Having lived in France since 2012, this Moroccan national receives a five-year ban: a forgotten summons brings everything down
After more than twelve years of lawful residence in France, a Moroccan national had lost his residence permit and received an OQTF accompanied by a five-year re-entry ban. The court of appeal overturned the entire procedure because a summons had never been sent.
The Moroccan national had held temporary and then multi-year residence permits since 2012. His most recent permit, bearing the wording “private and family ties – strong connections with France,” expired on April 25, 2024, and he had applied for its renewal.
On January 9, 2025, the prefect of Gard rejected his application. He ordered him to leave France within thirty days, designated the country to which he could be returned, and prohibited him from returning to French territory for five years.
On Bladi.net : The prefecture forces him to report to the police station every day, but this Moroccan man gets the entire procedure annulled
The Moroccan national challenged this order before the Nîmes Administrative Court. However, his application was rejected on April 15, 2025. He then appealed to the Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal, arguing in particular that he had never been summoned before the residence permit commission.
This step is important: when the commission is referred a case, it must allow the foreign national to personally present the reasons justifying his application, possibly with the assistance of a lawyer and an interpreter.
The commission had been consulted, but the Moroccan national had not
The prefecture had indeed informed the Moroccan national that it had referred the matter to the residence permit commission on June 24, 2024. But it provided no evidence showing that he had subsequently been summoned to a meeting.
In its ruling of September 17, the Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal held that this failure to issue a summons deprived him of an essential safeguard. The fact that the commission had issued no opinion within three months of being consulted did not allow the prefecture to circumvent this obligation.
The judges therefore annulled the refusal to renew the permit. The OQTF, the designation of the destination country and the five-year re-entry ban also fell, since they were all based on this initial decision, which had become unlawful.
The court also annulled the judgment delivered in April 2025 by the Nîmes Administrative Court. This outcome recalls another case in which a Moroccan woman had her OQTF and five-year re-entry ban annulled, but for reasons related to her family situation and the lack of a sufficient threat to public order.
On Bladi.net : Paris prefecture wanted to deport him: this Moroccan obtains his residence permit and 1,200 euros
The Moroccan national did not immediately obtain the residence card he had requested. The court ordered the prefect to re-examine his case within six months, after referring it once again to the residence permit commission.
In the meantime, the administration must issue him a temporary residence authorization. The State must also pay 1,200 euros to his lawyer for legal costs. After an initial defeat before the court, a summons that was never sent was therefore enough to annul all the measures taken against him.
