⍰ F.A.Q
I want to apply for asylum for my daughter, because I fear excision for her. If she gets the refugee status, can I get it too?
If you have no fear of persecution for yourself, you will not get the refugee status. But, the fact that ou are a refugee parent does not give you the right to ave the status ; you can nevertheless ask a residence permit called “vie privée vie familiale”, because your child will need you.
I don't know what I can say about how I came to France. Some people tell me I have to explain it all, and other people tell me I should not tell which countries I passed through..
When it comes to explaining your journey, the best is not to hide information about how you came to France.
You have been told not to speak about other European countries because of the Dublin procedure. In the European Union, the Dublin regulation states that the first European country you steped in is the one responsible for your asylum application : if you entered the European Union through Italia, then came to France to apply for asylum, France has to send you back to Italia, because it is the country responsible for your asylum application (you do not have the choice of the country).
This means when you will meet the prefecture official, he/she will be searching for hints of your passage in other European countries (visas, fingerprints, etc.). If you tell you passed through another European country, there is a risk -even if it does not happen frequently- that the prefecture places your file in Dublin procedure, and asks the other country to take you back. But in order for France to send you back, there has to be some substantial evidences of your passage, so that the country agrees to take you back.
I filed my application, and saw the prefecture official : I received my asylum certificate. Can I go out of France with this certificate?
The certificate you received from the prefecture is valid only in France. You can move inside the French territory, but you can not go out and then come back with this certificate.
How much time will it take for OFPRA to process my file? How much time do I have to wait until I get the answer? And then how long will I wait until I have the interview?
The official processing times depend on th procedure used to review your file:
1/ If the normal procedure is used, the OFPRA has 6 months to process your file. If there is a delay, the OFPRA will inform you.
2/ If the fast-track procedure is used, the OFPRA has 15 days to process your file.
3/ If you have been placed in a detention centre, the processing time will be only 96 hours.
I am living very far from the CNDA : is my presence to the hearing compulsary, or can I avoid going there? If I have to go, is there any possibility to help me pay the transport ticket?
Your presence to the hearing is very important, because the judge can ask question about your journey and your life your lawyer can not answer. And if you do not appear to the hearing, the judge may think you do not care about your asylum application.
If you do not afford the transport ticket, you can ask the OFII for some help, or try with associations… but there is no guarantee you will be successful.
The OFPRA rejected my application, I want to appeal and I asked legal aid. I do not have an answer yet, but I need to renew my asylum certificate. Can I go to the prefecture with my legal aid application?
Yes, the prefecture has to renew you asylum certificate, even if you only have the receipt of the letter you sent to the CNDA.
I applied for legal aid, to help me do the appeal. The lawyer told me I have to go to an association to write the appeal and send it to the CNDA. It told me too that he/she will only be here at the hearing... Is this normal ?
The lawyer that was assigned to you is the one who has to write the appeal with you and help you send it to CNDA. If you did not hear from him/her, or if you do not manage to contact him/her, or if you fear he/she has not made the appeal, you can check what has happened y going to the CNDA and ask them information. If it appears that the lawyer did not make the appeal, you can ask another lawyer to the legal aid office of the CNDA.
I received an OQTF. I want to ask the reconsideration of my asylum application, but I do not know if there is a risk for me to go to the prefecture...
You can apply for reconsideration, even if you have received an OQTF (but you have to know it will be placed in fast-track procedure because the prefecture suspects you may have applied for reconsideration in order to escape from the OQTF). This means, if you go to the prefecture and say you want to apply for reconsideration, the officials there have to accept to file your application.
If I applied for reconsideration, is there a risk that I can be sent back to the frontier or to my home country ?
As far as the OFPRA and the CNDA have not decided what to do with your case, you will not be sent back.
ATTENTION : there is one specific situation : when you are in a detention centre. In this case, if the OFPRA rejects your application, and even if you did make an appeal before the CNDA you can be send away before the CNDA gives a decision.
The OFPRA and the CNDA rejected my application... But I still want to ask reconsideration. How long do I have to wait until I can ask it?
There is no recommended period of time before you can ask reconsideration. But you have to be sure you have new elements to add to your file (see the Reconsideration section).
Do I have the right to get the ADA when I am asking reconsideration of my application ?
In the case of the reconsideration of the application you will meet an OFII official, juste like in the case of a first application, and you will be offered the help of the OFII. If you accept it, you may get some help for housing and financial allowance. But, you have to know that the OFII can refuse to give you the allowance for the simple reason that this is not your first application and that you are asking reconsideration. If the OFII refused to give you the ADA and if you are living in very hard conditions, you can contest the refusal of OFII and demand to be given the ADA.
My application is in fast-track procedure : do I have the right to get the ADA?
Yes, even if your application is reviewed with the fast-track application, you will have the right to get the ADA, until the end of the process (OFPRA and CNDA included, if you make an appeal).