A Moroccan woman is working and poses no threat to public order, but is still banned from returning to France for a year

According to her statements, the Moroccan national arrived in France in 2017 and had obtained a multi-year “seasonal worker” residence permit, valid until October 26, 2020. She had not applied to renew it and remained in France after it expired. Since September 10, 2021, she had been working part-time as a hairdresser.

On January 30, 2024, she was arrested. That same day, the prefect of Yvelines ordered her to leave France without delay and banned her from returning for one year. The Versailles Administrative Court rejected her appeal in March 2024. She appealed.

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The Moroccan woman cites her years of residence in France and her employment. But, in its order of September 23, 2026, the court notes that she has provided no evidence of personal or family ties in France. During her police interview, she had stated that her parents and brother lived in Morocco.

A ban on returning despite posing no threat to public order

The judges also dismiss her challenge to the ban on returning. When an OQTF is issued with no voluntary departure period, it must in principle be accompanied by such a ban, except in special humanitarian circumstances. The applicant cited none.

The court specifies that the prefecture was not required to state expressly in its order that this woman had never previously been subject to a removal measure and posed no threat to public order. Those factors alone did not require the prefecture to waive the one-year ban on returning.

The appeal is dismissed. The OQTF with no deadline and the ban on returning issued by the prefect of Yvelines remain in force.