Our jobs
In charge of examining asylum and statelessness requests registered on French territory, the protection officers examine the files, interview the asylum seekers then determine the legal characterisation of the facts. The protection officer must then draft a decision. They may also be required to participate in external missions overseas, in the French regions or abroad, or in information collection missions in the countries from which asylum seekers come.
Finally, they participate in collective reflection (participation in the harmonisation committee/thematic or geographical working groups) or on training support tools. Protection officers are specialized by geographical zone (Africa, Americas/Maghreb, Asia and Europe/Middle East) and, since the reform of the Office in September 2013, also examine requests from countries outside their geographical specialization zone, within the framework of “mutualization”. This operation of pooling certain nationalities (e.g. Albania, Georgia, Syria, etc.) has enabled Ofpra to be more responsive to variations in asylum requests.
Research assistant
Ofpra research assistants are mainly recruited among protection officers. They gather and process relevant and reliable information on countries of origin ( COI ) of asylum applicants. They draw up COI reports for protection officers to help them in their decision-making process. They can also answer specific questions of protection officers who need to verify specific facts, e.g. some asylum seeker 's statements.
Research assistants are experts on a geographical area. They develop an extensive network of contacts (academics, journalists, local or international NGOs, European networks of experts). They have access to numerous databases.
They must meet the ethical criteria set out in the EUAA 's guidelines.
Last but not least, they take an active part in information-gathering missions in asylum seekers' countries of origin organized by Ofpra.
Legal consultant
They provide legal support for the examination of asylum applications. They ensure the legal security and harmonization of Ofpra's decisions and represent Ofpra before the courts.
Most of them are recruited among Ofpra’s protection officers. They support Ofpra staff and work with Ofpra’s institutional partners (Ministry of the Interior, prefectures, public prosecutors, UNHCR ). The legal consultants are specialized in geographical areas or themes.
Civil registrar
Civil registrars work in the Protection unit. They draw up civil status or administrative documents for beneficiaries of international protection. They ensure the application of regulations in force in the field of foreign nationals' rights and civil status.
Secretary
Secretaries work in examination unit, protection unit and administrative units.
They provide technical and administrative support.They can do a wide rang of tasks: processing and analyzing correspondence, formatting written material, ensuring administrative follow-up of a file, providing logistical support for the examination of files, editing administrative documents. They are in contact with several external contacts as well as with asylum applicants and BIP .
Secretary in charge of the digitization
They are responsible for the first stage in processing applications, which begins as soon as a postal application is received.
They check the completeness of the applications, they register them in the database, and scan and index all the elements of the file, taking particular care to preserve the traceability of original documents. The same attention is paid to original documents sent by post to complete the initial application. Their missions are varied and require easy contact with the public, a good knowledge of Ofpra’s procedures, and technical know-how.
Archives service agents
The archives kept by Ofpra are regularly requested by agents as part of their instruction or protection missions. These movements of files, around 60,000 per year, are carried out by agents of the archives service. These same agents ensure the integration of new files into stores, the management of storage space and compliance with conservation conditions.
This mission requires meticulousness in order to avoid any loss of documents and strict respect for the confidentiality of the archives held by Ofpra in application of Ceseda . Agents of the archives service are also involved in the work relating to the historical archives of the Office. They ensure the transfer to the history and use of archives mission of files requested by researchers.
Administrative units
The functioning of Ofpra also relies on the work of cross-functional units which, although not specific to the Office, fulfill essential missions in particular with regard to personnel management and training (initial and continuing) , the organization of external missions (in the regions or abroad) or interpreting.
Interpreters
Interpreters are not employed by Ofpra, but by interpreting firms that hold public contracts with Ofpra to provide the translations for interviews. Interpreters must followi this conditions:
- required university qualifications;
- previous experience in translation and/or interpreting;
- proficiency in French and one or more of the languages spoken in the applicant's countries of origin;
- geopolitical, administrative and legal knowledge of the countries of origin concerned.
Interpreters are also bound by ethical rules: impartiality, independence, confidentiality and strict neutrality. The rights and obligations of interpreters are set out in a Code of conduct.