The prefecture wanted him to leave, but the courts ultimately forced it to issue his papers

Born in Morocco in 1985, the man says he entered France irregularly in December 2015. He married a Moroccan national on August 28, 2021, who held a multi-year residence card.

His wife was already the mother of a French daughter, born in June 2019 from a previous relationship. According to several statements submitted in the case file, the biological father no longer had any ties with the child. The Moroccan man had taken on an important role in her daily life, with the daycare director confirming that he regularly came to pick her up.

When his wife was hospitalized in November and December 2022 due to psychological disorders, he took care of the little girl alone.

On Bladi.net : She Was Already Living with Her Husband in France, Moroccan Woman Receives an OQTF

On June 15, 2023, the Landes prefect nevertheless refused to issue him a residence permit. She also ordered him to leave France within thirty days and determined the country of destination.

The Moroccan man brought the case before the Pau administrative court, but his appeal was rejected on June 4, 2025. He then appealed that judgment before the Bordeaux administrative court of appeal.

Two new children and a family situation that had become decisive

During the proceedings, the family grew. The couple had two children, born in May 2024 and June 2025. One of them has trisomy 21. A psychiatrist also certified that the husband’s presence contributed to his wife’s psychological stability.

In its ruling of June 11, 2026, the administrative court of appeal took into account the Moroccan man’s length of residence in France, his marriage, his involvement with his stepdaughter and the birth of his two children.

The judges held that the refusal of residence had infringed his right to respect for his private and family life, protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This protection had also enabled another Moroccan man who had settled in France since childhood to have his OQTF annulled.

The court therefore annulled the judgment of the Pau administrative court as well as the prefectural order of June 15, 2023. The refusal of residence, the OQTF and the decision determining the country of destination disappear as a result of this annulment.

The decision goes beyond a simple re-examination of the case. The judges considered that their ruling necessarily entailed the Moroccan man’s regularization. They ordered the Landes prefect to issue him a residence card bearing the designation “private and family life” within three months.

On Bladi.net : The Prefecture Ignores a Ruling, So This Moroccan Man Returns to Court and Wins Again

The State will also have to pay 1,200 euros to his lawyer, provided that the lawyer waives payment of the portion awarded under legal aid. After losing before the administrative court, the Moroccan man thus obtained on appeal the complete annulment of his OQTF and the mandatory issuance of his residence permit.