I wish to submit an asylum application

For any initial request (normal or accelerated procedure), the file must include:

• The asylum application form;
• 2 photographs;
• your signature ;
• a copy of your asylum application certificate;
• your story in French;

In addition, the asylum application form must imperatively mention a postal address in addition to the elements relating to your identity, under penalty of being closed.

If one of the necessary elements is missing from your file, an additional request letter will be sent to you by the Office; you will then benefit from an additional period of 8 days from receipt of the registered letter (whether you are placed in the normal or accelerated procedure) to complete your file.

If this deadline is exceeded, a closure decision will be sent to you by the Ofpra. You will then have 9 months from the date of this decision to go to the prefecture and collect a reopening application form as well as a new asylum application certificate.

You have 21 days to send the completed asylum application form that will have been given to you to the Ofpra. This period is set from the issue of the asylum application certificate by the one-stop shop.

Your file must be sent to the following address:

OFPRA

201 rue Carnot

94136 Fontenay-sous-Bois Cedex

If your file is complete (See the section “What should I attach to my asylum application file?”), your application is then registered and a letter of introduction including your Ofpra file number is sent to you by post.

If the 21-day period is exceeded, a closure decision will be sent to you by the Ofpra. You will then have 9 months from the date of this decision to go to the prefecture and collect a reopening application form as well as a new asylum application certificate.

The address at which your interview will take place is systematically indicated on the invitation sent to you.

The interviews take place at the headquarters of the Ofpra, in Fontenay-sous-Bois in the Paris region. (See the section “How to come to the Ofpra”). However, there are a few special cases:

If you have applied for asylum in Guyana, you will be received at the Ofpra branch in Cayenne for your interview (see the section “I wish to apply for asylum and I live in French Guiana” ).

If you are summoned as part of an Ofpra mission in the region or abroad, the address at which your interview will take place will be indicated on the summons.

Your interview may also take place by videoconference with the Ofpra headquarters in certain specific cases (asylum applications submitted in overseas departments and communities, asylum applications in detention or detention, asylum applications at the border).

For people who have applied for asylum in Guyana, see here.

Interviews start at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. It is not necessary to arrive more than half an hour before the time indicated on your invitation.

For people who have applied for asylum in Guyana, see here.

Asylum applications submitted in this territory now follow the procedure set out in Decree No. 2022-211 of February 18, 2022 adapting certain provisions relating to the procedures for processing asylum applications in Mayotte and rectifying the provisions applicable in Guadeloupe , Guyana and Martinique.

First you need to go to the One Stop Shop in Mamoudzou. You will be given an asylum application form, along with a certificate of asylum application.

From the day on which this form is submitted by the prefecture, you have 7 days to complete it and hand it in at the offices of Ofpra, in Mamoudzou, whose address appears on the form.

You will be given a document containing three important information :

•    The letter of introduction, which proves that you have submitted an asylum application to Ofpra and that your application is being investigated ;

•    A summons for an asylum interview ;

•    A summons for the delivery of the decision in person.

You can send a letter to the Ofpra explaining your wish to withdraw your asylum application and, if necessary, the reasons for this decision.

The Ofpra will then send you a confirmation letter as well as, where applicable, all the documents that you had attached to your asylum application file.

For people who have applied for asylum in Guyana, see here.

The one-stop-shop is the place where you will be issued the asylum application form to be returned to Ofpra.

The one-stop shops are made up of officials from the prefecture and officials from the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII), who meet specifically to ensure the reception of asylum seekers.

There are 38 one-stop shops throughout the metropolitan area (you can consult the list here).

Comme les majeurs, les mineur(e)s non accompagné(e)s doivent s'adresser à la préfecture de leur lieu de résidence pour entamer les démarches afin de solliciter l'asile en France. Toutefois, en tant que mineur, vous ne pouvez engager une procédure juridique ou administrative sans avoir de représentant légal.

Dès lors, si vous vous présentez à la préfecture sans représentant légal, les personnels de la préfecture informeront le Procureur de la République afin qu'un administrateur ad hoc soit désigné. Seul le représentant légal peut retirer un formulaire de demande d'asile auprès de la préfecture. C'est également à lui que revient de faire toutes les démarches administratives vous concernant. Si vous bénéficiez d'une tutelle d'État prononcée par un juge, ce sont les services de l'Aide Sociale à l'Enfance (ASE) de votre département de résidence qui se chargeront d'entreprendre toutes ces démarches.

Le dossier de demande d'asile doit être rempli en français et signé par votre représentant légal avant d'être envoyé à l'Ofpra par voie postale. (Voir la rubrique « À qui envoyer mon dossier de demande d’asile ? Dans quels délais ? »).

Si le dossier est complet, il est alors enregistré puis une lettre d’introduction  vous est envoyée ainsi qu’à votre représentant légal. Vous serez ensuite convoqué avec votre représentant légal pour un entretien à l'Ofpra (Voir la rubrique « Je suis un(e) mineur(e) non accompagné(e), comment se déroulera l’entretien à l’Ofpra ? »).

Pour plus d’informations, vous pouvez consulter le guide de l’asile pour les mineurs isolés en France, édité par l’Ofpra avec le soutien du FAMI (Fonds Asile, Migration et Intégration).

You must first go to an association responsible for pre-reception, which will then give you an invitation for an appointment at the one-stop-shop. (See the section "What is the single window?"). The associations responsible for pre-reception are listed by department on the website of the General Directorate for Foreigners in France.

You must then register your asylum application at the one-stop-shop attached to your place of residence. The one-stop-shop will issue you, if the conditions are met, a one-month asylum application certificate and an asylum application form. This form must be completed and returned to Ofpra within 21 days (See the section "To whom should I send my asylum application file? How quickly?").

You will find more details in the guide for asylum seekers published by the General Directorate of Foreigners of France (DGEF), which you can download in different languages ​​at the bottom of this page, or in the Ofpra procedures guide.

It is not possible for you to apply for asylum from abroad. Ofpra is only competent to process asylum applications lodged on French territory.

However, from abroad, you can apply for an asylum visa from the French authorities in your place of residence. For this, you must contact the French embassy or the nearest French consulate to formulate your request. The embassy or consulate alone is competent in issuing visas, Ofpra does not have jurisdiction.

The asylum visa only allows you to enter France. Once on French territory, you must go to the prefecture of your place of residence to collect an asylum application form. (See the section “I arrived in France, how do I apply for asylum?”).

Ofpra’s protection missions outside Europe only concern people offered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).