French Court Orders Long-Stay Visa for Moroccan Man After Neighbors and Stepdaughter Back Marriage
A Moroccan man married to a French woman was denied a long-stay visa after the authorities suspected a marriage of convenience. To defend their union, the couple submitted statements from neighbors and the wife’s daughter. The Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal has now ruled in their favor.
The wife’s daughter and several neighbors played an important role in the legal battle of this Moroccan national. Born in June 1985, the man married a French woman ten years his senior on February 1, 2022, in Montpellier. They had begun living together in April 2021, when they moved into the same home.
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In June 2022, the Moroccan man returned to his country to apply for a long-stay visa as the spouse of a French citizen. The French consulate in Rabat rejected his application on June 29. The couple then appealed to the commission responsible for reviewing appeals against visa refusals, which upheld the decision on October 26.
The authorities suspected that the marriage had been contracted solely to facilitate his move to France. They cited his irregular stay in France since 2019 and the lack of evidence that he contributed to household expenses. The Nantes Administrative Court initially ruled in favor of the authorities in November 2023.
Statements that convinced the court
The couple appealed and presented several pieces of evidence attesting to the reality of their relationship. The French woman’s daughter submitted a statement in their favor. Neighbors in the same building also provided detailed accounts of the couple’s life together.
The couple also submitted messages exchanged after the husband left for Morocco. Despite being apart, the two spouses continued their relationship. The French woman traveled to Morocco in December 2022 and again in August 2023 to reunite with her husband.
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In its ruling of January 30, 2026, the Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal found that the evidence cited by the authorities was insufficient to establish a marriage fraud. The judges took into account statements from people close to the couple, their life together before the marriage, and the fact that they maintained their relationship after being separated.
The court overturned the November 2023 judgment and the visa refusal upheld by the appeals commission. It ordered the interior minister to issue the Moroccan man a long-stay visa within two months of notification of the ruling. The state must also pay the couple’s lawyer 1,500 euros in legal costs, under the rules governing legal aid.
