France expels him, the courts cancel his OQTF… but leave him stranded in Morocco

Born in Morocco in 1987, the man says he arrived in France in 2002 as part of family reunification. He was 15 at the time. He subsequently held two successive residence cards, the latest of which was valid until April 18, 2025.

However, his judicial record eventually weighed heavily on his right to remain. His record includes several convictions, notably for domestic violence, death threats, attempted extortion and several thefts. The most recent dates back to December 2023: one year in prison for burglary.

Imprisoned at the Beauvais penitentiary on June 4, 2024, he was due to be released six months later. In the meantime, on November 4, the prefect of Oise issued a particularly severe decision: withdrawal of his residence card, an OQTF without a grace period, removal to Morocco and a five-year ban on returning to France.

On December 4, 2024, upon his release from prison, the removal was immediately carried out. The Moroccan man was sent to Morocco that same day, according to the ruling of the Douai Administrative Court of Appeal.

On Bladi.net : Arriving in France at 10, this Moroccan man receives an OQTF after 21 years: judge blocks his removal

From Morocco, however, he challenged the entire procedure. And in July 2025, the Amiens Administrative Court partially ruled in his favor.

The judges found that the prefecture could not rely on the legal basis it had chosen to impose this OQTF after withdrawing his “long-term EU” residence card. The obligation to leave France was therefore annulled, as was the five-year re-entry ban.

The prefecture must also delete his alert for the purposes of refusing admission from the Schengen Information System and reconsider his situation. The State was ordered to pay him 1,000 euros.

He wins against his OQTF, but loses his residence card

However, this victory has a major limitation. The court refused to annul the withdrawal of his residence card.

The courts held that the numerous convictions accumulated over nearly fifteen years allowed the prefect to regard his presence as a “serious threat to public order.” The judges specifically noted three new convictions for theft between 2020 and 2023, despite the residence card he had held since 2015.

The Moroccan man nevertheless emphasized his ties to France. He is the father of two French children born in 2008 and 2010 and says he no longer has any real family in Morocco, as his parents have died.

But the judges found that he had provided no evidence establishing relations, even occasional ones, with his children or effective participation in their support. His professional integration was also deemed insufficient.

A situation different from that of this Moroccan man who had lived in France since childhood and succeeded in having his OQTF overturned, with personal and family ties having played a role in the latter case.

On Bladi.net : Convicted in France, this Moroccan national who has lived there since childhood overturns his OQTF

The most concrete question then remained: since his OQTF and re-entry ban had been annulled after his expulsion, was France required to bring him back?

The Moroccan man asked the Douai Administrative Court of Appeal to order the prefect to issue him, within seven days, with a laissez-passer or a long-stay visa so that he could return to France. He even sought a penalty of 150 euros for each day of delay.

The court refused.

In its ruling of May 5, 2026, it held that the grounds leading to the annulment of the OQTF did not oblige the administration to arrange his return. Annulment of the removal measure merely requires the prefecture to reconsider his situation. It entails neither the issuance of a visa, nor a laissez-passer, nor even temporary residence authorization.

The Moroccan man thus finds himself in an unusual situation: his OQTF no longer exists, his five-year re-entry ban has also been annulled and his Schengen alert must be deleted, but his former residence card remains validly withdrawn and the courts refuse to compel France to arrange his return from Morocco.