Draft:Asylum in France

Seeking asylum in France is a legal right that is admitted by the constitution of France. Meanwhile, the status of recognised asylum seekers are protected by corresponding laws and Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which France had signed in 25^th July, 1951. France is considered as one of the main asylum host countries in Europe. In 2017 there have been 337,143 refugees registered in and up to the end of 2018, 20,710 new asylum seekers have been given legal status to reside in France. Asylum policies in France is regarded as a concerned topic among the public and politicians, and some controversies also exist in the current system of French asylum policies, such as issues on the assimilation policy, national security problems and living conditions of asylum seekers.

Laws and Procedures

The status of asylum seekers

The legal status of seeking asylum in France is guaranteed under the Asylum and Immigration Law.

Two types of asylum protections are classified by the French asylum law: Refugee status and Subsidiary status. The Refugee status formally recognises the asylum seeker as a "".

Meanwhile, the subsidiary status could be possibly given to any other type of asylum seekers who do not meet the criteria of a refugee status recognition.

One can be given a subsidiary status as long as he/she is facing risks of a serious threat or harm to their personal safety once they return to their origin country.

Any of the following situations mentioned by the asylum law could lead to the denial of applications:

(a) there is serious reason to believe that his/her presence in France presents a grave threat to the security of the state;

(b) he/she was found guilty of an act of terrorism or of a crime punished by more than ten years of incarceration, and his/her presence in France presents a grave threat to society.

Applications

All asylum seekers must have entered the French territory before they could start the formal application, otherwise it could not be accpeted. To reach the condition, applicators can either reqeust for a special visa for asylum application from a French embassy/console or get a temporary visa up to 8 days at the crossing point of the French border.

Next, asylum seekers will need to register themselves as "asylum seekers" in an "GUDA", which refers to a single-desk contact point and get a formal certificate which allows them to lodge the application form. Some of the documents are needed as shown below:

• Information relating to civil status;
• Travel documents, entry visa or any documentation giving information on the conditions of entry on the French territory and travel routes from the country of origin;
• 4 ID photos; and
• In case the asylum seeker is housed on his or her own means, his or her address.

Then applicators would be able to formally apply for the asylum status. Other than a copy of the asylum certificate, 2 ID photos, a travel document and the copy of the residence permit will be needed. In addition, applicators would also need to write an explanation in French that clarifies the intention for seeking asylum in France.

Proceeding

Currently, the OFPRA (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons) takes charge of all asylum affairs and application proceedings for France. After receiving applications, OFPRA would start an investigation on each applicator from evaluating provided documents to assessments of personal situations, including the situation of origin country, past harm on body, deliberate threat or prosecution that applicators may suffered.

After all information verified and evaluated, the OFPRA would make a decision and notify the applicator whether he/she is granted the asylum status or not. Besides, in a period of one month applicators could also appeal negative decisions to the CNDA (National Court of Asylum). The judge may take about five months.

Statistics

The number of people seeking asylum in France experienced a significant raise after 1970s. From 1970 to 1995, applications annually for asylun in France increased from nearly 5000 to 112,200. Entering into the 21st century, XXX. In 2010, France received about 48100 asylum applications which makes it one of the top 5 countries receiving the most asylum seekers. During 2015-2016 as the Europe receives the flood of Asylum seekers, France XXX. Up to 2018, more than XXX asylum seekers, including XXX refugees have gained the right to reside in France.

Policy trends

In 2015 as the Europe Refugee Crisis began, a flood of asylum seekers were heading for countries like France and Germany. By then, the French government responded with other members of Europe Union in a XXXX

In April 2018, new amendments of the Asylum and Immigration Law (N. 2018-778) were passed by the National Assembly, which was described as "more tightening" by some of XXXs. Some of the core changes are presented below:

• Access to the territory: The right to protection from removal for a “full day” (jour franc) is no longer available to persons refused entry at land borders (Article L.213-2 Ceseda). This change has significant consequences, given that the vast majority of refusal of entry measures are taken at the French-Italian land border.
• Accelerated procedure: Asylum applications lodged 90 days following entry into the territory, as opposed to 120 days prior to the reform. Moreover, as regards asylum seekers who pose a threat to public order or national security, OFPRA no longer has the possibility to re-channel the case into the regular procedure (Article L.723-2 Ceseda).
• Appeal: The deadline to appeal Dublin transfer decisions is restored at 15 days, following a reduction to 7 days by Law n. 2018-187 of 20 March 2018. In relation to appeals against inadmissibility decisions and negative decisions under the accelerated procedures, the appeal no longer has automatic suspensive effect, so the asylum seeker’s right to remain is no longer guaranteed automatically.

• Freedom of movement: The national reception system will set out a distribution mechanism across regions, setting out the share of asylum seekers to be accommodated by each region. Where a region has exceeded its share and capacity, OFII can direct an asylum seeker to a different region where he or she will be required to reside throughout the asylum procedure. The right to material reception conditions becomes dependent on compliance with this requirement in such cases. The asylum seeker will have to request authorisation from OFII to temporarily leave the assigned region, except for cases of overriding reasons of summons by authorities or courts (Article L.744-2 Ceseda).
• Access to the labour market: The time limit for formal access to the labour market for asylum seekers is reduced from 9 to 6 months (Article L.744-11 Ceseda).

The new law caused controversies and are described as "flawed" and "Restrictive" by some NGOs and news agencies.

Some other voices advocates the new law and commented it as "XXX".

Issues and debates

Some issues regarding to asylum protections in France are claimed to have affected France negatively. Firstly, issues concering the domestic security have been mentioned. After 2015 the Europe Refugee Crisis, refugees in France are being partially connected with the increasing number of terrorist attacks. As claimed by "XXX". From 2015 to 2019 XXX terrorist incidents happened in France, with the increasing trend of the injection of refugees. Secondly, some other issues on the living condition of asylum seekers are also being concerned.