French court overturns Moroccan man’s third deportation order over incorrect procedure

In April 2024, French authorities carried out the transfer of a Moroccan national to the Netherlands, the country responsible for examining his asylum application. But the man returned to France without a residence permit. On July 13, the Bas-Rhin prefecture issued him a new order to leave French territory (OQTF), with no period for voluntary departure and a one-year ban on returning.

On Bladi.net : France wanted to send this Moroccan man back to the Netherlands: the courts cancel everything

This Moroccan man was already familiar with removal procedures. According to his statements, he arrived in France in 2015, at the age of 14. He received a first OQTF on July 10, 2020, followed by a second on December 10, 2023. A few months later, the prefecture began proceedings to transfer him to the Dutch authorities.

On February 22, 2024, France asked the Netherlands to take responsibility for the man. The response came a week later, on February 29: the Dutch authorities agreed. On March 8, the prefecture ordered his transfer, which was carried out in April. After returning to France, the Moroccan man challenged his third OQTF before the Strasbourg Administrative Court, which dismissed his application on July 22, 2024. He appealed.

The prefecture used the wrong procedure

In its ruling of November 9, 2026, the Nancy Administrative Court of Appeal found an error of law. The judges noted that, when the third OQTF was issued, nothing in the case file established that the Netherlands had definitively rejected the Moroccan man’s asylum application.

In this situation, the European Dublin Regulation required the authorities to use a procedure to transfer him to the state responsible for examining his application, rather than issue an order to leave French territory. His irregular return to France after an initial transfer did not change that rule.

One detail further confirms the judges’ analysis. On July 23, 2024, ten days after issuing the challenged OQTF, the prefecture obtained a new agreement from the Netherlands to take responsibility for the Moroccan national. French authorities had therefore themselves initiated a new transfer procedure after using the OQTF route.

The court overturned the Strasbourg Administrative Court’s ruling as well as the prefectural order of July 13, 2024. The OQTF, the refusal to grant a period for voluntary departure, the decision setting the country of return and the one-year ban on returning were thus overturned.

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

The court ordered the Bas-Rhin prefect to issue the Moroccan man a temporary residence permit within two weeks of notification of the ruling. The administration must review his situation within two months. The state was also ordered to pay 1,000 euros to his lawyer, subject to the conditions of legal aid.