Author
There is no explicit policy of considering specific nationalities as manifestly well-founded. At most, some nationalities obtain higher rates of protection than the average rate e.g., Ukraine, Syria, Palestine or Saudi Arabia. In 2024, this recognition rate was 92.2% for Ukraine, 95.3 for China, 88.5% for Syrians and Palestinians, and 85.7% for Saudis in first instance.[1]
Ukraine
For developments regarding access to asylum and caselaw regarding international protection for Ukrainian nationals, please see the Temporary Protection annex to this report.
Afghanistan
For information about treatment of Afghan cases in previous years, especially in the wake of the Taliban takeover in 2021, see previous versions of this report. As of 2024, the asylum procedure and examination of requests for Afghans did not differ from other nationalities.
Syria
On December 10, 2024, OFPRA announced the suspension of the examination of asylum applications from Syrians due to the evolution of the geopolitical situation in the country,[2] and resumed processing Syrian asylum applications in September 2025. In the months that followed the fall of the Assad regime, however, the Office has continued to grant protection to Syrians whose grounds for protection were not directly related to the country’s political situation.
Gaza
The CNDA recognised UNRWA’s inability to provide protection or assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip due to the “war situation” since 7 October 2023, neutralising the exclusion clause of Article 1D Geneva Convention / article 12(1)(a) of the Qualification Directive. This led the CNDA to rule in 2024 that applicants from the Gaza strip thus qualify for refugee status.[3]
In a decision from 11 July 2025, the CNDA ruled that Palestinian nationals originating from the Gaza Strip who are not protected by the UN may be granted refugee status under the 1951 Geneva Convention due to the methods of warfare used by Israeli forces since the end, in March 2025, of the ceasefire concluded on 19 January 2025.[4] (CNDA, 11 July 2025, Mme H., n° 24035619, R).
Then, given the current security and humanitarian situation in the West Bank, the CNDA ruled that Palestinians in the West Bank who fall under the protection of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) can apply for refugee status in France. Indeed, the Court ruled their protection in the West Bank by this UN agency can no longer be guaranteed at present.[5]
Relocations
Furthermore, differential treatment of specific nationalities seems to be applied in the framework of ad hoc relocation schemes implemented since June 2018. Following “boat-by-boat” agreements following disembarkations in Italy, Malta and Spain, over 280 persons were relocated to France in 2018.[6] In October 2019, a member of the government stated that more than 600 people had been admitted in France through relocation within a year. At the end of 2019, 366 asylum applicants and 491 unaccompanied minors have been transferred from Greece to France as part of the ‘voluntary relocation scheme from Greece to other European countries’ that started in March 2020.[7] (see also Access to the territory).
All relocated persons have previously undergone interviews with OFPRA, which assesses their need for protection and potential threats to public order. No official data are available about this mechanism or the nationality of the selected persons. However, it appears through communication upon arrival in France from OFII and the Ministry of Interior that relocated persons are mainly from Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia. Following their arrival, these persons are quickly received by OFII and granted refugee status by OFPRA.
Safe country concepts
Asylum applicants that are nationals of countries listed as safe are dealt with most of the time under an accelerated procedure (see Safe Country of Origin). Their access to asylum from detention is also more circumscribed compared to other nationalities (see Registration). The average protection rate for such nationalities was 11.7% in 2023, at first and second instance combined, but there are important variations from one country to another. For example, in 2024, Kosovo had a general protection rate (OFPRA +CNDA) of 12.9%, Albania had a rate of 18.8%, while Moldavia.
[1] OFPRA, 2024 Activity report, June 2025, available in French here, 121-123.
[2] OFPRA, ‘Press release – Syria, situation in Syria’, 10 December 2024, available in French here.
[3] CNDA, n°23042517 and 23042541 C+, press release and decision available in French here.
[4] CNDA, 11 July 2025, Mme H., n° 24035619, available in French here.
[5] CNDA, 8 December 2025, M. R, n°24019510, available in French here.
[6] Senate, Reply to written question n. 05842, 24 January 2019, available in French at: https://bit.ly/2GRdMlI.
[7] IOM, ‘Voluntary relocation scheme from Greece to other European countries’, Factsheet, 10 January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3t3CeGO.