A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #352 - Prefectures: Factories for Undocumented Immigrants. Feature: "Against Racism, Class Solidarity!" (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Immigrants in France have always experienced a scandalous reception at 
prefectures when applying for their papers. To be seen at the counter, 
they had to get up very early, wait in a long queue, avoid being 
jostled, and end up in front of a civil servant who would have preferred 
to work in another department. In some cases of disturbances, the police 
intervened with their batons or even tear gas. Since at least the "Covid 
years," queues have disappeared, except perhaps at the one-stop shops 
for asylum seekers. Digital technology has been imposed; there's no 
point in going to the prefecture without an appointment!

Make an appointment? In almost all prefectures, appointments can only be 
made online with a valid email address, because once the reservation is 
made, it must be confirmed within 15 minutes, otherwise it is lost! We 
understand why some people will never be able to obtain a sesame without 
help. In some prefectures where there are many immigrants, searching for 
and obtaining an appointment can last for days and days, even months... 
to the point that there has been trafficking (selling appointments on 
the Internet). Today, many commercial sites have disappeared, but the 
RDVHUB site[1]and the official French government website, the Digital 
Administration for Foreigners in France (ANEF), remain, which aims to 
dematerialize all procedures concerning foreigners in France: residence 
and access to nationality. The ANEF clearly states that a smartphone may 
not be suitable; it's preferable to complete the procedures on their 
website using a computer!

However, to request regularization of your administrative situation, 
these requests are made for the Marne department (51) by sending a paper 
application (large, registered with acknowledgment of receipt) to the 
prefecture. In this case, there's no need to request an appointment! I 
don't know if all prefectures require this procedure, as each prefecture 
decides its own procedure. You're going to think it's better to send it 
by post than to hand it over to the administration in person? But no! 
Because if it's incomplete, like most applications, it will be returned 
to you several weeks later. So much wasted time!

Your application will include:

a copy of your proof of nationality;
a copy of a full birth certificate; This is the document whose 
authenticity is most contested by the French administration in order to 
eliminate as many minors as possible from the care of ASE (child welfare 
services);
a situation assessment;
a signed contract of commitment to respect the principles of the 
Republic, available online;
the numerous documents requested depending on the type of regularization 
you are applying for. There are many (spouse of a French citizen, parent 
of a French child, student, employee or temporary worker, etc.)
Since January 26, 2024, it has been possible to submit an application 
for exceptional admission to residency for employment in a shortage 
occupation (I will come back to this later).
If your application is complete, you will receive an acknowledgment of 
submission; otherwise, it will be returned to you as indicated above. 
This acknowledgment of deposit does not confer any rights; it is not an 
APS (Provisional Residence Permit), which is generally issued (a term 
used by the administration to cover the times when it does not issue 
one) to those applying to renew their residence permit or changing 
status (from a multi-year residence permit to a resident permit, for 
example).

Legal and Actual Deadlines: A Major Difference
Once in the hands of the Prefecture, the file will be reviewed and a 
decision made. How long does it take? "It is essential to understand 
that there is a difference between legal and actual deadlines for 
processing residence permit applications. Legal deadlines represent the 
maximum time allowed by law for a prefecture to respond to a request. 
However, in practice, these deadlines are often exceeded due to various 
factors such as staff workload, vacations, or industrial action (...). 
The law does not set a specific maximum time limit for processing a 
residence permit application. However, according to the general 
principle of French administrative law, silence by the administration 
for more than four months constitutes a decision of rejection (except 
for exceptions provided for by law). This implicit rejection may be 
appealed before the administrative court. (Excerpt from the website 
https://www.preflib.fr)
Okay! But let's look at the average processing times by type of application.
Processing times vary considerably depending on the type of application 
and the prefecture concerned. Here is an estimate of the average 
processing times observed:

Type of application / Average processing time

First application for a residence permit / 3-6 months
Residence permit renewal / 2-4 months
Change of status / 4-8 months
Residence permit (10 years) / 6-12 months
Residence permit for medical treatment / 4-8 months
What is shocking is the fact that we often go well beyond the 4-month 
implicit rejection period!

Of course, the immigrant concerned will contact the immigration service 
numerous times by email, where, at best, they will receive a response 
such as: "Your application is still under review." They can also try to 
contact the Prefect directly, with little chance of a response. He can 
also contact the Defender of Rights or his representative in the 
department... but they are overwhelmed and have no real power over the 
Prefect. The only option left is to appeal to the Administrative Court.

There, you need a lawyer! But they can charge up to EUR2,000 for a 
simple administrative appeal! Many are making money off the backs of 
immigrants. There are still lawyers who have a political approach to 
fighting the administration, but they are few in number (3 or 4 in the 
Marne department, for example). To be sure you're not dealing with a 
lawyer who's "going to the soup," simply ask them if they accept legal 
aid. The consequences of prolonged processing times can be dire, even if 
you obtain an APS (Regularization of Residence) with a work permit: 
possible job loss, loss of family benefits, loss of social housing, 
inability to travel, etc.

Regularization through Work
In February 2025, I accompanied an Algerian immigrant to the Marne 
Prefecture in Châlons-en-Champagne. To our great surprise, we were 
greeted by a very friendly and attentive Prefecture employee[2]. I took 
the opportunity to inquire about other applications, some of which were 
already dated. His response was clear and unambiguous: "This type of 
application for regularization through work is managed by a manager in 
the department. It is currently more than two years behind schedule!"

If you are a non-European foreign national residing illegally in France, 
you can apply for a salaried or temporary worker residence permit, 
subject to certain conditions. Your length of stay in France and your 
integration are taken into account.

- Length of stay in France:
A minimum of 7 years of stay in France may be required by the prefecture 
processing your application. If the application concerns a recognized 
occupation under pressure (recognition valid until December 2026), 
uninterrupted length of stay in France is limited to "at least 3 years." 
However, you will need to provide proof of 12 months of professional 
activity within the last 24 months in a job and geographic area under 
pressure. This is far from easy, even for those who work regularly, as 
due to the controls, many are forced to work with a fake/real residence 
permit "borrowed" from a family member or close friend. It should be 
noted that to prove their uninterrupted stay in France, the worker will 
need to provide 3 personal and administrative documents per semester! 
The number of these documents has doubled! For 3 years of employment, 
that's 18 pieces of evidence to provide. For 7 years of employment, 
that's 42 pieces of evidence!

- Integration:
Integration into French society must be demonstrated, in particular, by 
a certain level of proficiency in the French language. This proficiency 
can be proven by a French diploma (level A2) or a language certification 
issued by an accredited organization.
However, if the person qualifies for a job in demand, they are not 
required to have a diploma, but if they have a permanent contract, they 
can obtain a one-year renewable residence permit under the same 
conditions as the first time (with the same challenges). If the person 
has a fixed-term contract, they can only obtain a residence permit for 
the duration of their fixed-term contract. This is where we see that 
regularization in jobs, whether in demand or not, is extremely difficult 
to obtain and, in any case, extremely precarious. On closer inspection, 
this regularization through work in professions under pressure has the 
sole function of satisfying the employers in these sectors who are 
unable to recruit the labor they need. In some states, such as Spain, 
this has led to massive regularizations of undocumented immigrants. In 
France, none of this! It would have taken a significant balance of power 
in favor of undocumented immigrants for the State to make such a 
decision and stand by it in front of the vast majority of the political 
class and the media, who would have cried wolf, referring to the 
traditional "pull factor."
Regularizations through work will be carried out in small increments, 
reassuring employers in their efforts to maintain the employment of 
already trained and operational staff. However, for employers who have 
not found their workforce among undocumented immigrants present in the 
country, they will be able to seek them abroad. The application 
procedure has been simplified; the application is compiled by the 
employer and submitted by them on the Ministry of Labor's dedicated 
online platform. For occupations in short supply, the application 
process benefits from an exemption from the enforceability of the 
employment situation, and priority processing by the competent services, 
with a deadline reduced to 2 weeks! In the event of a favorable 
decision, the work permit is sent to the employer. The future employee 
will have to submit a long-stay visa application to the French 
consulate. Armed with their visa, they will undergo a medical 
examination at the OFII (French Office for the Interior and Foreign 
Affairs), and will then obtain a one-year multi-year residence permit 
labeled "employee." This simplified procedure allows for the employee's 
actual arrival in France in less than 3 months!

Bravo! All that's left for employers to do is find recruitment channels 
for "fresh meat" abroad! These workers will be completely dependent on 
employers. No more employment contracts in a profession under 
pressure-it's out! Disturbing public order-it's out! As for the 
transition from employee status to resident status (a 10-year permit), 
this can only be done if the worker obtains a diploma proficient in the 
French language, knowledge of our institutions, our history, our 
geography, our culture, etc., respects the principles of the Republic, 
and does not disturb public order!

Denis

Notes
[1]A few words about the RDVHUB website: RDVHUB is an alert platform 
that instantly notifies immigrant applicants when an appointment becomes 
available at the requested prefecture. Their service continuously 
monitors appointment availability (24/7) (using a robot) and sends the 
immigrant an alert by text message and email as soon as a slot becomes 
available. However, this alert service costs EUR9.90 as a one-time 
payment, with no subscription required.

[2]His application to upgrade from a multi-year residence certificate to 
a 10-year residence certificate was complete and shouldn't have posed 
any problems... But four months later, he still hasn't received a 
response...

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4485
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