Author
The law describes the procedure to be followed by reception centres management and by the Prefect once a decision on the asylum claim which ends the right to remain has been adopted.[1] OFII informs the reception centre management where the asylum seeker is accommodated that the right to reception conditions has ended and that the provision of accommodation will be terminated upon a specific date. Rejected asylum seekers can formulate a request to remain 1 month in order to have time to plan their exit of the centre.
Apart from the withdrawal of reception conditions by the end of the right to remain, specific conditions are defined allowing for the reduction or withdrawal of material reception conditions concerning both accommodation and ADA.
According to Articles L. 551-15 (refusal) and L. 551-16 (withdrawal) Ceseda, as amended in 2018, material reception conditions can be refused or withdrawn where the applicant:
- Without legitimate reason, has not presented themselves to relevant authorities when required, has not responded to an information request or has not attended interviews related to the asylum application;[2]
- Has provided false statements concerning his identity or personal situation, in particular their financial situation;[3]
- Has made a subsequent application or, without legitimate reason, has not made an application within 90 days of entry into the French territory;[4]
- Exhibits violent behaviour or serious disrespect of the house rules of the centre.[5]
OFII is competent to decide on the suspension, withdrawal or refusal of material reception conditions. By law, only the decision of refusal of reception conditions must be written and motivated but the Council of State ruled in 2019 that this guarantee also applies to withdrawal decisions in accordance with European law.[6] In case of suspension, a letter stating the intention to suspend material reception conditions is sent to the asylum seeker, who then has 15 days to challenge this decision through an informal appeal (i.e. written observations). All decisions relating to the refusal or withdrawal of reception conditions can be appealed before the Administrative Court under the common rules of administrative law.
In cases of subsequent applications, some Prefectures systematically reduce reception conditions of asylum seekers. In Lyon, Marseille, Paris and its surroundings, no subsequent claimants can benefit from reception conditions. In a few cases, subsequent claimants can benefit from these conditions after demonstrating their particular vulnerability and their specific needs in terms of accommodation. It is also possible after these 15 days to lodge an appeal before the administrative court.
The management of reception centres has to inform OFII and the Prefect of the Département in case of a prolonged and non-motivated absence of an asylum seeker from the reception centre, as well as any violent behaviour or serious disrespect of the community life rules.[7]
In 2021, OFII took 31,458 decisions of withdrawal of reception conditions and 16,877 such decisions have been taken in the first 7 months of 2022.[8] The reasons are not known, but the refusal of orientation in the framework of national reception scheme seems be the main explanation of these high figures: between January 2021 and July 2022, 27% of asylum seekers in Ile-de-France region refused the orientation to another region.[9]
The lack of reception conditions for asylum seekers is an increasingly important and worrying issue. If we compare the number of asylum applications pending at the end of 2022 according to Eurostat (142,940) and the number of asylum seekers benefitting from reception conditions at this date (100,598 persons in total at the end of December 2022 according to OFII),[10] this means more than 40,000 asylum seekers don’t have reception conditions in France.
The assessment to deny or withdraw reception conditions does not take into account the risk of destitution.
Asylum seekers should pay a part of accommodation cost when they have sufficient resources (very rare in practice).
In French law, there is no official possibility to limit reception conditions on the basis of a large number of arrivals.
[1] Article R. 552-11 Ceseda.
[2] Articles L.551-15 (refusal) and L. 551-16 (withdrawal) Ceseda.
[3] Articles L. 551-15 (refusal) and L. 551-16 (withdrawal) Ceseda.
[4] Articles L. 551-15 (refusal) and L. 551-16 (withdrawal) Ceseda.
[5] Articles L. 551-15 (refusal) and L. 551-16 (withdrawal) Ceseda.
[6] Council of State, Decision 428530, 31 July 2019, available in French at: https://bit.ly/2GFaSiB.
[7] Article R. 552-6 Ceseda.
[8] Assemblée nationale, Rapport fait au nom de la Commission des lois sur le projet de loi de finances 2023, 6 October 2022, available in French at: https://bit.ly/3Zr39e5.
[9] Assemblée nationale, Rapport fait au nom de la Commission des lois sur le projet de loi de finances 2023, 6 October 2022, available in French at: https://bit.ly/3Zr39e5.
[10] OFII, Publication on twitter, 12 January 2023.