Glossary

Following a refusal decision that has become final (i.e. there has been no appeal or the appeal has been rejected by the CNDA), the asylum seeker concerned may forward new facts that have to light to Ofpra in an application for reconsideration. New permission to stay must first have been granted, and such an application may therefore be channelled under a prioritised procedure.

This concerns an appeal addressed to an administrative court. With respect to asylum applications, the asylum seeker may lodge an appeal before the National Asylum Court (CNDA) to challenge Ofpra's decision.

Exceptional review procedure against a jurisdictional decision which has become res judicata, or has binding effect, aimed at obtaining its annulment in light of new facts. The decisions of the National Asylum Court (CNDA) are open, pursuant to Article R. 562-2 of the CESEDA, to applications for review where they have been handed down on the grounds of factual circumstances established fraudulently.

According to Article 1 of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, "the term “refugee” shall apply to any person who: owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country".

A person qualifying as a refugee is issued a ten-year, renewable, residence permit by the Prefecture and may immediately apply for French nationality.

Ofpra has not issued refugee certificates since 1 January 2004, since refugees' residence documents now clearly indicate their status.

Proportion of asylum seekers who have had their international protection application rejected following an Ofpra decision.

The foreign national who has been qualified a refugee or has obtained the benefit of subsidiary protection may ask to avail of his/her right, on the grounds of family reunification, to be joined by certain members of his/her family.

Where the marriage postdates the submission of the asylum application, the term used in France is "regroupement familial", and this comes under the remit of the French Office for Immigration and Integration/OFII. In this case, the procedure is subject to conditions associated with already having legally resided in the country for a certain length of time, income or housing.

A refugee may renounce their status at any time, but such a decision is final and the repercussions are significant: cessation of their spouse's or partner's refugee status where the latter has been qualified as a refugee according to the principle of family unity, cessation of the protection of their children if the other parent is not or no longer a refugee and, lastly, the possible refusal by the law of the country of origin to recognise family events that have occurred in France.

Under resettlement, a refugee coming under UNHCR's mandate leaves his/her country of asylum and travels lawfully to a third country to settle there permanently, following this country's agreement to welcome him/her as a refugee and to grant him/her the right of settling there over the long-term.

A person who has been granted refugee status by Ofpra automatically receives a renewable ten-year residence permit from the Prefecture. With this document, s/he may reside lawfully in France, work and receive certain social welfare benefits.

Document issued by the Prefecture which authorises a foreign national from a non-European country to reside in France for a set length of time. There are several types of residence permit. Persons who qualify as refugees may receive a residence document which is valid for ten years. Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection obtain a one-year, renewable, "private and family life" residence permit. Lastly, stateless persons are entitled to a one-year, renewable, residence permit ("private and family life") and then a ten-year residence document when they have lawfully resided on French soil for five years.