France’s 10-Year Entry Ban for Moroccan Man With Valid Residence Permit Overturned

The Moroccan national, born in 1993 in Ksar El-Kébir, held a four-year, multi-year residence permit valid from 24 November 2023 to 23 November 2027. Yet the Yvelines prefect withdrew the permit on 25 August 2026, according to the 29 September ruling.

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Along with the withdrawal, he was ordered to leave the country immediately, banned from returning for ten years and flagged in the Schengen Information System. A second order placed him under house arrest in Yvelines for forty-five days.

Before these decisions, his lawyer had sent a letter to the prefecture on 14 July. It set out the client’s written observations and requested an appointment so he could explain himself in person. The prefecture’s services did not respond to the request.

The prefecture was required to give him a hearing

It was this failure to hear him that invalidated the procedure. When withdrawing a residence permit, the administration must give its holder an opportunity to respond to the reasons put forward against him. If he asks to present his observations orally, it must in principle hear him, even if he has already submitted arguments in writing.

Before the judges, the prefect argued that the Moroccan man’s explanations would not have changed the decision. The court rejected that argument: the requested hearing was a safeguard that the administration could not deny him on that basis.

The prefecture also failed to establish that his request was abusive or cite exceptional circumstances that prevented it from arranging the appointment. Nor had any equivalent exchange that could serve as a hearing taken place.

The court therefore found a procedural flaw and overturned both orders issued on 25 August. It ruled on that basis without considering the Moroccan man’s other arguments, including his challenge to the claim that he posed a threat to public order.

The prefecture must now review his situation within two months of being notified of the ruling. In the meantime, it must issue him a temporary residence permit. The court did not order the immediate return of his residence card, which his lawyer had sought within seven days.

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The state must also pay him 1,000 euros in legal costs. The judges did not impose a financial penalty for each day the review is delayed.