France: The prefect wanted to deport this Moroccan cook; he must now give him his papers

Born in 1986, the Moroccan national entered France in January 2013. He held a vocational certificate in cooking and pastry-making obtained in Morocco the previous year.

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Starting in February 2019, he worked for several companies in the food-service sector. The pay slips submitted to the court documented a continuous professional career consistent with his qualifications.

This integration did not convince the prefect of Yvelines. On September 17, 2024, the prefect refused to issue him a residence permit and ordered him to leave France within thirty days.

The Moroccan national challenged this decision before the Versailles Administrative Court. In February 2025, the judges annulled the refusal of residence and the OQTF, then asked the prefecture to review his case.

The prefect nevertheless appealed in an attempt to have his decision reinstated.

The prefect loses a second time

The Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal considers that the Moroccan national’s years of work demonstrate “substantial professional integration.” He had been working for five years when the prefectural decision was made, and his work was directly related to the diploma he obtained in Morocco.

The judges found that the prefect had made a manifest error of assessment by refusing to use his power to regularize the applicant’s status. The Franco-Moroccan agreement governs Moroccan nationals’ access to an employee residence permit, but it does not prevent the prefecture from regularizing a person in light of their career and personal circumstances.

In its ruling issued on July 9, 2026, the Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal therefore rejects the prefect’s appeal. It no longer merely asks him to review the case: it orders him to issue the Moroccan national a residence card bearing the designation “employee” within two months.

The prefecture must also remove from the Schengen Information System the alert linked to his obligation to leave France. This entry could be consulted by the authorities of other European countries.

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The state is finally ordered to pay the Moroccan national 1,500 euros. After attempting to have the first favorable ruling for the cook overturned, the prefect thus obtains the opposite result: the courts now directly require him to issue the residence permit.