Kafala in France: family reunification is a right for Algeria, but not for Morocco
Two children taken in under kafala do not enjoy the same rights in France depending on whether the decision was issued in Algeria or Morocco. In the first case, it grants the right to family reunification. In the second, the prefecture may still refuse.
The difference does not concern recognition of the kafala itself. A judicial decision establishing legal guardianship issued abroad is, in principle, automatically recognized in France.
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It concerns the possibility of bringing the child to France to live with the person who took them in. On this point, the rules applied to Algerian and Moroccan kafalas are markedly different.
Thus, a judicial kafala decision issued in Algeria grants the right to family reunification. The child can therefore be included in the procedure allowing them to join their legal guardian residing in France, subject to compliance with the other required conditions, particularly those relating to residency, resources and housing.
For a Moroccan kafala, family reunification is not a right. The Moroccan court’s decision alone therefore does not require the prefecture to authorize the child’s arrival.
The prefecture must consider the child’s best interests
The family must submit its application and await an individual decision from the administration. The prefect retains the power to refuse, particularly after examining the conditions in which the child will be received in France.
However, that power is not unlimited. Before rejecting the application, the prefect must verify that the decision does not infringe upon the child’s best interests.
The administration may take into account the child’s age, living conditions in Morocco, ties with the person holding the kafala, and the material conditions offered in France. A refusal based solely on the absence of a parent-child relationship between the child and the applicant may therefore be challenged.
This difference is explained by the Franco-Algerian agreement, which expressly provides for cases involving children for whom an Algerian national has legal responsibility under a decision by the Algerian judicial authority. No comparable mechanism automatically grants the same access to family reunification to children taken in under kafala in Morocco.
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A Moroccan kafala therefore remains valid and recognized in France, but by itself it does not constitute a pass allowing the child to join their new family. For the families concerned, obtaining the judgment in Morocco represents only the first step in a procedure whose outcome remains subject to the assessment of the French administration.
