Glossary

Applications channelled under the accelerated procedure (which has replaced the "prioritised procedure" since the asylum reform in 2015) are examined by Ofpra within fifteen days (or 96 hours if the person has been placed in an administrative detention centre) following their submission (Article R. 531-23 of the Ceseda).

An asylum application is automatically channelled under the accelerated procedure in two cases:
•    when the asylum seeker is a national of a country considered to be a safe country of origin;
•    when the asylum seeker has already claimed asylum but this has been definitively denied, and s/he is requesting a re-consideration.

Applications may also be channelled under the accelerated procedure by the one-stop service in the following cases:
•    if the asylum seeker refuses to have his/her fingerprints taken;
•    if the asylum seeker tries to mislead the authorities by presenting false documents, providing false statements or failing to disclose certain facts;
•    if the asylum seeker has submitted several applications under different identities;
•    if the asylum seeker has put off claiming asylum since his/her arrival in France (by more than 120 days);
•    if the asylum seeker only submits an application to obstruct a deportation measure;
•    if the presence of the asylum seeker poses a serious threat to public order, public safety or State security.

That said, it should be noted that Ofpra has the possibility of rechannelling an application under the normal procedure during its examination if it considers this necessary in light of the type of application or particular circumstances of the asylum seeker.

A minor is considered to be accompanied when s/he enters French territory accompanied by at least one of his/her two asylum-seeking parents.

These children do not submit an individual claim; they are included in their parents' application until they reach adulthood.

They may then submit an individual asylum claim.

This document is issued by the Prefecture to enable the foreign asylum seeker to remain on French territory throughout the asylum application procedure (Ofpra then, where applicable, the CNDA). The first acknowledgement of receipt is valid six months and must then be renewed. It indicates that the asylum seeker is not authorised to work during the first year of the asylum application procedure.

This is a representative, appointed by the Public Prosecutor, of an association or local authority, who is tasked with defending the interests of foreign unaccompanied minors seeking asylum while they are being held in waiting areas or during the asylum application process. Minors cannot initiate administrative or court proceedings without a legal representative.

Since 2019, Ofpra doesn't issue this document.

This document was issued by Ofpra to minors who had been placed under its protection and resided in France, whether they were born abroad or in France. The administrative certificate was valid for one year.

The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) is an asylum financial instrument available to Member States which the European Commission.

The overall aim of the AMIF is to contribute to the efficient management of migration flows and the implementation, strengthening and development of a common approach to asylum, subsidiary protection and temporary protection. It also sets out to develop a common immigration policy, fully in keeping with the rights and principles enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

This is an exceptional review procedure against a judicial decision handed down at last instance. The appeal is lodged before the Conseil d'Etat (for administrative courts) or the French Court of Cassation (for judicial courts). Its purpose is not to have the case retried, but to ensure that the rules of procedure and law were properly applied by the main proceedings. The National Asylum Court (CNDA) comes under the scrutiny of the Conseil d'Etat.

This describes any asylum seeker whose claim has been definitively denied by Ofpra and the CNDA, and who has exhausted all possible avenues of appeal.

A person whose asylum application is under consideration. The term "applicant for international protection" is gaining currency.

The asylum seeker's allowance (allocation pour demandeur d’asile/ADA) was introduced by the Act of 29 July 2015 on the reform of the right to asylum. Since 1 November 2015 it has replaced the temporary waiting allowance (allocation temporaire d’attente/ATA). The French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII) is responsible for managing this allowance, which is paid out by the French Paying Agency (Agence de services et de paiement/ASP). It is paid throughout the asylum application examination period, or until responsibility  for consideration of the asylum application is effectively transferred to another State. To be eligible for this allowance, the asylum seeker must show that his/her monthly financial resources are less than the income support amount (revenu de solidarité active/RSA). The allowance amount is calculated on the basis of a scale which factors in the asylum seeker's family composition, income and accommodation situation.