Having come to France as a volunteer, this Moroccan woman lands a permanent contract… then receives an OQTF

Born in Morocco in 1997, the young woman entered France on March 22, 2024, with a temporary long-stay visa bearing the designations “volunteer” and “exemption from a residence card.” This document was valid until January 3, 2025.

A few months later, an association wished to hire her on a permanent contract as an educational head of socioeducational services. On May 2, 2025, her future employer submitted an application for a work permit. The Moroccan woman then applied, on May 13, for a residence permit bearing the designation “employee.”

The prefecture’s response came less than a month later. On June 10, 2025, it refused the requested permit, issued an obligation to leave French territory within thirty days, and added a six-month ban on returning.

The administration considered that the volunteer visa did not allow the Moroccan woman to apply for an employee residence permit. It also faulted her for not presenting a work permit, even though her employer had submitted an application that had not yet been processed.

On Bladi.net : His employer tries four times to regularize his status, but this Moroccan man ultimately receives an OQTF

The prefecture even considered that her application constituted a “manifest misuse” of the procedure normally provided for obtaining an employee visa.

The prefecture could not fault her for its own delay

The young woman brought the case before the Lyon Administrative Court. The Defender of Rights intervened in the proceedings and challenged the interpretation adopted by the prefecture.

In its observations, the institution recalled that no legal text requires the reason stated on the long-stay visa to be identical to that of the requested permit. A visa issued for voluntary work may therefore, under certain conditions, be presented when applying for an employee residence permit.

The Defender of Rights stressed above all that the prefecture could not fault the Moroccan woman for the absence of a work permit without first processing the application submitted by her employer. A situation that recalls the case of this Moroccan man whose employer tried four times to obtain a work permit.

According to the decision published by the Defender of Rights, the Lyon Administrative Court ultimately annulled the prefectural order on June 1, 2026.

The judges considered that her temporary visa did indeed constitute a long-stay visa under French law. It therefore did not prevent her from applying for a permit in order to remain in France.

On Bladi.net : The prefecture refuses his residence permit without telling him why: this Moroccan national receives 1,500 euros

The Rhône prefecture must issue her a temporary residence authorization without delay and reconsider her application within two months. The judgment does not yet directly grant her an employee residence permit, but it overturns the refusal, the OQTF and the ban on returning.