French Court Upholds Deportation Order for Moroccan Cancer Patient
A Moroccan man treated in France for digestive cancer had been granted a residence permit because of his health. But the prefecture later refused to renew his papers, saying he could receive treatment in Morocco. The courts have now upheld his OQTF, despite his family ties in France.
In August 2021, the French administration issued him a “private and family life” residence permit on medical grounds. Three and a half years later, the prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis refused to renew it and ordered him to leave France within thirty days. In a ruling dated November 4, 2026, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal has upheld the decision.
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The Moroccan national, born in May 1984, arrived in France in April 2019. In December 2020, doctors diagnosed him with digestive cancer. He underwent chemotherapy, followed by chemoradiotherapy, which ended in September 2021. He had surgery the following month, before starting another round of chemotherapy, which ended on February 10, 2022.
On August 30, 2023, he applied to renew his residence permit. His case was reviewed by doctors from the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII). In their opinion dated December 4, they acknowledged that a lack of medical care could have exceptionally serious consequences. However, they considered that appropriate treatment was available to him in Morocco.
The cost of care in Morocco at the heart of the appeal
It is precisely this assessment that the Moroccan man challenged in court. He argued that the cost of treatment could prevent him from continuing his care in his country of origin. He also cited his lack of social security coverage in Morocco, where he had not paid contributions.
The judges nevertheless considered that the evidence presented did not call the medical opinion into question. They noted in particular that he had not shown he would be excluded from Morocco’s compulsory health insurance scheme for people in need. In the court’s view, the legal conditions for obtaining a residence permit on medical grounds were therefore no longer met in his case.
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The Moroccan man also cited his family circumstances. Married since June 2015 to a Moroccan national, he is the father of a boy born in France in 2016 who is in CE2. His wife’s daughter is also studying in France. The judges nevertheless considered that the family could continue living together in Morocco, where the man had lived for thirty-five years. They also noted that he had provided no evidence of any particular social or professional integration in France.
His appeal had already been dismissed by the Montreuil Administrative Court on December 8, 2025. On appeal, he asked the court to order the prefecture to issue him a residence permit within fifteen days, subject to a penalty of 150 euros for each day of delay. The court rejected that request, as well as his challenge to the OQTF.
