Author
The withdrawal of the residence permit is only possible in France if protection status is also withdrawn.
The 2018 asylum reform rendered withdrawal of international protection mandatory, whereas it was previously only optional for OFPRA.
According to the law, as amended in 2018, refugee status shall be withdrawn where the refugee:[1]
- Should have been excluded from refugee status under Articles 1D, E and F of the Convention;
- Obtained status by fraud;
- On the basis of circumstances arising after the grant of protection, must be excluded under Articles 1D, E and F of the Convention;
- There are serious reasons to consider that the presence in France of the person concerned constitutes a serious threat to state security;
- Has been sentenced in France, another EU Member State or third country whose criminal legislation and jurisdictions are recognised by France for a crime related to terrorism or for apology of terrorism[2] or for an offence by 10 years of imprisonment, and represents a serious threat for society.
The CNDA has interpreted the concept of fraud for the purposes of withdrawal under L. 511-8 Ceseda. It found on two occasions in 2018 that refugee status cannot be withdrawn if the fraudulent elements of the claim were not determinant for the grant of protection.[3]
In 2022, 187 withdrawal decisions affecting refugees were taken on the ground of article L. 511-7 CESEDA, i.e. a public order threat. Statistics on the year 2023 were not available at the time of writing.[4]
Subsidiary protection shall no longer be granted in the event where:[5]
- OFPRA or the Prefecture discover, after the protection is granted, that the beneficiary should have been excluded from protection according to the Refugee Convention exclusion clauses, or constitutes a serious threat to public order, public security or national security;
- Subsidiary protection was obtained by fraud;
- On the basis of circumstances arising after the grant of protection, the beneficiary must be excluded from protection;
- There are serious reasons to believe that its activity on the territory constitutes a serious threat to public order, public security or State security.
The procedure is the same as for Cessation.
[1] Articles L.511-8 and L. 511-7 Ceseda, as amended by Article 5 Law n. 2018-778 of 10 September 2018.
[2] Added by by law n°2021-1109 of 24th August 2021.
[3] CNDA, M. G., Decision No 14020621, 15 February 2018, where the Court found that the refugee’s overall credibility was unaffected by the fraudulent representation of certain dates during the asylum procedure; CNDA, M. B., Decision No 13024407, 28 September 2018, where the refugee’s fraudulently declared identity (that of one of his brothers) did not affect his well-founded fear of persecution on ethnic and political grounds upon return to Türkiye.
[4] OFPRA, 2022 Activity report, July 2023, available in French at: https://bit.ly/49eglrk, 72.
[5] Articles L.512-3 and L. 512-2 Ceseda, as amended by Article 5 Law n. 2018-778 of 10 September 2018.