Like adults, unaccompanied minors are required to contact the prefecture of their place of residence to initiate the process of applying for asylum in France. However, as a minor, you cannot initiate any legal or administrative proceedings without a legal representative.
Consequently, if you go to the prefecture without a legal representative, the prefecture staff will inform the public prosecutor so that an
ad hoc administrator
can be appointed. Only the legal representative can pick up an asylum application form from the prefecture. It is also the responsibility of the legal representative to carry out all the administrative procedures pertaining to you. If you have been granted State guardianship by a judge, the child welfare services (Aide sociale à l'enfance - ASE) in your department of residence will take care of all these formalities.
The asylum application file must be completed in French and signed by your legal representative before being sent to Ofpra by post.
If the file is complete, it is then registered and a letter of introduction is sent to you and your legal representative. You will then be summoned along with your legal representative for an interview at Ofpra.
For more information, you can consult the asylum guide for unaccompanied minors in France, published by Ofpra with the support of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (Fonds Asile, Migration et Intégration - FAMI).
You will be interviewed by a specialized protection officer and this interview will take place in the presence of your legal representative.
The protection officer will ask you questions about the reasons for your departure and your fears if you return to your country.
The interview is confidential and individual, the Ofpra does not transmit any information to your family, your relatives or the authorities of your country. If you are accompanied by a member of your family or a close friend, they cannot be present during the interview. You can, however, be accompanied by a lawyer or an association representative.
You will be assisted by an interpreter in the language you indicated in the form.
The protection officer and the interpreter are subject to the duty of confidentiality.
For more information, we invite you to consult the Guide to asylum for unaccompanied minors in France published by the Ofpra with the support of the FAMI (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund).
Once the Ofpra has examined the file, the response to your asylum application will be sent to your legal representative and a copy will be sent to you.
The conditions under which you can appeal the Ofpra decision are the same as for adults (See the section “My asylum application has been rejected, can I contest this decision?”). If you are still a minor when you file your appeal, you must do so through your legal representative.