I am protected by Ofpra

As a protected person, insofar as you have fears in your country, you are not authorized to return there.

If you are stateless, you can travel to your country or countries of origin.

In certain cases of imperative necessity, persons placed under the protection of the Office may be required to return to their country of origin. You must request a safe-conduct from the prefecture of your place of residence.

The latter has the option of seeking the opinion of the Ofpra on the feasibility of such a return with regard to the risks incurred.

If you feel that you no longer have fears in your country of origin, you can waive your protection.

The Ofpra will issue you a family booklet in the following cases:

• You are married and the Ofpra has issued the marriage certificate. In this case, the Ofpra issues a family booklet based on the marriage certificate. Only children residing in France and from this union can be registered in this booklet: for children born in your country of origin, the Ofpra will register them in the family booklet; for children born in France, it is the town hall of the place of birth that will register them in the booklet.
• You are not married and have children born abroad and residing in France. In this case, the Ofpra can issue a family booklet and register the children present in France.

Attention ! The Ofpra does not issue a family booklet in the following cases:

• You got married in France. It is up to the town hall of the place of celebration of the marriage to draw up a family record book or to complete the family record book previously issued by the Office with an extract from the marriage certificate.
• You are not married and your children were born in France or the only children present in France are those born on French territory. It is then the town hall of the place of birth of the first child, born in France, which is competent to establish the family book. The request for the issue of a family record book must be sent to this town hall or to that of the place of residence. The booklet will then be completed by the Ofpra with an extract from the birth certificate of the parent(s).
• You are not married and have children born and residing abroad. The French authorities are not competent. The Ofpra or the French town halls cannot therefore issue a family booklet.

    When the marriage was celebrated in a third country after the granting of protective status, the Ofpra or the French town halls cannot issue a family record book.

If you wish to leave France to travel, a travel document called a travel document for foreigners may be granted to you. It must be requested from the prefecture of your place of residence.

This document allows you to travel to all countries except your country or countries of origin due to your fears.

If you are stateless, you can travel to your country or countries of origin.

You can get more information on this page of the public service website.

You can explain in writing your personal motivations on which the waiver of protective status is based.

A notice and a waiver form must be completed, signed and should be sent to the Ofpra by mail : renonciation[a]ofpra.gouv.fr or by post, to the following address:

Ofpra / Division de la Protection 1
201 rue Carnot
94136 Fontenay-sous-Bois Cedex

Attention ! Renunciation of the benefit of protection may lead to the withdrawal of the residence permit. In this case, the prefectural authority decides on the new right of residence. In principle, you will need to be able to present a valid national passport.

The language you declare during your appointment at the one-stop shop is the one chosen by the Ofpra for your interview.

However, if you declare that you want to be heard in a different language in your asylum application form, the Ofpra will retain this second choice in priority over the language of the one-stop shop.

At the end of the procedure before the CNDA (Cour Nationale du Droit d'Asile), the Ofpra may be ordered to pay irrecoverable costs.

To obtain payment, you can contact the DAJEI (Division of Legal, European and International Affairs), via the functional address secretariat-dajei@ofpra.gouv.fr.

For your request to be taken into account, you must attach the following documents:

- the decision of the CNDA
- the RIB of a current account (and not a savings account) or a CARPA account (for lawyers)
- when the sum must be paid to a third party, a power of attorney
- where applicable, the waiver of the lawyer to receive legal aid

I am between 16 and 18 years old, I arrived as a minor in France with my parents, who have been recognized as refugees or have obtained the benefit of subsidiary protection and I want to apply for a residence permit and keep my status.

If you wish to continue to benefit from the protection of the Ofpra, no action is necessary with the Ofpra. You will simply have to go to the prefecture to obtain a residence permit, with the letter from the Ofpra attesting to your protection.

If, on the other hand, you no longer wish to benefit from this protection, you must inform the Ofpra by post (or ask your parents to do this on your behalf if you are still a minor). The prefecture will then issue you a residence permit for common law foreigners.

Ofpra normally issued this document to you at the same time as your birth certificate if there are differences between the documents issued by the French authorities during the asylum procedure and this birth certificate. If this has not been the case, the request should only be made by post to the following address:

OFPRA

Division de la Protection

201 rue Carnot

94136 Fontenay-sous-Bois Cedex

Attention ! This document is issued only once.

You must request the rectification of your residence permit from the prefecture. If the Ofpra has issued you with an equivalence certificate, you must present it.

The civil status documents drawn up by the Ofpra have the value of authentic documents.

OFPRA can only rectify material omissions and errors. In other cases, you should contact:

Tribunal de PARIS

Parvis du tribunal

Section AC1 - État civil

75 859 PARIS CEDEX 17

From 1 January 2019, the asylum application presented at a one-stop shop by a foreign national who is in France accompanied by his minor children is considered to be presented in his name and in that of his children.

• If your child was in France when you registered your asylum application

Your children will be placed under the protection of the Ofpra at the same time as you, either under refugee status or under subsidiary protection.

• If your child has joined you in France after the registration of your asylum application

Your child benefits, without applying for asylum, from a right of residence as soon as he arrives in France, which will be confirmed to him at his majority by the issue of a residence permit.

However, you have the option, if you wish in view of their personal situation, of registering an asylum application in their name. To do this, you must accompany him to the prefecture. The Ofpra cannot be contacted directly.

• If your child was placed under the protection of the Ofpra before 1 January 2019

The Ofpra no longer issues administrative certificates.

If your children were placed under the protection of Ofpra when they were minors, a letter attesting to their international protection can be requested from Ofpra, only by post to the following address:

OFPRA
Protection Division
201 Carnot Street
94 136 Fontenay-sous-Bois Cedex

For more information on the status of minors in general (children of refugees or beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, children of stateless persons), you can consult this page of the website.

You must contact the prefecture. Ofpra will not be able to establish a certificate of equivalence between the identity it has retained and that appearing on a foreign driving license. The certificate of equivalence only concerns the identity retained by the Office and certain French administrative documents.

You must check with the prefecture of your place of residence. You can also get more information on the utility's website.