France Tightens Immigration Rules, Making Regularization Nearly Impossible for Undocumented Migrants

The replacement of the Valls circular, in effect since 2012, by that of Retailleau, current French Minister of the Interior, complicates the regularization of undocumented immigrants. Now, undocumented immigrants wishing to obtain exceptional admission to stay (AES) must prove 7 years of presence on French territory, instead of 5 years, or even 3 years in some cases, under the Valls circular. According to Joël, an activist from CSP 75, the Coordination of Undocumented Immigrants in Paris, quoted by Mediapart, there is also the point about OQTFs, which is "imprecise". The Retailleau circular does not indicate "whether one should never have had one, or have no current OQTF," he adds.

The problem is real. The new restrictions brought by the Retailleau circular "make regularization virtually impossible," says Anzoumane Sissoko, a former undocumented immigrant currently elected in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. According to his explanations, even if some undocumented immigrants manage to meet all the conditions required by this new circular, they will have to face the dematerialized procedure and the difficulty of securing an appointment to submit their residence permit application files at the prefecture. Another detail: even if the conditions are met, and the appointment granted, AES remain subject to the prefect’s discretion and applicants still risk being refused and deported.

Some undocumented immigrants have already paid the price. "Everything has been blocked since Retailleau," says Yoro, another member of CSP75, who reveals that his association received an email at the end of January informing them that they no longer have the right to submit collective applications. "How will all those who master neither French nor the procedures manage?" he laments.

In the Yvelines prefecture, AES for work reasons "are on hold or proposed for refusal," notes Mediapart, which conducted an investigation in several prefectures. In Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris, "appointments are no longer given, or very few," in Nanterre, appointments are only given "for exceptional cases," adds the French media. A real "catastrophe" in the eyes of Delphine Martin, a lawyer specializing in foreigners’ rights in France.

One of her files submitted in January was refused "out of hand" on February 6. However, it normally took up to a year and a half to get a response. Her colleague Charles is trying to circumvent the Retailleau circular. His strategy consists of waiting for the implicit refusal from the prefecture to seize the administrative court. Unlike prefects, "judges look at whether there is at least five years of presence in France," he explains.

Martine, an activist for undocumented immigrants’ rights, also has her strategy to win cases. "I tell them (prefecture agents) that they cannot impose the Retailleau circular on me for files submitted in 2023, based on the criteria of the Valls circular. It’s not my fault if they take two years to give an appointment," she says. This argument is not valid for new applications. The Retailleau circular applies. She therefore advises undocumented immigrants "to wait until they have seven years of presence, at the risk of getting an OQTF."