have told the investigative media Street Press that they paid between 250 and 400 euros to these intermediaries without success. The French media collected the testimony of 15 victims of these networks of scammers who make applicants believe that they will help them regularize their situation or accelerate the procedures at the prefecture to obtain their residence permit.

Waiting for a response from the prefecture where she has filed her residence permit application since 2022, Valeria, a 26-year-old student, "desperate," ended up entrusting her file to an intermediary who promised to unblock the situation as soon as possible. For this service, Valeria paid the sum of 300 euros. But after months, she remains without news of the website that no longer responds to her phone calls or emails. Realizing that she has been scammed, the student is depressed to the point of attempting suicide. Valeria is certainly not the only victim of this intermediary website.

Anissa, a young woman, also fell victim to it when she entrusted the same website with her file for a change of status from student to employee in 2022. Having had no follow-up, she found herself in an irregular situation for several months during which she lived in constant fear of being expelled from French territory. In addition to scamming foreign residence permit applicants through their often well-referenced websites, these intermediaries also directly scam their victims. This is the case of Zidane, 70 years old, who recounts having received a call from a lady informing him that her company "works with the prefecture." Biting the bait, the septuagenarian paid the requested amounts, without satisfaction.

Sarah, on the other hand, was luckier. Sensing the scam, she refused to pay the fraudulent website. This was enough for an employee of the fake company to bombard her with calls and insulting messages, and then with threats indicating that "her file will be blocked for 8 months." The phenomenon is growing, under the powerless gaze of the French authorities. According to the Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression (DGCCRF), more than 650 reports concerning these sites were recorded in 2024. For its part, the French Ministry of the Interior calls on applicants to be vigilant and to report any cases of abuse, assuring that it remains "attentive to fraudulent websites that monetize procedures that are free on the official administration websites."