What has changed since 12 June 2026
The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum has applied since 12 June 2026. One of its texts, the European regulation of 14 May 2024 on the asylum procedure, requires a “return decision” when an asylum claim is rejected. It is taken with the rejection or just after it.
In France, this return decision is an OQTF. It is taken by the prefect of the department, and in Paris by the police prefect (préfet de police). According to the Ministry of the Interior circular of 10 June 2026, the préfecture must take it as soon as the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) rejects the claim. Before, it generally waited for the decision of the National Court of Asylum (CNDA).
Two decisions, two appeals
You first receive the OFPRA decision, then the OQTF from the préfecture. Each one is challenged before a different judge.
- The OFPRA decision is challenged before the CNDA. The time limit is generally one month. It is 10 days for an inadmissibility decision or a rejection under the accelerated procedure (Article R. 532-10 of the CESEDA).
- If OFPRA found that you had “implicitly withdrawn” your claim, for example because you did not attend the interview, the appeal goes to the administrative court (tribunal administratif), within 10 days.
- The OQTF is always challenged before the administrative court. The time limit runs from the notification of the OQTF.
The two time limits run at the same time. Do not wait for the CNDA’s answer to challenge the OQTF. If you miss the time limit, you will no longer be able to ask the judge to annul the OQTF.
The general case: you may stay during the appeal
If OFPRA rejected your claim under the normal procedure, you keep the right to remain in France. This right lasts until the end of the time limit to appeal to the CNDA. If you appeal in time, it lasts until the CNDA’s decision.
During this time, the OQTF exists, but it cannot be enforced. You cannot be placed under house arrest (assignation à résidence) or in detention (rétention) to enforce it. If the CNDA grants you asylum or subsidiary protection, the préfecture must revoke the OQTF and give you a residence permit. If you do not appeal to the CNDA within the time limit, this right to remain ends and the OQTF can be enforced.
No right to remain: ask the judge to suspend removal
In other cases, the appeal to the CNDA does not protect you from removal. This is the case after:
- a rejection under the accelerated procedure;
- a decision finding that the claim was implicitly withdrawn;
- some inadmissibility decisions, for example on a request for re-examination.
You can then ask the administrative court to suspend enforcement of the OQTF until the decision on your appeal against the OFPRA rejection. This request can be made with the appeal against the OQTF, or as long as the court has not ruled on that appeal. The judge examines your situation and decides whether you may stay in the meantime.
Time limits to challenge the OQTF
The time limit depends on the OFPRA decision and on your situation (Articles R. 614-3, L. 921-1 and R. 921-2-1 of the CESEDA):
- one month in the general case;
- 7 days if OFPRA found the claim inadmissible or implicitly withdrawn, or rejected it under the accelerated procedure;
- 7 days if you are under house arrest or in prison;
- 48 hours in detention, or 5 days if you no longer have the right to remain.
The exact time limit is stated on the OQTF. Read it to the end. For time limits to appeal against an OQTF in general, see also our guide OQTF: time limits to appeal.
Was your claim lodged before 12 June 2026?
These new rules concern asylum claims lodged from 12 June 2026. For a claim lodged up to and including 11 June 2026, the technical guidance attached to the circular provides that the OQTF should, in principle, follow the CNDA rejection, as before. There is an exception when you lose the right to remain as soon as OFPRA decides. Check the date on which your claim was registered.
The French law adapting national law to the Pact has not yet been passed. The rules applied come from the European regulation, from decrees of June 2026 and from the circular. They may still change. For an overview, see our article on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
What to do
- Keep the OFPRA decision, the OQTF and their envelopes. Write down the day you received them.
- Read both time limits to appeal. The shorter one may be 7 days.
- Challenge the OQTF before the administrative court without waiting for the CNDA.
- If you no longer have the right to remain, ask the judge to suspend removal.
- Contact a lawyer the same day. You can apply for legal aid.
Etienne Lemichel and his team assist asylum seekers before OFPRA, the CNDA and the administrative court. Call the firm on +33 7 49 90 46 30, Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 7.30 pm, or send a text, a WhatsApp message or an email.
This guide gives general information as of 1 November 2026, based on Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 (Articles 37, 67 and 68), Decree No. 2026-455 of 6 June 2026, Articles L. 611-1, L. 613-6, L. 752-5, L. 752-6, R. 531-33, R. 614-3 and R. 921-2-1 of the CESEDA, Article R. 532-10 of the CESEDA, the Ministry of the Interior circular of 10 June 2026 and its technical guidance, and the National Court of Asylum (sources in French). It does not replace a consultation. For the asylum procedure in detail, see the Asylum page. To challenge an OQTF, see the Residence refusal and OQTF page.