It is not possible for you to apply for asylum from abroad. Ofpra is only competent to process asylum applications lodged on French territory.
However, from abroad, you can apply for an asylum visa from the French authorities in your place of residence. For this, you must contact the French embassy or the nearest French consulate to formulate your request.
The issuing of the visa in virtue of asylum falls solely within the scope of the French Minister in charge of asylum.
The asylum visa only allows you to enter France. Once on French territory, you must go to the prefecture of your place of residence to collect an asylum application form.
Ofpra’s protection missions outside Europe only concern people offered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ).
You must first go to an association responsible for pre-reception, which will then give you an invitation for an appointment at the one-stop-shop. The associations responsible for pre-reception are listed by department on the website of the General Directorate for Foreigners in France.
You must then register your asylum application at the one-stop-shop attached to your place of residence. The one-stop-shop will issue you, if the conditions are met, a one-month asylum application certificate and an asylum application form. This form must be completed and returned to Ofpra within 21 days.
You will find more details in the guide for asylum seekers published by the General Directorate of Foreigners of France ( DGEF ).
The one-stop-shop is the place where you will be issued the asylum application form to be returned to Ofpra.
The one-stop shops are made up of officials from the prefecture and officials from the French Office for Immigration and Integration ( OFII ), who meet specifically to ensure the reception of asylum seekers.
There are 38 one-stop shops throughout the metropolitan area.
The language you declare during your appointment at the one-stop shop is the one chosen by the Ofpra for your interview.
However, if you declare that you want to be heard in a different language in your asylum application form, the Ofpra will retain this second choice in priority over the language of the one-stop shop.
You have 21 days to send the completed asylum application form that will have been given to you to the Ofpra. This period is set from the issue of the asylum application certificate by the one-stop shop.
Your file must be sent to the following address:
OFPRA
201 rue Carnot
94136 Fontenay-sous-Bois Cedex
If your file is complete, your application is then registered and a letter of introduction including your Ofpra file number will be accessible in your Ofpra secure personnal digital account.
If the 21-day period is exceeded, a closure decision will be sent to you by the Ofpra. You will then have 9 months from the date of this decision to go to the prefecture and collect a reopening application form as well as a new asylum application certificate.
For any initial request (normal or accelerated procedure ), the file must include:
- The asylum application form;
- 2 photographs;
- your signature ;
- a copy of your asylum application certificate;
- your story in French;
In addition, the asylum application form must imperatively mention a postal address in addition to the elements relating to your identity, under penalty of being closed.
If one of the necessary elements is missing from your file, an additional request letter will be sent to you by the Office; you will then benefit from an additional period of 8 days from receipt of the registered letter (whether you are placed in the normal or accelerated procedure) to complete your file.
If this deadline is exceeded, a closure decision will be sent to you by the Ofpra. You will then have 9 months from the date of this decision to go to the prefecture and collect a reopening application form as well as a new asylum application certificate.
The asylum seeker allowance paid to you by the OFII is supposed to finance your journey to the Ofpra. You can also contact the association that hosts you.