Moroccan Worker Wins Right to Stay in France After Five Years on the Job

The Cergy-Pontoise Administrative Court issued its ruling on September 16. It annulled the prefectural order of September 10, 2025, and ordered that he be issued a residence permit bearing the designation “employee” within two months of notification of its decision.

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Having arrived in France in January 2018 on a short-stay visa, the man, born in 1985, applied to regularize his status in January 2023. More than two and a half years later, the prefecture refused his application and ordered him to leave the country within 30 days.

His file documented a continuous employment history. He had worked as a polyvalent employee at a hotel since May 11, 2020, initially part-time before moving to full-time work in November 2021 on a permanent contract. The payslips submitted to the judges showed that, by the date of the refusal, he had worked for the same employer for more than five years.

His employer backed his bid to regularize his status

The hotelier had also provided a letter highlighting his reliability, skills and commitment, as well as recruitment difficulties in the hotel industry. An application for a work permit was also included in the file. The employee had also declared his income and submitted his tax notices.

The court took into account the length of his stay in France and his “long-standing and lasting” professional integration in a sector facing labor shortages. It ruled that the prefect had made a manifest error of assessment by refusing to exercise his power to regularize his status.

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While he awaits his residence permit, the Moroccan man must be issued a temporary residence permit allowing him to work. The State must also pay him 1,000 euros toward his legal costs.