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ANNUAL REPORT 2014 ON ASYLUM AND MIGRATION POLICY
French National Contact Point of the European Migration Network
Part 2
April 2015
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ANNUAL REPORT 2014 ON ASYLUM AND MIGRATION POLICY
Contacts
- Marie-Hélène Amiel: [email protected]
Head of Department for Statistics, Studies and Documentation
- Raymond Prats: [email protected]
Deputy Head of Department
- Ophélie Tardieu: [email protected]
Coordinator of the French National Contact Point
- Anne-Cécile Jarasse: [email protected]
Policy officer within the European Migration Network
- Christelle Caporali-Petit : [email protected]
Policy officer within the European Migration Network
Address
Point de contact national du Réseau européen des migrations
Département des statistiques, des études et de la documentation
Service de la Stratégie et des Affaires Internationales
Direction générale des étrangers en France
Ministère de l’Intérieur
Place Beauvau
75800 Paris Cedex 08
Internet sites
- Official EMN website (in English): http://emn.europa.eu
- French NCP website (in French): http://www.immigration.interieur.gouv.fr/Europe-et-
International/Le-reseau-europeen-des-migrations-REM
French National Contact Point:
In France, the National Contact Point (NCP) for the European Migration Network (EMN) is attached to the Directorate-General for Foreign Nationals in France at the Ministry of the Interior.
LIST OF ACRONYMS
- AMIF: Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
- CADA: Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers (Centre d’accueil des demandeurs
d’asile)CAI: Reception and Integration Contract (Contrat d'accueil et d'intégration)
- CEAS: Common European Asylum System
- CESEDA: Code on Entry and Residence of Foreigners and Right of Asylum (Code de
l'entrée et de séjour des étrangers et droit d'asile)
- CGLPL: General Inspector of all Places of Deprivation of Liberty (Contrôleur Général
des Lieux de Privation de Liberté)
- CNCDH: National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (Commission nationale
consultative des droits de l'homme)
- CNDA: National Court for Right of Asylum (Cour nationale du droit d’asile)
- COI: Country of Origin Information
- CPH: Temporary accommodation centres (Centres provisoires d'hébergement)
- CSA: Strategic Council for Attractiveness (Conseil Stratégique de l’Attractivité)
- DCI: International Cooperation Directorate (Direction de la Coopération
Internationale)
- DCPAF: Central Directorate of the French Border Police (Direction Centrale de la
Police aux Frontières)
- DGEF: General Directorate for Foreigners in France (Direction générale des étrangers
en France)
- DILF: First-level Diploma of French as a Foreign Language (Diplôme Initial de Langue
Française)
- EAC: European Asylum Curriculum
- EASO: European Asylum Support Office
- ERI: European Reintegration Project
- HCR: High Commission for Refugees
- LSC: Local Schengen Cooperation
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- MAEDI: French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (Ministère
des Affaires étrangères et du Développement international)
- MIPROF: Interministerial Mission for the Protection of Women Victims of Violence
and the Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (Mission interministérielle pour la
protection des femmes contre les violences et la lutte contre la traite des êtres humains)
- MP: Mobility Partnership
- OCLTI: Central Office for Combatting Illegal Employment (Office central de lutte
contre le travail illégal)
- OCRIEST: French Office for the Suppression of Unauthorised Immigration and the
Employment of Foreigners without Residence Permits (Office Central pour la
Répression de l'Immigration irrégulière et de l'Emploi d'étrangers Sans Titre)
- OCRTEH: Central Office to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings (Office central pour
la répression de la traite des êtres humains)
- OFII: French Office for Immigration and Integration (Office Français de l'Immigration
et de l'Intégration)
- OFPRA: French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Office
français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides)
- OLI: Immigration Liaison Officer (Officier de liaison immigration)
- PAF: Border Police (Police aux frontières)
- PARAFE: French Automated Schengen External Border Crossing System (Passage
Automatisé Rapide Aux Frontières Extérieures)
- THB: Trafficking in Human Beings
- UCOLTEM: French Unit for the Operational Coordination of Measures to Combat the
Trafficking and Exploitation of Migrants (Unité de Coordination Opérationnelle de la
Lutte contre le Trafic et l'Exploitation des Migrants)
- UFM: Unaccompanied foreign minors
- VIS: Visa Information System
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 4
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 5
2. OVERVIEW OF ASYLUM AND MIGRATION POLICY DEVELOPMENTS .......... 6
3. LEGAL MIGRATION AND MOBILITY ......................................................................... 8
3.1. Economic migration ........................................................................................................ 8
3.2. Students and researchers ............................................................................................... 11
3.3. Family reunification ...................................................................................................... 11
3.4. Managing Migration and Mobility ................................................................................ 11
3.5. Promotion, information and awareness raising ............................................................. 16
3.6. INTEGRATION ............................................................................................................ 19
4. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION INCLUDING ASYLUM ..................................... 24
4.1. Common European Asylum System (CEAS) ............................................................... 24
4.2. Cooperation with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) ................................ 27
4.3. Enhancing the external dimension, including resettlement ........................................... 29
4.4. Reception and integration of beneficiaries of international protection ......................... 31
5. UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AND OTHER VULNERABLE GROUPS ................ 32
5.1. Unaccompanied minors (UM) ....................................................................................... 32
5.2. Other vulnerable groups ................................................................................................ 32
6. COUNTERING TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS ............................................... 33
6.1. Improving the identification of and provision of information to victims ..................... 33
6.2. Statistics ........................................................................................................................ 35
7. MAXIMISING DEVELOPMENT IMPACT OF MIGRATION AND MOBILITY .. 38
7.1. Progress towards mainstreaming of migration in development policies ....................... 38
7.2. Migrants' remittances .................................................................................................... 40
7.3. Working with diasporas ................................................................................................ 41
8. IRREGULAR MIGRATION ............................................................................................ 43
8.1. Enhanced border management at the external borders. ................................................. 43
8.2. Better tackling of misuse of legal migration channels .................................................. 47
8.3. The fight against facilitation of irregular migration ('smuggling') ................................ 49
9. RETURN ............................................................................................................................. 54
9.1. Strengthening cooperation with third countries of transit and origin ............................ 54
9.2. Enhancing migration management including cooperation on return practices ............. 54
9.3. Promotional measures relating to voluntary return led by OFII ................................... 57
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Following an overview of changes relating to immigration and asylum in 2014 (Section 2),
Section 3 of this report will address changes which have taken place relating to legal
migration and mobility, and more specifically labour migration, the issuing of visas and
reception and integration systems for foreigners.
Section 4 will present significant changes which have had an impact on asylum policy with
transposition of the asylum package and reform of the French asylum system.
Sections 5 and 6 will be devoted to unaccompanied foreign minors and trafficking in human
beings. These themes were broadly discussed in 2014 in France.
Section 7 strives to show how France has wanted to strengthen the contribution which
mobility and migration makes to developing countries and regions of origin with the
Framework Act on Development and International Solidarity Policy.
In 2014, numerous measures were taken in the fight against irregular immigration (Section
8) in terms of managing external borders, combating the fraudulent use of legal migration
channels and combating trafficking.
Finally, the policy to promote the return of migrants (Section 9) is illustrated with the
development of readmission agreements, better cooperation in terms of return practices, and
several measures taken by the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII).
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1. INTRODUCTION The 2014 policy report aims to cover changes to immigration and asylum policy and legislation
which have taken place throughout the year.
Relevant departments and services were asked to provide information relating to legislative and
regulatory provisions as well as statistics about events which had marked 2014.
Thus, the Sub-Directorate for Residency and Employment (Sous-direction du séjour et du
travail) as well as the Sub-Directorate for Visas (Sous-direction des visas) in the General
Directorate for Foreigners in France (Direction générale des étrangers en France - DGEF)
within the Ministry of the Interior contributed towards questions relating to legal migration
and mobility for aspects relating to residence, employment and visas.
Information on promotion, information and awareness raising for potential immigrants to
France was provided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Development
through its operator CampusFrance for foreign students, and through the EURAXESSFRANCE
organisation, a member of the EURAXESS network, for foreign researchers.
Questions on integration were prepared by the Department for Reception and Support for
Foreigners and Nationality (Direction de l’accueil, de l’accompagnement des étrangers et de
la nationalité - DAAEN) and those on non-discrimination were prepared by the General
Commissioner for Equal Opportunities (le Commissariat général à l’égalité des chances
(Office for Preventing and Combatting Discrimination (Bureau de la prévention et de la lutte
contre les discriminations)).
The section on asylum policy was prepared by the Asylum Department of the DGEF within
the Ministry of the Interior and by OFPRA.
The Ministry for Justice (Department for the Legal Protection of Young People - Direction de
la protection judiciaire de la jeunesse) contributed material on unaccompanied foreign
minors.
Several Ministries and bodies participated in drafting the section on trafficking in human
beings: the Interministerial Mission for the Protection of Women Victims of Violence and the
Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (MIPROF), the French Office for the Suppression
of Trafficking in Human Beings (Office central pour la répression de la traite des êtres humains
- OCRTEH), the French Office to Combat Illegal Employment (Office central de lutte contre
le travail illégal - OCLTI) and the National Consultative Committee on Human Rights
(Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme - CNCDH).
The Sub-Directorate for Democratic Governance (Sous-direction de la gouvernance
démocratique) of the General Directorate for Globalisation, Development and Partnerships
(Direction générale de la mondialisation développement et des partenariats - DGM) within the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Development were also asked for information on
the section relating to the contribution which mobility and migration make to development.
The Sub-Directorate for the Suppression of Irregular Immigration (SDLII) addressed the issue
of irregular immigration and return of migrants in connection with the Central Directorate
of the French Border Police (DCPAF) and the French Office for Immigration and Integration
(OFII).
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2. OVERVIEW OF ASYLUM AND MIGRATION POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
2014 was marked by significant legislative and regulatory changes relating to labour
immigration in France.
The Strategic Council for Attractiveness (CSA), which was held in February 2014, identified
several measures to promote the attractiveness of France.
Reports were also submitted on the reception of foreigners and highly skilled migrants in
particular.
Some measures recommended during the CSA or by the various reports were picked up as part
of a draft law on foreigners which was submitted to Parliament in July 2014.
It should be noted that provisions to promote the requirements of the labour market such as the
abolition of the employment authorisation for foreigners holding a 'working holiday' visa and
the abolition of temporary measures for Romanian and Bulgarian workers, as well as measures
to promote the admission of certain categories of migrants (foreign students seeking their first
job, long-term residency for foreign researchers should they experience involuntary job loss).
Moreover, the transposition of Directive 2014/67/EU 67/EU concerning the posting of workers
in the framework of the provision of services enabled the creation of mechanisms aiming to
combat social dumping.
In addition, significant work on the conditions for issuing visas was also conducted to reduce
timescales for issuance, to promote representation agreements between Member States and to
harmonise the ways in which visas are issued in third countries within the framework of Local
Schengen Cooperation. Simultaneously, the roll-out of VIS and biometrics continued.
Promotion and information for potential immigrants is largely handed by the embassies and
consulates, but it is interesting to note the work of partner bodies and external bodies for certain
groups such as students, researchers and investors.
After a phase of reflection which took place in 2013 on the system for the reception and
integration of foreigners, a draft law was submitted to Parliament in July 2014. In particular,
it sets out the creation of a five-year integration pathway and a more individualised approach
to needs.
Asylum policy also underwent significant reform with the first year of the AMIF programme
and implementation of the new Common European Asylum System around single procedures,
uniform conditions for reception and a high level of protection. Within this context, an in-depth
reform of the French asylum system was launched and a draft law on asylum, based on
consultation as well as the directives of the asylum packages, was developed.
Several legislative and institutional changes have taken place, particularly relating to the
extension of rights for certain groups, the action plan for reforming OFPRA's working methods,
the organisation of video-hearings by the CNDA and travelling information visits by OFPRA
to better adapt to new flows of asylum seekers.
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OFPRA also continued its cooperation with EASO (European Asylum Support Office) on
subjects such as information on countries of origin and the training programme. In addition,
France has taken measures to resettle people placed under HCR protection.
The theme of unaccompanied foreign minors was addressed as part of the study led by the
French National Contact Point of the EMN on policies, practices and information relating to
unaccompanied foreign minors in 2014.
Trafficking in human beings was the main theme of the 6th conference of the French National
Contact Point of the EMN, which was held on 17 October 2014. The most notable progress in
this field was the Interministerial Action Plan to combat trafficking in human beings, which
focusses on three areas: better identification of victims, dismantling trafficking networks and
establishing a completely separate public policy.
With a view to strengthening the contribution which mobility and migration make to the
development of countries and regions of origin, France introduced the Framework Act on
International Development and Solidarity Policy on 7 July 2014, recalling the need for
consistency between development policy and migration policy. Measures were also established
for migrants remittances and to mobilise the diaspora.
In order to combat irregular immigration, several measures were established to improve the
management of external borders, with the implementation of measures to control borders and
train DCPAF officers.
Measures aiming at bilateral and European cooperation to combat irregular immigration and
trafficking should also be noted.
Finally, the policy to promote the return of migrants is illustrated by the establishment of a
protocol to apply readmission agreements, better cooperation on return practices and the
continuity of work which began in 2013 on several European and bilateral projects.
In addition, the role of OFII to promote assistance with return should also be noted, both within
the CADA as well as with monitoring services and departmental departments for social
cohesion.
In conclusion, 2014 saw the culmination of several discussions which had taken place in 2012
and 2013 on immigration and asylum reforms with the drafting of two draft laws which
should be examined by Parliament in 2015.
Finally, France continues to work on transposing several European directives particularly on
seasonal workers, the intracommunity mobility of posted workers, and the asylum package,
which should enable the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) to be implemented.
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3. LEGAL MIGRATION AND MOBILITY
3.1. Economic migration 3.1.1. Satisfying labour market needs
Since 1 January 2014, Romanian and Bulgarian nationals have no longer been subject to
the transitional measures which were introduced when their countries joined the European
Union in 2007. From 1 January 2014, they have had direct access to the French labour market,
without having to request work or residence permits in advance. This ought to contribute
towards confirming or strengthening the dominant position held by Romanian citizens among
new entrants to the French labour market: in 2012 and 2013, Romanian nationals were the
second biggest nationality affected by work permits granted (between 5,000 and 6,000 per
year).
Furthermore, Decree No. 2014-921 of 18 August 2014 exempted nationals of third countries
living in France under a 'working holiday' visa from the obligation to apply for a residence
or work permit. This 'working holiday' visa is granted to third-country nationals wishing to
visit France for tourist or cultural reasons, while occasionally working in the country to provide
themselves with extra financial resources.
3.1.2. Efforts to avoid 'social dumping'
Within the 2013-2015 National Plan to Combat Illegal Work, one of the main themes relates
to fraudulently posting workers through the provision of international services. This often leads
to situations of social dumping, which is detrimental to the employees concerned as well as to
the national labour market. This issue follows on from European Parliament and Council
Directive 2014/67/EU, relating to the execution of Directive 96/71/EC on the Posting of
Workers in the Framework of the Provision of Services and modifying Regulation (EU) No.
1024/2012 on Administrative Cooperation through the Internal Market Information System
('the IMI Regulation') which aims to improve how the provision is addressed.
Law No. 2014-790 of 10 July 2014 to combat unfair social competition transposes the
provisions of this Directive into national law.
The main objectives are to better target inspections and strengthen sanctions to ensure
compliance with national and European standards and thus to maintain a high level of social
protection on the one hand and, on the other, to ensure that the rights of foreign workers
are addressed more effectively.
One of the implementing decrees related to these texts which relates more specifically to
combating the fraudulent posting of workers and the fight against illegal employment, sets out
the obligations of employers based outside France who post workers to France in terms of prior
declaration of the posting, the appointment of a representative in France, and the need to retain
documents to be presented in the event of an inspection. It specifies the ways in which the
obligation to monitor and the responsibility of contracting authorities and ordering parties
towards their sub-contractors and joint-contractors should be implemented, as well as the
conditions for liability of the joint-contractor. It also sets out the methods for declaring and
recovering any administrative sanctions in the event of non-compliance with the declarations.
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A reduction in the illegal posting of workers is expected as a result, as well as greater
compliance with French labour legislation for these workers.
3.1.3. Facilitating admission
A. Highly qualified workers
The main lever remains France's attractiveness policy in relation towards highly qualified
foreign nationals who are likely to contribute actively to the French economy.
A consultation with all stakeholders has been underway since 2013. The debate in Parliament
on economic and student migration, the Fekl report ('Sécuriser les parcours des ressortisants
étrangers en France') and the report published in May 2013 of the mission entrusted to four
inspection services (Inspection Générale des Affaires Étrangères - IGAE, Inspection Générale
de l’Administration - IGA, Inspection Générale de l’Administration de l’Éducation Nationale -
IGAEN et Inspection Générale des Finances - IGF), concluded that there was a need to simplify
economic migration procedures, to broaden the multi-annual residence permit and to establish
a residence permit specifically for qualified foreign nationals.
Thus, on 17 February 2014, the National Strategic Council for Attractiveness (CSA)
confirmed the principle of creating this new residence permit and announced the establishment
of measures to simplify procedures for qualified foreign workers.
A draft law on rights for foreigners has been submitted to Parliament which sets out the
issuance of a new multi-annual residence permit specifically for qualified foreign workers,
the so-called “talent passport”. The permit will have a maximum duration of four years for
all qualified foreign workers and, where applicable, their families. It will include nine distinct
categories corresponding to current economic realities, specifically young graduates, scientists,
highly qualified workers, investors, executive officers, entrepreneurs, inter-company
transferees, and artists, as well as foreign workers with an international reputation in a scientific,
literary, intellectual, educational or sporting field.
The Decree of 18 August 2014 had already modified various provisions relating to the right to
reside and work for foreigners and abolished compulsory medical check-ups for existing
categories which would be covered by the future residence permit for skilled workers, as
well as for members of their families.
In addition, the Ministry of the Interior actively works in partnership with the various Ministries
involved in monitoring the measures announced by the CSA.
B. Intra-Corporate Transferees (ICTs)
In terms of workers posted temporary to France in the context of intra-group mobility, French
legislation did not change in 2014. France participated in finalising the draft European directive
on this theme and, since publication of Directive 2014/66/EU, has been working on the
mechanism to transpose it into national law which is based on the creation of new residence
permits aimed at three categories of people targeted by the Directive and the establishment of
measures relating to the intra-community mobility of posted workers.
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C. Seasonal Workers
In terms of workers coming to France for the purposes of seasonal employment, French
legislation did not change in 2014. France participated in finalising the draft European directive
on this theme and is currently working on on the mechanism to transpose Directive
2014/36/EU which does not include any significant measures, given that French law on foreign
nationals already provides for a multi-annual residence permit for seasonal workers from third
countries with an easier way to renew the permit.
D. Migrant entrepreneurs
The French National Contact Point of the EMN conducted a study on the admission of third
country nationals for business reasons in January 20151.
3.1.4. Guaranteeing certain rights for third country nationals who are already legally resident on the territory
A. Long-term residence
The transposition into French law of Directive 2011/51/EU, which extends the scope under
which EU-long-term resident status can be accorded to beneficiaries of international protection,
was completed in 2014 with the publication of Decree No. 2014-301 of 6 March 2014, which
modified several articles of the Code on Entry and Residence of Foreigners and Right of
Asylum (CESEDA).
In addition, consideration is currently being given to simplifying the wording of Article L.
314-8 of CESEDA which defines the conditions under which EU-long-term resident status can
be granted to third country nationals not benefiting from international protection. The criteria
for awarding the status defined in Directive 2003/109/EC and which makes it easier for
beneficiaries to move to another Member State, will not change but will be set out in a more
accessible way. If this consultation comes to a successful conclusion, it will also lead to
simplification of the wording of the regulatory part relating to the CESEDA (particularly Article
R. 314-1-1).
B. Intra-EU mobility of third-country nationals between Member States
Decree No. 2014-301 of 6 March 2014, which completes the transposition into French law of
Directive 2011/51/EU, inserted provisions into the CESEDA to make it possible to guarantee
to long-term EU residents that the name of the Member State which granted them
international protection will continue to be mentioned on their residence permit. This
Decree also integrated specific measures into French law to protect long-term EU residents who
have been granted refugee status or subsidiary protection by another Member State from
expulsion.
1A summary of the study is available (in French) at the following address: http://www.immigration.interieur.gouv.fr/Europe-et-International/Le-reseau-europeen-des-migrations-REM/Les-etudes-du-REM/L-admission-des-ressortissants-de-pays-tiers-a-des-fins-d-affaires
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3.2. Students and researchers The general subject of administrative formalities for students has been addressed as part of
work carried out since 2013. Questions about broadening the multi-annual residence permit for
students, the digitalisation of certain tasks conducted by the Prefectures, and transfer to
Universities using a partnership and single platform system, have been mentioned as possible
areas which could be improved for this group.
The draft law on the rights of foreigners thus plans to extend to all students the multi-annual
residence permit which is valid for a period equal to the length of the course in question. This multi-annual residence permit is currently reserved for students enrolled at least in a
Masters programme.
In order to facilitate reception of the target group and to improve the processing of applications,
it is also planned to extend reception facilities for foreign students at Universities for the
start of the 2015 academic year. This will incorporate issues relating to the residence permit
and other subjects (grants, accommodation, social security).
France's attractiveness for students and researchers remains one of the government's priorities.
Although the Law of 22 July 2013 relating to higher education and research had already
extended the length of validity of the temporary residence permit for foreign students
wishing to acquire work experience to 12 months, the Decree of 18 August 2014 modifying
various provisions relating to residence and employment rights for foreigners introduced
flexibility into the procedure by removing the condition which required students to apply
for the temporary residence permit four months before their student residence permit
had expired, as well as removing the need to submit a letter presenting the project and
plans to return to the country of origin.
This same Decree facilitated the long-term residence of foreign researchers by enabling them
to renew their residence permit for one year in the event of involuntary loss of employment.
3.3. Family reunification
French legislation relating to family reunification did not change in 2014.
3.4. Managing Migration and Mobility 3.4.1. Visa Policy
A. Improving reception facilities for those requesting visas
In 2014, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International
Development continued their policy of improving reception facilities for those requesting visas
by experimenting with issuing visas 48 hours after requests are submitted.
China was the first country to be involved in this experiment. This approach was made
possible by savings generated from other policies (outsourcing, pre-examination of applications
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for long-term student residence by Campus France, partnership agreements with companies and
an increase in the number of travel visas).
Issuing visas within 48 hours of the request being made has not affected the level of consular
vigilance. No increase has been observed in the number of Chinese people in an irregular
situation in France, nor in the number of non-admissions at border controls staffed by the French
police, the Gendarmerie or border guards. The refusal rate has remained unchanged.
Given these results, the measure will be extended on 1 January 2015 to the following
countries: South Africa, India, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.
B. Visa Information System (VIS)
The use of VIS began on 11 October 2011 in the countries of Northern Africa and continued
since then in line with a schedule agreed by the Commission (Africa is now totally covered, as
is Latin America, the Middle and Near East, CIS-Central Asia, and South East Asia).
The programme is currently two years behind schedule. There are two reasons for this
delay:
- concerns over the capacity of the EU-Lisa agency to deal with the extra data which
Member States will archive on the agency's servers once VIS roll-out is complete.
- Concerns which some States have in light of the possible dissatisfaction of some
countries (Russia, India and China) which consider biometrics as a poor tool being used
against them.
C. Continuing the use of biometrics
Of the 189 consular posts equipped to issue visas, 176 now have equipment enabling them
to collate biometric data from applicants.
In total, for the first ten months of 2014, 65% of visas issued were biometric visas.
Only 13 visa services remain to be equipped, but most of them are very large in scale.
Edinburgh has not yet been equipped because of uncertainties about the continuation of its
activities; it will be equipped with Biodev when Great Britain joins VIS, or will be closed with
the opening of a delocalised centre reporting to London.
The 12 other posts have the particularity of being very high activity units situated in regions
which are not yet connected to VIS. India (New Delhi, Pondicherry, Bangalore and Calcutta),
China (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Canton, Chengdu and Wuhan), Russia (Moscow and Saint
Petersburg which will close when it connects to VIS). The collection of biometric data will
largely take place in external centres.
In this regard, the use of biometric data collation will end in 2015 when regions 17 to 23
join the VIS. This measure essentially relates to posts installed in Ukraine and Belarus (region
17), Russia (region 18), China, Japan and Korea (region 19) and in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka (region 20).
Regions 21, 22 and 23 respectively consist of principalities which do not form part of the EU
(region 21), Great Britain and Ireland (region 22) and the States in the Schengen Area (region
23).
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In the larger countries (India and Russia), delocalised centres for receiving visa
applications are already open or will be opening soon:
- Eight centres in India opened on 1 December 2014 (Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kochi,
Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jalandhar and Pune).
- In Russia, nine delocalised centres are already open (Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Rostov-on-
Don, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Nizhny Novgorod, Irkutsk, Perm and Samara). In
addition to the existing centres, the entry into force of biometrics in 2015 should be
preceded by the opening of seven new centres (Omsk, Ufa, Krasnoyarsk, Kaliningrad,
Saratov, Krasnodar and Khabarovsk), bringing the total number of collection points in
Russia to 18.
China is a unique case, given the refusal of its authorities to allows States from the Schengen
Area to open centres to receive applications in towns where there is no consulate (this facility
is, however, permitted to Great Britain). At this stage, it is planned to open delocalised centres
in the towns of Chongqing, Hangzhou, Jinan, Kunming Xiamen and Xi'an.
As with the delocalised centres previously opened, these new centres are equipped with specific
BioNET technology. This solution, which was authorised on an experimental basis by Decree
(No. 2010-645 of 10 June 2010) has been established in Algiers (October 2011), London
(February 2012) and Istanbul (April 2012). Having demonstrated its effectiveness, this solution
was then extended to other external centres by a Decree (No. 2013-147 of 18 February 2013)
issued by the Council of State after consultation with the CNIL (No. 2012-293 of 13 September
2012).
3.4.2. Schengen Governance
A. Representation agreements between Member States
Operational cooperation between Member States of the Schengen Area principally takes place
through signature of 'Schengen representation' agreements for issuing Schengen visas in a
certain number of third countries.
As of 1 July 2014, France thus represented 23 Schengen States, i.e. 372 representations in
70 consular posts. On this basis, France issued 41,099 short term visas (including airport
transfer visas) in 2013.
14
Details of visas issued through representation by country represented
Source: SDV/DIMM/DGEF/Ministry of the Interior
In contrast, France is only represented by 12 Member States in 23 cities. Over the last few
years, France has continued efforts to redress the balance and the number of posts where France
is represented has more than doubled. However, due to the fact that it has a larger network than
other Member States, it is difficult to advance much further in this direction.
However, shared 'co-externalisation' centres, i.e. mutual reliance on the same service
provider for receiving applications, have been established in most of the external centres which
receive visa applications for France:
Centres Other Schengen Member States present
Algiers Italy
Al Khobar (applications processed in
Riyadh)
Germany, Austria, Spain
Ankara Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Malta, Poland, Sweden
(Bulgaria)
Bangalore Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Italy,
Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden,
Switzerland
Bangkok Switzerland
Beijing Germany, Netherlands
15
Beirut Italy, Denmark
Cairo Denmark, Sweden
Calcutta Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Italy,
Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland
Canton Germany, Netherlands
Chengdu Germany
Chennai (applications processed in
Pondicherry)
Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain,
Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia,
Sweden, Switzerland
Colombo Germany, Austria, Greece, Italy, Norway
Dubai Germany, Austria, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Malta
Ekaterinburg (applications processed in
Moscow)
Spain, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Norway,
Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland
(Bulgaria)
Istanbul Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, Malta,
Poland, Sweden (Bulgaria, Croatia)
Izmir (applications processed in Istanbul) Austria, Greece, Malta (Bulgaria)
Jeddah Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy
Johannesburg Italy
Kazan (applications processed in
Moscow)
Germany, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Greece,
Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Czech Republic, Sweden,
Switzerland (Bulgaria, Croatia)
Lagos Belgium, Spain, Italy
Mumbai Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Italy,
Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden,
Switzerland
New Delhi Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain,
Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal,
Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland
Nizhi Novgorod (applications processed
in Moscow)
Germany, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Greece,
Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Czech Republic, Sweden,
Switzerland (Bulgaria, Croatia)
Novosibirsk (applications processed in
Moscow)
Germany
Pondicherry Germany, Spain, Greece, Switzerland
Riyadh Germany, Spain, Italy, Malta
Rostov-on-Don (applications processed
in Moscow)
Germany, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Greece,
Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Czech Republic, Sweden,
Switzerland (Bulgaria, Croatia)
Saint Petersburg Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Greece,
Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Czech Republic, Sweden,
Switzerland (Croatia)
Shanghai Germany, Netherlands
Shenyang (applications processed in
Beijing)
Germany
Tripoli Malta, Greece
Vladivostok (applications processed in
Moscow)
Austria, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Greece, Lithuania,
Malta, Norway, Czech Republic, Sweden,
Switzerland
16
Other forms of resource pooling which may be agreed include:
- 'Schengen House' in Kinshasa: operated by a single State (Belgium) and representing
other partners including France;
- 'Schengen House' in Praia: operated by Portugal, which has represented France's
interests in terms of visas to Sao Tomé and Principe since May 2014.
It is difficult to go further at this stage. Establishing real joint operational consular services is
inconceivable, given the differences which exist in terms of IT resources. Each State, therefore,
uses its own biometric station, although the data collated are ultimately destined to be shared
by all Member States of the Schengen Area.
B. Local Schengen Cooperation (LSC)
Set out in Articles 14-5° and 48 of the Community Code on Visas, the main aim of LSC is to
harmonise Member States' local practices in terms of issuing visas in third countries,
mainly in terms of documents required and exoneration of visa and application processing costs.
Its aim is to exchange information (visa refusals, false documentation, travel sickness
insurance, immigration channels, etc.) in order to reach a harmonised position for Member
States at the local level in terms of short term visas.
LSC takes place through regular meetings, generally every two months, between Member
States and the EU representative present in the jurisdiction. Since its introduction in 2009, LSC
has become increasingly important: by the end of 2014 there were 11 harmonised lists of
required documents covering 30 third countries and which had been subject to a European
Commission implementing decision. In 2014, four new harmonised lists of documents required
were adopted covering the following countries: Algeria, Belarus, Cameroon, Cap-Vert, Costa
Rica, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Ireland, Kenya, Moldova, Mozambique, the
Philippines, Uzbekistan, Ukraine.
3.5. Promotion, information and awareness raising For several years, various measures have been taken to inform potential migrants, with the aim
of providing all the necessary information on a website.
The embassies and consulates are largely responsible for providing information and raising
awareness among potential migrants to France. The website for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
and International Development sets out the conditions under which visas are issued.
Some websites also publish information in several languages for potential immigrants on living
conditions in France, addressing themes as varied as visas, driving licences, transport,
investing or opening a bank account (www.france.fr) and systems for working in France
(www.immigration-professionnelle.gouv.fr).
The Ministry for the Interior has also worked on drafting a web module entitled 'Accueil des
étrangers’ (Reception of foreign nationals) which aims to ensure that information which is
given to foreigners wanting to request or renew their residence permit is harmonised across
the country. This innovative tool includes modern features and responds to the objectives of
improving and simplifying the ways in which foreign nationals are received at the prefectures.
This module has been operational since March 2015.
17
In addition, some partners and associations provide information targeting certain groups of
people.
3.5.1. Foreign students Measures to increase foreign students’ awareness of the conditions for migrating to France are
taken in their country of origin. They are based on the following tools:
- embassy and consular websites are the most reliable sources, as well as the 'Campus
France' sites dedicated to information for international students;
- services dedicated to providing administrative support for foreign students
('Espaces Campus France') in 114 countries; - brochures and leaflets produced by the Campus France agency and distributed
abroad by the embassies. These guides contain the main information on entry and
residence conditions;
- workshops in secondary schools and local establishments and seminars to prepare
for departure, organised by the cultural network of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in
more than a hundred countries;
- professional points of contact in the private sector and local organisations, with
which several embassies and consulates organise regular information exchanges.
More specifically, the activities of the Campus France agency2should be noted, with the
creation in 2014 of a section dedicated to reception and support services in higher education
establishments, bringing together information which may be useful for foreign students
preparing their arrival, as well as the activities of the Espaces Campus France3.
A. Information for foreigners wishing to study in France
Basic information on entry and residence conditions in France, defined in partnership with the
consulates (Madagascar, Morocco, Guinea, Russia, Japan, etc.) are distributed to participants
in the workshops and conferences organised by the embassies in the Espaces Campus
France, secondary schools and local higher education establishments.
B. Pre-departure preparatory seminars
- 75% of Espaces Campus France organised pre-departure preparatory seminars
aimed at foreign students4.
- Information on entry and residence conditions are systematically distributed during
these seminars: OFII (particularly in Morocco) or visa departments may, depending on
the country, be involved in this exercise. In Vietnam, three conferences took place in
August, attracting up to 1,500 participants; the consulate’s participation took the form
of a 15 minute presentation on how to request a visa and entry formalities in France.
Finally, in India, information sessions took place with the Consulates General. In
Mauritius, seminars were organised by the destination cities.
2 Source: Campus France annual report: http://www.campusfrance.org/fr/node/245797 3 Source: MAEDI study into embassies in the 30 main countries of origin of foreign students
4 Source: Campus France annual report
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C. Meetings with professionals from the local higher education establishments
Information meetings aimed at local associations, 'campus advisors' and private agencies were
organised in several countries in 2014, providing information to professionals involved in
student mobility about legislative and regulatory changes.
- In Senegal, information meetings on administrative formalities relating to departure and
arrival in France took place in partnership with the Fessef (Fédération des Etudiants et
Stagiaires Sénégalais de France – French Federation of Senegalese Students and
Interns).
- In the United States, the annual meeting took place during the NAFSA (Association of
International Educators) seminar, in the presence of the Washington visa department.
Other information meetings were organised around the country in the presence, where
possible, of the closest consulate.
- In China, meetings were organised with recruitment agencies during regional tours.
250 to 300 meetings of this type take place every year in the 15 Espaces Campus France.
D. Communication material about entry and residence conditions in France
All posts direct students to the consular website when preparing their application. In the
event of changes to the regulations, information provided here is more reliable. All brochures
and leaflets which are distributed contain, among other information, general material on entry
and residence conditions in France (‘Etudier en France’ (Study in France), ‘Bienvenue en
France’ (Welcome to France), the booklet 'Mon séjour en France' (My stay in France), Campus
France factsheets translated into the local language, etc.). Senegal prints the brochure from the
Fédération des Etudiants et Stagiaires Sénégalais de France, which contains this information.
Finally, social networks (Facebook, Twitter) are also used to publish information on visas and
residence permits.
3.5.2. Scientific researchers
The EURAXESS network, a European Commission initiative launched in 2004, consists of
more than 200 service centres in 40 countries. Its aim is to provide support to researchers
working abroad, whether they be from the European Union or third countries.
To do so, the initiative is based on four complementary sections:
- EURAXESS Jobs is a platform for publishing research related job offers and funding.
Researchers also have the option of publishing their CV on line.
- EURAXESS Services is a network of more than 200 centres situated in 40 European
countries. These centres help researchers and their families to plan and organise their
stay in their country of destination.
- EURAXESS Rights provides information about the European Charter for Researchers
and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment.
- EURAXESS Links offers interactive Web services to European researchers working
abroad in order to maintain contact between them and with the whole of Europe. It is
supported by five offices abroad (United States, Brazil, China, India, Japan, ASEAN),
which facilitates networking between researchers and offers a point of entry for third
countries towards the EU.
19
Coordinated by the Conférence des Présidents d'Université (CPU), the members of
EURAXESS FRANCE contribute to improving the professional reception given to researchers
on the national level.
Regionally based, the service centres work in partnership on the ground with higher education
and research establishments and institutions. They also work closely with the Ministries
involved (the Ministry for Higher Education and Research, Ministry for the Interior),
particularly in terms of legislation.
The EURAXESS France national network was structured as an association in 2013. The
association, which brings together 24 higher education and research establishments
(universities, COMUE, associations), is presided over by the Confédération des Présidents
d'Université (CPU). The CPU is assisted by a Board of Directors consisting of major
stakeholders involved in mobility in France (Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris,
Association Bernard Gregory) and representatives of the network (COMUE UEB, University
of Lyon, University of Lorraine, University of Bordeaux, Science Accueil, COMUE
L'UNAM).
In 2014, the EURAXESS France association drafted a report on the difficulties encountered
in terms of receiving foreign researchers. This report, which was sent to the cabinets of the
various Ministries involved (Higher Education and Research, Interior, Foreign Affairs and
International Development) is updated every year.
3.5.3. Investors Business France is the national agency to promote the internationalisation of the French
economy. It promotes the attractiveness and economic image of France, its companies and
regions.
Created on 1st January 2015, Business France is the result of the merger of UBIFRANCE and
the Invest in France agency (IFA) and has 1,500 staff situated in France and in 70 other
countries.
The IFA is responsible for promoting, seeking out and receiving international investments in
France. It is the key organisation in terms of the attractiveness and economic image of France.
The IFA is based on an international, national and regional network. It works in close
partnership with regional economic development agencies to provide the best business
opportunities and a personalised service to investors.
Every year a report is published on foreign investments in France.5
3.6. INTEGRATION 3.6.1. Promoting integration through socio-economic participation
The foundation of migrant integration policy in French society is the Reception and
Integration Contract (CAI).
5 See the following link: http://sayouitofrance-innovation.com/?p=1544
20
Since 1 January 2007, upon their arrival in France, migrants must sign a CAI, created by the
law of 24 July 2006 on immigration and integration. It is aimed at new arrivals from outside
the European Union who are admitted to France for the first time or those who have been
regularised and who wish to settle in the country on a long-term basis.
2014 saw a very slight rise in the number of signatories to the CAI (+ 1.9%) with 111,085
people in 2014 compared to 108,987 in 2013 and differences depending on the categories
of foreigners. The average age of foreigners signing the CAI was 32.7 years.
In terms of reasons, the following should be noted:
- an increase of 26.5% in the number of refugees signing the CAI (including those under
subsidiary protection) (9,525 people in 2013 compared to 12,025 in 2014);
- an increase of 64.2% for admissions for economic reasons (5,212 in 2013 compared to 8,560
in 2014) with a rise of 29.8% for employees. The number of non-salaried signatories rose
from 123 to 1,953;
- a reduction of 4.5% for admissions for family reasons (82,652 in 2013 compared to 78,967
in 2014) highlighting the differences between foreigners entering on personal and family
grounds (-20.9%), family members of refugees and stateless people (+26.7%) and families
of workers (-9.4%) or French citizens (parents/children: -10.5%).
Of the 111,085 CAIs signed in 2014:
- Language courses were prescribed in 22.2% of cases;
- Information sessions on life in France were prescribed in 29.3% of cases;
- Professional skills assessment were recommended in 33.6% of cases;
- Referrals were made to a social assistant in 6.2% of cases;
- Social support was offered in 1.4% of cases.
The nationalities for which the number of signatories increased the most are as follows:
Albania with 740 signatories (+96.3%), Bangladesh with 1,547 signatories (+79.1%), the
Central African Republic with 528 signatories (+55.8%), Korea with 186 signatories (+43.1%),
Iraq with 243 signatories (+49.1%) Myanmar with 95 signatories (+216%) Swaziland with
1,236 signatories (+77.1%).
This reception mechanism has now been in place for seven years and it would seem
appropriate to assess its effectiveness. At the start of 2013, therefore, the Minister of the
Interior asked the government's Inspectorate General of Home Affairs and the Inspectorate
General of Social Affairs to conduct an assessment of this policy.
The evaluation report, which was published at the end of 2013, recommended restructuring
and coordinating all these services into reception procedures for new arrivals managed by the
State on a local level in partnership with the various actors involved.
On the basis of this report, the Ministry of the Interior wishes to undertake an ambitious reform
of the reception and integration policy for new foreign arrivals by focussing on three main
priorities aimed at improving and encouraging their rapid integration into French society:
- strengthening requirements in terms of knowledge of the French language;
- ensuring an understanding of rights and responsibilities as well as the institutions of the
Republic;
- supporting new arrivals and referring them towards local authorities, using all local
stakeholders falling within the auspices of the local Prefects.
21
Thus, the draft law on rights for foreigners, presented to the Council of Ministers on 23
July 2014, noted that the first years of a migrant's stay in France are crucial for the success of
his or her integration and set out:
- on the one hand that migrants should be enrolled in a five-year reception
programme, the timescale considered necessary in order to qualify for, initially, a
multi-annual permit followed by a residence permit at the end of the first five years;
- on the other hand to design a more individualised approach to needs in order to
better respond to the changing needs of migrants as they are expressed over time;
- moreover, to connect migrants' commitment to the reception process with the
issuance of residence permits;
- and also, to refer them towards specific services or responses to their questions
which can be provided by local public services.
This draft law will be examined by the Parliament in 2015.
3.6.2. Non-discrimination
During the Interministerial Committee for Towns (CIV) meeting of 19 February 2013, the
Government agreed to reform urban policy by strengthening public sector measures to combat
discrimination.
Thus, a regional anti-discrimination plan was established for 2015-2020 which will be
translated into 'Strategic Regional Plans' within each city contract.
Actions to prevent and combat discrimination in the context of urban policy can be divided
into three areas. Planning tools, including three sections: regional strategic diagnostics,
training for regional stakeholders and regional anti-discrimination plans. Actions conducted
by specialist associations guaranteeing access to rights such as support for victims of
discrimination or campaigns against racism and sexism. Finally, the history and tradition of
immigration and regions in urban policy, enabling a shared history to be built and
understood, particularly by younger inhabitants.
In terms of measures to combat racism, the use of specific budget lines within urban policy
should enable preventative measures to be developed, taking into account the sexist dimension
of the phenomenon and, in terms of measures to prevent sexism, including the racial aspect of
the phenomenon. These measures aim to change the negative image of certain groups of
people, particularly those from working class neighbourhoods where the majority of the
population are of immigrant descent:
- information and communication campaigns;
- awareness raising modules and information on the concept of prejudice and otherness;
- educational programmes against racism and sexism;
- citizen-led activities to counter inequality;
- studies aiming to improve knowledge of racist and sexist behaviour on a region within
urban policy.
There should be a specific focus on measures to prevent racism and sexism with children
and young people, in partnership with popular education and youth organisations.
22
3.6.3. Promoting local activities
Since 2010, various government policies promoting the integration of foreign nationals have
been developed to meet grassroots issues, through the government's decentralised departments'
'regional programmes for the integration of immigrant populations (PRIPI - programmes
régionaux d'intégration des populations immigrées)'. Each French region drafted a programme
in 2010, under the guidance of the regional Prefect. The programmes involve various
government representatives carrying out public policies likely to contribute towards the
integration of migrant populations and relevant regional authorities.
After three years, a national evaluation of these programmes was conducted in 2013 to
better understand what is required to implement the public policy for receiving and supporting
foreign immigrants arriving in France for the first time. The objectives of this evaluation were
as follows:
- to improve implementation of the regional integration policy;
- to analyse the consistency and complementarity of the integration policy with other
social policies as well as with urban policy;
- to assess the contribution of PRIPI.
The conclusions of this evaluation were published in January 2014. In terms of the
contribution which PRIPI has made, it was observed that regional implementation of the
reception and integration policy had had mixed results. The evaluation showed that although
the drafting phase of PRIPI had given new impetus to regional integration policy, it had been
more difficult for decentralised services responsible for managing the PRIPI to mobilise other
public services and regional authorities around the subject.
Following this diagnosis, several recommendations were made concerning:
- clarification of the objectives and concepts underlying the integration policy;
- better identification of the role and contribution of various stakeholders (Prefectures,
decentralised public services, regional authorities, NGOs, etc.);
- strengthening resources in terms of local leadership, diagnosis, monitoring and
evaluation.
Based on these recommendations, consideration is being given to the new reception policy: it
should identify new directions to guide implementation of the reception and support
policy on the local level.
3.6.4. Measures taken in countries of origin
Since December 2008, France has implemented a support mechanism for applicants wishing to
migrate to France with around 50 third countries (representing 75% of long term family
immigration to France). This mechanism concerns family migrants and aims to prepare for their
integration into France. During the visa application process, their knowledge of the French
language and the values of the Republic are assessed. When their knowledge of the French
language is deemed to be lower than A1.1 level, the migrant must follow French language
classes lasting up to 40 hours. If their level of understanding of the values of the Republic is
insufficient, they must take a three-hour training course before being reassessed. Being granted
a residence visa is conditional upon having completed these training courses.
23
These mechanisms have also been included in the analysis of reception mechanisms conducted
by the Inspectorate General of Home Affairs and the Inspectorate General of Social Affairs.
They will also be reformed in 2015 to enable foreign nationals to better prepare for
migration while they are in their country of origin.
24
4. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION INCLUDING ASYLUM
4.1. Common European Asylum System (CEAS) 4.1.1. Statistics
For the first time in six years, in 2014 requests for asylum went down in France (-2.6%).
OFPRA recorded 64,536 requests compared to 66,251 in 2013. These figures include re-
examinations and unaccompanied minors.
During this period, around 14,489 applicants were granted protection (i.e. granted refugee status
or subsidiary protection by OFPRA and the CNDA) which brought the number of people placed
under protection in France to 193,552 (of whom 175,256 were refugees).
4.1.2. The implementation of the Common European Asylum System
France has firmly supported the creation of a common European protection area.
This new 'asylum package' aims to create a real common European asylum system around
unique procedures, uniform reception conditions and a high level of protection.
The new CEAS is based on strong practical cooperation between Member States, particularly
through the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).
Following publication in the Official Journal on 29 June 2013, all texts forming the asylum
package were formally adopted and must be transposed into national legislation by July 2015.
The new Dublin III regulation has been applicable since January 2014.
As the new CEAS was implemented, the Ministry of the Interior wished to engage in a
process of in-depth reform of the French asylum system.
A national consultation involving partner institutions (OFPRA, CNDA, NGOs and the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)) and local politicians was launched in
July 2013 under the responsibility of two members of parliament.
This consultation was supported by four thematic working groups which met between
September and November 2013 to examine, respectively, procedures; reception, orientation and
support; accommodation; and integrating individuals who have been granted international
protection. The consultation concluded with a report submitted to the Ministry of the Interior at
the end of November 2013, and which provided an overview of the situation, identified the
main challenges of reform and suggested the direction reform should take.
A draft law on asylum reform was prepared in 2014. It is based on the findings from the
consultation as well as the Directives in the asylum package.
The reform aims to strengthen the legal protection offered to asylum seekers, to reduce the
times for processing their requests, to ensure decent reception conditions, to improve the
efficiency of asylum procedures and to limit abuse of asylum procedures.
The measures contained in this text are organised around four main areas:
25
- reworking the procedures for examining asylum applications by the French Office for
the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) and the National Court for
Right of Asylum (CNDA - Court Nationale du Droit d'Asile);
- reforming the reception procedure and the right to remain in the country for asylum
seekers;
- clarifying the material conditions in which asylum seekers are received and the ways in
which these are implemented;
- strengthening the rights of those granted international protection.
This draft law was submitted to the National Assembly on 23 July 2014, was sent for an in-
depth examination to the Law Committee (Commission des Lois), which ruled on 26 November
in favour of the government's draft with a certain number of modifications.
This text was then examined in a public session between 9 and 11 December 2014 and was
subject to nearly 480 amendments, of which 124 have been adopted.
It was adopted at its first reading by the National Assembly on 16 December 2014 by a large
majority with 324 votes in favour, 188 votes against and 29 abstentions.
It will be submitted to the Senate in spring 2015.
4.1.3. Institutional and legislative changes
The following should be noted:
Decree No. 2014-301 of 6 March 2014 adapting the regulatory part of the Code on the
Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right to Asylum to take into account the
extension of the scope of application of the status of long-term resident to individuals
who are granted international protection (refugees and those who are granted subsidiary
protection) as set out in the new Article L. 314-8-2 resulting from the Law No. 2013-
1005 of 12 November 2013. This text was completed by an information note dated 4
July 2014.
The information note of 18 March 2014 relating to the residence rights of parents of
minors who have been granted international protection: foreign nationals including
minor children who have been granted international protection may, as a result,
themselves be issued with a residence permit, either a ten-year residence permit if the
child has obtained the status of refugee, or a temporary one-year residence permit if the
child has obtained subsidiary protection.
An information note dated 23 December 2014 on asylum applications made by
foreigners placed in administrative detention pending their repatriation: this instruction
followed the information note of 5 December 2013 which was partially annulled by the
Council of State in its decision of 30 July 2014. This information note brought the
asylum procedure in detention in line with the requirements of European law resulting
from the decision by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of IM v France
of 2 February 2012 and the decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union in
the Arslan case of 30 May 2013. It also removed the automatic nature of placement in
detention and the priority examination procedure.
Two countries have been removed from the national list of safe countries of origin,
which dropped from 18 to 16 countries. Ukraine was removed following a decision by
the Board of Directors of OFPRA, due to instability in the country (decision taken on
26
26 March 2014 and published on 18 April 2014 in the Official Journal). Kosovo was
removed from the list by the administrative court in October 2014 (EC No. 375474 and
375920 of 10 October 2014).
On 22 May 2013, following a major consultation exercise, an Action Plan was adopted
to reform OFPRA's working methods. It has been implemented since 1 September 2013.
This Action Plan is divided into seven major areas (harmonisation, expertise, sharing,
professional career, management, well-being at work, improving processes) and integrates all
the organisation's missions and activities. It establishes new methods of processing asylum
requests while ensuring greater coherence between policies, particularly in line with CNDA
jurisprudence. The main measures are as follows:
- A harmonisation committee is responsible for developing and monitoring compliance
with the policy, regulations and shared working tools for all Office staff. It decides upon
the creation of ad hoc working groups and organises consultations needed to take
decisions.
- Cross-cutting themes (torture, violence against women, trafficking, sexual orientation,
isolated minors) are addressed by specific working groups in order to adapt the Office's
policies and practices in partnership with institutional and NGO partners.
- In order to increase OFPRA's responsiveness to changes in migration flows, the main
nationalities are split across the four processing divisions. Improving predictions about
future asylum requests is one objective to be achieved.
- For each of these main nationalities, geographical reference people are appointed as
experts to advise case officers. Summary and analytical documents on shared countries
of origin are also drafted.
- While upholding the guarantee of a case-by-case examination, applications are
processed in such a way as to simplify the procedure in terms of the profiles of repeated
requests, either in that they show an evident need for protection or that they appear to
be without foundation. At any time, this tailored process may be adjusted towards a
more in-depth treatment depending on the case officer's judgement.
- Quality control is ensured with the help of the HCR, under the terms of an agreement
signed on 25 September 2013 between the Director General of OFPRA and the HCR
representative in France. This is based on a posteriori checking of a representative
sample of applications by a team of experienced case officers who work closely with
HCR representatives and are supervised by the quality control co-ordinator.
4.1.4. Efficiency and Quality
Until 2014, appeals made by overseas applicants assumed that the National Court for Right of
Asylum (CNDA) would travel to these departments, to avoid having to oblige or organise
applicants to travel to the mainland.
This situation has changed since March 2014, with the operational roll-out of video hearings
by the CNDA, as anticipated by Law N° 2011-672 of 16 June 2011, Decree N° 2012-460 of 6
April 2012 and the Order of 12 June 2013.
Since then, the Court has organised weekly video hearings (currently two per week) with
French Guyana, now enabling appeals from this department to be processed. Video hearings
will be extended to Mayotte and then to the departments in the Antilles.
27
Once rolled-out, video hearings will avoid any physical travel for overseas rulings and will
mean that overseas applications can be processed in the same way as on the mainland, very
significantly reducing the timescales involved.
4.1.5. Challenges in the asylum field
The steep rise in numbers of asylum requests from the Balkans seen in 2013 was particularly
concentrated in certain regions, such as the region around Lyon and the East of France, where
reception facilities were quickly saturated.
OFPRA reacted in 2013 by organising several mobile advisory missions. It renewed this
operation in 2014, by organising three new missions for a duration of two weeks each to
Grenoble in May, Strasbourg in July and Lyon in October.
The continued rise in asylum applications in France since 2008 has weakened the asylum
procedure. The draft law on asylum reform (see 5.1.2 above) which is currently being discussed
in Parliament and should be adopted in Spring 2015, forms part of the overall objective of
increasing the efficiency of asylum procedures as well as strengthening the rights of asylum
seekers.
4.2. Cooperation with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) 4.2.1. Participation in EASO activities
Created in 2010 and operational since 2011, EASO is a major actor in European asylum,
working in areas as diverse as training officers in charge of asylum applications, and providing
information on countries of origin and asylum trends. It contributes towards European solidarity
by coordinating operational support for countries in emergency situations or with particular
needs.
France is represented on the EASO Management Board by Brigitte Frénais-Chamaillard (Head
of the Asylum Service), supported by Pascal Brice (Director General of OFPRA).
- Practical cooperation
The Office has participated in practical cooperation workshops on the subject of human
trafficking combined with requests for international protection which took place in the first
quarter of 2014.
- Country of Origin Information (COI)
A representative of OFPRA (Division for Information, Documentation and Research)
participated in the meeting on Iraq and the associated practical cooperation workshop on the
same theme.
OFPRA is also represented in meetings of the network of country exports devoted to
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq and the Russian Federation. These networks aim to connect
researchers specialising in the countries for which these networks were created (seven in total,
including also Somalia and Iran) and to encourage the exchange of information between them.
These networks meet at least once a year to identify when it is necessary for EASO to publish
general reports about the situation in specific countries or more specific or thematic reports.
28
In terms of information on countries of origin, as well as on more cross-cutting issues, OFPRA
has participated in consultations initiated by EASO on documentary on-line research, and issues
relating to gender, gender identity and sexual orientation.
Finally, it has participated in two annual EASO meetings of head of COI units and a member
of staff has contributed to the work of the EU's common Country of Origin information portal.
- The EASO training curriculum
From February to October 2014, an OFPRA expert (Legal Affairs Division) helped redraft the
'Exclusion' module from the above-mentioned curriculum. In addition, an experienced OFPRA
training officer presented training for trainers in March on the 'Inclusion' module organised at
the EASO headquarters for several of her European counterparts. Finally, the Office
participated in a consultation conducted by EASO on its training curriculum by attending two
annual meetings of the National Contact Points on this subject.
- Improving quality
As part of EASO's work to improve quality, the OFPRA quality controller visited EASO
headquarters three times in order to develop a practical tool aiming to ensure compliance with
the procedural guarantees governing the asylum interview. He also took part in the quality
control meeting on special procedures, as well as the annual meeting of National Contact Points
for this activity. The Office was also represented at the meeting about identifying vulnerable
persons, while the Asylum Service was involved in quality improvement work relating to access
to the asylum process.
The Asylum Service participated in meetings about unaccompanied minors. These meetings
aimed to identify best practice in terms of assessing age, searching for family members and
respecting the best interests of the child in the context of implementation of the Dublin
regulations.
- The early warning procedure
Every month and quarter, based on information provided by the Member States, EASO provides
Member States with an overview of European asylum trends. In this context, the General
Directorate for Foreigners in France participated in various meetings of the EASO Group for
the Provision of Statistics (GPS), which aims to broaden the number of indicators which
Member States should report on. By means of a reminder, OFPRA currently provides
information on asylum applications, decisions taken and backlogs in processing applications
for asylum.
- Asylum support teams
An officer from the Asylum Service was posted to Italy as part of the special support plan
underway in this country.
In the context of EASO's Special Support Plan for Italy, OFPRA welcomed an Italian delegation
consisting of the President of the Italian National Commission for the Right of Asylum and
several of his staff, as well as the presidents and representatives of certain national
commissions. The visit, which lasted two days, largely focused on how OFPRA's asylum
29
interviews take place and how applications for international protection are subsequently
processed.
- Solidarity in the event of emergency
The Ministry's Asylum Service is involved in consultations on emergency planning, the joint
processing of asylum requests, and sharing reception capacities. OFPRA participated in a
workshop on joint processing of asylum applications in the first quarter of 2014.
4.2.2. Provision of support by EASO to the Member States
- EASO training curriculum
Although OFPRA does not, strictly speaking, receive EASO support, it nonetheless regularly
uses the EASO training curriculum, both for induction training for newly recruited staff,
including at least the 'Inclusion' module, as well as for ongoing training for existing staff,
including management.
Throughout 2014, four internal training sessions were offered to staff: two on the 'Inclusion'
module (January and February), one on the 'Interviews with Vulnerable People' module
(September) and one on the 'Exclusion' module (October).
In addition, the Office participated in the regional session organised by EASO in Brussels in
November to train two new trainers for the 'Inclusion' module and three for the 'Interview
techniques' module.
4.3. Enhancing the external dimension, including resettlement
- Resettlement activities conducted by France for people under HCR protection in
third countries
On 4 February 2008, a framework agreement was signed between France and the HCR, setting
out the annual submission of 100 resettlement applications.
The HCR has complete discretion to suggest applicants according to the criteria which it
considers relevant, the only condition of eligibility in the agreement being that individuals fall
strictly within the HCR's mandate. The French authorities nevertheless remain free to decide
whether to accept or reject resettlement applications
Decision are taken after an individual examination of the situation, taking into consideration
above all the need for protection and the potential for successful integration into France. It also
takes into account the individual's profile and background, in relation to considerations of
public order and the values of the Republic. In the current very tense context of asylum,
saturation of the reception and accommodation facilities, which no longer even meet the needs
of asylum spontaneous applications for asylum made in France, is an additional factor to be
taken into consideration.
30
Since 2008, 863 people have been received in France as part of the resettlement
programme (37 in 2008, 159 in 2009, 203 in 2010, 55 in 2011, 90 in 2012, 107 in 2013 and
202 in 2014).
Those who have been resettled originate from thirty different countries.
The main nationalities over the 2008-2014 period were Palestinians from Iraqi camps (147
people), Russians from Chechnya (104 people), Afghans (116 people), Ethiopians (106 people),
Congolese from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (73 people) and Somalis (72 people).
In 2014, the following nationalities were recorded: 31 Afghans, 3 Chinese, 2 Congolese, 2
Ivorians, 17 Eritreans, 17 Ethiopians, 4 Iraqis, 1 Nepalese, 3 Pakistanis, 3 Palestinians, 13
Congolese from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 15 Rwandese, 18 Somalians, 1 Saudis,
115 Syrians, 1 Chadian and 1 Chechnyan.
- Reception of Syrian nationals
Following a call from the HCR, in 2013 the French authorities established a specific operation
to receive 500 Syrians who were to be admitted to France by the end of 2014, either by means
of resettlement or humanitarian admission.
By 31 December 2014, 506 people had already been authorised to settle in France under these
terms. 115 people fell within the 2008 Framework Agreement. 348 fell within humanitarian
admission provisions. In contrast to resettlement strictly speaking, those whose applications
were submitted to France by the HCR under the humanitarian admission provisions were simply
registered by the HCR but were not recognised as refugees.
Everyone who is admitted under the terms of this operation, whether under resettlement
provisions or humanitarian admission, upon their arrival in France receive accommodation and
personalised support for one year to facilitate their integration.
- Reception of Iraqi nationals
In July 2014, the French authorities agreed to receive Iraqi nationals living in Iraq and
persecuted or threatened because of their membership of a religious minority, particularly those
who had to flee the violence committed by armed Islamist groups.
A specific reception mechanism was established, reflecting the French government's desire to
offer to those who wished to rapidly seek refuge from persecution and threats against them for
as long as necessary and as long as they wished.
This mechanism primarily relates to people with family members in France, strong links to
France, or who found themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation.
As of 31 December 2014, 1,226 agreements had been granted and 658 individuals had arrived
in France under these provisions.
31
4.4. Reception and integration of beneficiaries of international protection In 2014, 14,489 people were recognised as refugees or beneficiaries of subsidiary protection in
France, i.e. 27.4% more than in 2013.
Those granted international protection may live in accommodation centres for asylum seekers
for up to six months following the date of notification of the decision to grant them this status.
During this time they are supported by teams from the centre to access their social rights,
accommodation or temporary housing and to begin their pathway to integration.
In 2014, the national reception system saw a slight increase in the number of temporary
accommodation centre places (CPH) (+17 places) devoted to housing the most vulnerable
refugees when they leave the CADA, at the same cost as previously. The management and cost
of CPHs was inspected by the Senate's Finance Committee, and the reporter, Roger Karoutchi,
presented his conclusions to the Committee on 12 November 2014.
2014 was also the first year of the AMIF programme, which took over from the European
Refugee Fund (ERF) to jointly fund measures to provide support in terms of accessing
employment and accommodation for refugees who were not granted a place in a CPH,
providing support and acting as an intermediary for rented accommodation for these groups. In
2014, the AMIP jointly funded 15 projects for a total cost of €4.1m.
32
5. UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AND OTHER VULNERABLE GROUPS
5.1. Unaccompanied minors (UM)
Changes which took place in relation to the reception of UMs during 2014 were presented in
the study conducted by the French EMN NCP on the policies, practices and information relating
to unaccompanied foreign minors in 2014. This study was submitted to the European
Commission on 1 December 2014.
5.2. Other vulnerable groups
As part of OFPRA's Action Plan for reform, in September 2013 thematic reference groups were
established, consisting of experienced practitioners from various departments and a leader.
Under the auspices of the harmonisation committee, these groups work on cross-cutting issues
leading to vulnerability: violence towards women, sexual orientation, unaccompanied minors,
human trafficking and torture. These groups may be called upon by OFPRA officers to provide
a centralised and harmonised answer to any questions relating to a specific issue. They work
together with institutional and NGO partners in order to improve the adaptation of OFPRA's
work.
These thematic reference groups continued their work in 2014.
33
6. COUNTERING TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS
6.1. Improving the identification of and provision of information to victims
The sixth national conference of EMN NCPs was held on 17 October 2014 on the topic of the
identification and referral of victims of trafficking in human beings (THB) in France and in the
European Union. It was an opportunity to recall the main changes which have taken place in
2014 in terms of combating THB.
The most notable development was the adoption on 14 May 2014 of the National
Interministerial Action Plan to combat THB.6 Coordinated by the Interministerial Mission
for the Protection of Women Victims of Violence and the Fight against Trafficking in
Human Being (MIPROF - La mission interministérielle pour la protection des femmes
contre les violences et la luttle contre la traite des êtres humains), this national action plan
lays the first ever foundations for a cross-cutting public policy in this field.
This national action plan is divided into three main areas:
- Identifying victims in order to provide better protection
The plan addresses strengthen resources for NGOs as well as training for institutional
actors and mobilising all public services in order to better identify victims, provide support
and manage them (accessing residency, accommodation, healthcare etc.).
Complementary measures are set out to support victims of THB for sexual purposes, by creating
an exit route out of prostitution. Specific measures to provide support and accommodation
are also set out for minors who are victims of THB.
The plan also sets out the development of training for professionals in identifying and
protecting victims. As such, since 2014, the Central Office to Combat Trafficking in Human
Beings (OCRTEH), has conducted a specialised placement scheme, aimed at training staff in
the police and gendarmerie services in identifying victims of trafficking and dismantling the
networks exploiting them. A template report for interviews with victims, including notification
of their rights, created by OCRTEH, has been made available to all investigating services.
Similarly, OCLTI provides training on combating trafficking in human beings for
economic exploitation to gendarmerie units, police services and labour inspectors.
MIPROF is preparing a guide on identifying victims of trafficking in human beings, in order to
raise awareness of professionals about identifying victims.
Access to residency for victims was strengthened with Law N° 2014-873 of 4 August 2014
to ensure genuine equality between women and men. The Law broadened, under certain
conditions, the right to residence for victims of human trafficking who lodged a complaint or
6 The national interministerial action plan to combat THB is available at the following address (in French):
http://femmes.gouv.fr/decouvrez-le-plan-national-de-lutte-contre-la-traite-des-etres-humains/
34
acted as a witness, modifying Article L316-1 of the CESEDA. Temporary residence permits
will be renewed throughout the duration of the criminal procedure and, in the event of definitive
conviction, they will receive a full residency permit (modification of Article L316-1 of the
CESEDA). It also sets out exemption from taxes and stamp duties when residency permits are
issued and renewed. This Law thus responds to the measures set out in the national Action Plan.
- Dismantling trafficking networks
The action plan highlights the role of the courts in initiating investigations and urges them to
go further in terms of seizing and confiscating the profits of crime, and to pursue the
perpetrators on the basis of the offence of trafficking (Article 225-4-1 of the Criminal Code),
which is still used too rarely. To this end, on 22 February 2015 the Department for Criminal
Affairs and Pardons (Direction des Affairs Criminelles et des Grâces - DACG) within the
Ministry for Justice published a criminal policy circular for the attention of public
prosecutors, specifically aimed at combating trafficking in human beings. Simultaneously,
the Ministry of the Interior is preparing a circular for Prefects relating to foreign victims of
THB and procurement.
Labour inspectors' mandates will be extended to cover offences involving THB, particularly
with a view to identifying forced work or services and slavery or practices which amount to
slavery.
By extending the scope in this way, interministerial work between the DGT (Direction
Générale du Travail - General Labour Directorate) and OCLTI, the office responsible for
combating all forms of labour exploitation should become more effective: not only in terms of
non-respect for workers' employment rights, but also subject to indecent conditions of pay,
work and accommodation, culminating in the trafficking of human beings for the purposes of
economic exploitation (forced work and servitude). The national gendarmerie uses the units to
combat illegal work and fraud (CeLTIF - Cellules de Lutte Contre le Travail Illégal et la
Fraude), which are responsible for combating these forms of exploitation. 44 units have already
been established.
The national TRACFIN service will work to act against trafficking, particularly in terms of
identifying clandestine financial flows, uncovering organised crime and money laundering
generated by trafficking and to feed into investigations into THB.
European and international cooperation and coordination will be strengthened in order to
facilitate legal investigations to combat transnational networks. Cooperation with Interpol and
Europol will be paramount.
OCRTEH is intensifying its cooperation with Europol in the context of European projects
(EMPACT projects), more specifically aiming to fight against Nigerian and Chinese trafficking
networks for the purposes of sexual exploitation. In addition, bilateral cooperation has been
developed with prostitution source countries within the European Union, focusing on
identifying criminal assets acquired in these countries as the result of money from prostitution.
- Ensuring that combating THB is a public policy in its own right
The plan is funded through several public budget programmes and the creation of a fund, set
out in the Action Plan, was included in the draft law to further counter prostitution, which is
under discussion in Parliament.
35
The MIPROF, under the auspices of the Secretary of State for Women's Rights reporting to
the Minister for Social Affairs, Health and Women's Rights, is responsible for overall
management of actions in partnership with public stakeholders and associations responsible
for implementing the plan. It is preparing a programme to establish departmental coordination.
In line with Directive 2011/36/EU7, this public policy will be evaluated by an independent
national reporter, the National Consultative Committee on Human Rights (CNCDH),
which will produce an annual public report in autumn 2015.
6.2. Statistics 6.2.1. Investigations into THB violations
The Central Directorate for the Judicial Police, part of the national police force, centralises
information relating to investigations conducted on the national territory by the police services.
Investigations conducted into trafficking in human beings rose consistently between 2011 and
2013. Thus, the number of procedures initiated relating to trafficking in human beings was 38
in 2011, 59 in 2012 and 100 in 2013. However, although the number of procedures rose
consistently, at the same time the number of people suspected fluctuated, ranging from 89 in
2011 to 120 in 2012 and 59 in 2013, while the number of victims decreased, dropping from 98
in 2011 to 51 in 2012 and 43 in 2013.
6.2.2. Investigations into assets and seizures
Data from the Central Directorate for the Judicial Police of the national police force show
that the number of investigations into assets which resulted in the seizure of criminal assets has
risen consistently. Thus, in 2011, €193,000 in cash was seized, as well as one vehicle and one
property. In 2012, €226,000 in cash was seized, as well as eight vehicles and two properties,
and finally, in 2013, €365,000 in cash, €1,312,000 in bank accounts, four vehicles, two
properties and seven businesses were seized.
According to the Sub-Directorate of the Judicial Police of the national gendarmerie, the
investigating services systematically open financial investigations into the assets resulting from
THB, in line with the directives contained in the note of 5 October 2012 and guidance on
investigations into assets. In addition, the Sub-Directorate of the Judicial Police in the
Directorate General of the National Gendarmerie has created a national unit for criminal assets
to help gendarmerie units seize criminal assets, with a view to later confiscating them through
the criminal justice system.
The gendarmerie units conducted 125 financial investigations into cases involving trafficking
in human beings in 2012, 126 in 2013 and 189 for the first ten months of 2014. This included
investigations into money laundering and non-justification of resources which had been opened
in relation to the same cases.
7 Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:101:0001:0011:FR:PDF
36
Although it is not possible to know precisely the amount of criminal assets seized in the above
mentioned procedures, research into some symbolic cases of trafficking in human beings in
2014 reveals that assets and cash corresponding to a value of €2,763,000 were seized in
procedures initiated by units of the national gendarmerie during the first ten months of the year,
in cases relating to trafficking for the purposes of procurement.
6.2.3. Information relating to victims A. Since 2008, between 600 and 800 victims per year have been identified in judicial
proceedings relating to procurement and trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
Of these victims, between 150 and 200 held French nationality and were, above all, victims of
procurement. Although the number of identified victims has been stable since 2008, it should
be noted that in 2013, the number of victims rose significantly, to 912 victims of sexual
exploitation identified by the investigating services, including 28 minors. Of this total, 206 held
French nationality. The number of suspected perpetrators indicted in procurement or trafficking
for the purposes of procurement cases also rose very considerably in 2013, (572 in 2012 and
495 in 2011). This appears to demonstrate that the investigating services have conducted
sustained work to counter trafficking in human beings.
Based on information from the French authorities and NGOs published in the GRETA report
in 2012, the majority of victims of trafficking in France are involved in networks of exploitation
for prostitution, essentially from Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan African (in particular Nigeria),
Brazil, North Africa and China. Statistics published in 2013 show that trends are similar to
previous years, with victims coming mainly from Romania, (210 victims), Nigeria (133
victims), China (108 victims) and Brazil (37 victims.)
B. Other forms of trafficking exist, particularly for the purposes of slavery and forced
labour. The only statistics available relate to crimes involving working conditions which are
contrary to human dignity (insufficient financial reward or remuneration, indecent living
conditions), although it is not possible to determine whether this exploitation actually falls
within the context of trafficking in human beings. 125 violations of trafficking in human beings
were identified in 2013, compared to 110 in 2012, 102 in 2011 and 61 in 2010. A two-fold
increase in the number of violations has thus been recorded in the space of three years.
According to NGO information published in the GRETA report, victims of trafficking for the
purposes of exploitation for domestic work essentially come from Sub-Saharan Africa and
the Philippines. Seasonal workers (largely men), the construction and catering industry, and
work within diplomatic homes appear to be the employment areas at greatest risk of using
forced labour, although it is not possible to guage the extent of it, given the lack of statistics or
studies.
6.2.4. Legal convictions Statistics from the national criminal records service show the number of convictions per crime
committed. Violations giving rise to conviction record the number of cases which gave rise to
a definitive conviction, regardless of the order in which they appear in the judgement.
To date, 17 cases have been processed by the specialised inter-regional courts with THB as the
main violation.
Generally speaking, a progressive and continuous increase in procedures initiated on this
count is notable, with a real acceleration over 2013, the number rising from 28 cases in 2012 to
127 in 2013. This is probably evidence of the initial effects of the successive circulars addressed
37
by the Department for Criminal Affairs and Pardons (DACG) to the courts to request that public
prosecutors initiate proceedings on the grounds of Article 225-4-1 of the Criminal Code and to
encourage them to order the confiscation of criminal assets in connection with incrimination
for trafficking in human beings and related violations by systematising the use of investigations
into assets.
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7. MAXIMISING DEVELOPMENT IMPACT OF MIGRATION AND MOBILITY
7.1. Progress towards mainstreaming of migration in development policies
In its framework legislation on development policy and international solidarity, France
confirmed its new strategic framework for mobility, migration and development. The
objective of the French policy is thus to strengthen the contribution made by mobility and
migration to the development of countries and regions of origin, while ensuring that migration
issues are by no means conditional upon promoting this contribution.
By means of a reminder, the Interministerial Committee on International Cooperation and
Development (CICID - Comité interministériel de la coopération internationale et du
développement) in its decision No. 15 of 31 July 2013 stated that 'development policy and
migration policy must be coherent. It recognises the role of migration for the development of
partner countries. Migrants are actors in development. They contribute financially, technically
and culturally. The overlap between migration policy and development policy falls within the
Global Approach to migration adopted by the European Council in 2005 and implemented by
the European Union. This method is intended to be applied to all countries in question. '
The framework legislation on the policy of development and international solidarity (LOPSI -
Loi d'orientation et de programmation sur la politique de développement et de solidarité
internationale) of 7 July 2014 reiterates this vital overlap and consistency between development
policy and migration policy (Annex to Articles 2 and 3). Moreover, it states that migrants are
actors in development (Paragraph 3.2 of the Annex) and introduces mechanisms to introduce
solidarity-based bilateral banking arrangements (Article 11).
France's work focuses on three areas: i) supporting the potential for migrant solidarity and
investment - ii) strengthening the capacities of partner countries in the South to incorporate
mobility and migration into their development strategies - iii) contributing to international
debates and the production of knowledge in terms of mobility, migration and development.
39
7.1.1. Mobility partnerships (MPs)
Types of
agreement
Status of the
agreement
(negotiated,
signed, ratified,
implemented)
and date
Third country
involved,
including
countries south
of the
Mediterranean
and the Eastern
Partnership
Main objective and
reason for the
agreement
Does the
agreement
permit
circular
migration?
MP
MP
MP
MP
MP
MP
7 June 2013
3 March 2014
5 June 2008
30 November
2009
6 October 2011
5 December
2013
Morocco
Tunisia
Moldavia
Georgia
Armenia
Azerbaijan
All MPs have four
objectives:
- Mobility and
integration
- Irregular
immigration,
THB
- Migration and
development
- Asylum and
international
protection
They aim to guarantee
good management of
migration and mobility.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Source: MIAE/SSAI/DGEF/Ministry of the Interior
The dates indicated in the table correspond to the date of signature of the various MPs. They
are all being implemented, with the exception of the Tunisia MP. France is signatory to all the
MPs and is active in Armenia and Morocco, particularly by providing expertise from OFII, the
Directorate for International Cooperation and Expertise France, a MAEDI operator. In relation
to Tunisia, it has taken longer to implement particularly due to changes which have taken place
in the country's internal political landscape and thus the initial lack of availability of the
Tunisian authorities.
The MPs set a range of policy objectives to improve the movement of people, to prevent and
combat irregular immigration and THB, to strengthen cooperation in terms of migration and
development, and to support the system to protect asylum seekers and refugees in countries
signatory to the MPs.
40
7.1.2. Efforts to mitigate 'brain drain'
France's policy is to help train workers, particularly young professionals as part of
comprehensive agreements. However, no specific measures to combat brain drain were initiated
in 2014.
7.2. Migrants' remittances
France is major remittance-sending country (nearly 9 billion euros in 2013), particularly
towards Africa. It has taken action to reduce the cost of transferring money and to support better
allocation of this money to promote economic development in migrants' countries of origin. As
part of the G7 and G20 agendas in 2014, France argued for an ambitious treatment to reduce
the costs of money transfers for migrants and for reinstituting the 5% objective without limit of
time.
France considers that several factors must be taken into account to significantly reduce the cost
of money transfers, including competition in an environment with relatively few operators (in
certain cases featuring exclusivity clauses) and in a poorly-regulated sector, exchange rates, and
financial inclusion for migrants. Continued support for the www.envoidargent.fr site, which
enables the cost of money transfers from France to be monitored, and funds for the 'Migration
and development' initiative of the African Development Bank show the intensification of
the effort to significantly reduce the costs of money transfers.
As part of a continuation of the first study published in 2008 on migrants' remittances to the
Maghreb and the Franc zone, the African Development Bank (ADB) and the French Agency
for Development, in partnership with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International
Development and the Ministry for the Economy and Finances have commissioned the NGO
Epargne sans Frontières to conduct a study entitled: 'Reducing the Cost of Migrant
Remittances to Optimize their Impact on Development: financial products and tools for the
Maghreb Region and the Franc zone'. The pan-African meeting organised in Tunis in March
2014 involved high-level discussions on mechanisms to monitor progress and the reforms
needed to reduce the cost of migrant remittances with a view to optimally promoting
development in their country of origin. It also helped identify solutions and concrete
recommendations on issues around exclusivity clauses, products to improve money transfers,
bilateral banking agreements, financial inclusion, mobile banking, non-banking or traded
products and investment funds and public private partnerships (PPP).
France also began a methodological consultation on the main components of the costs of
migrants' remittances and established a partnership with the World Bank for the Greenback 2.0
'Champion Cities' network, which was extended in 2014 to the town of Montreuil. The project
has the general objective of improving efficiency and transparency of money transfer services
for migrant workers and to promote progress focussed on the real needs of service users, i.e.
migrants and their families in their countries of origin.
France participated in drafting a new action plan for financial inclusion (including, in particular,
elements on the development of innovative financial services, the expansion of financial
services for SMEs and the promotion of financial education) during the GPFI (Global
Partnership for Financial Inclusion) immediately preceding the G20 Working Group on
development.
41
On the national level Article 11 of the framework legislation on development and
international solidarity (LOPSI) of 7 July 2014 set the context for planning a range of
banking operations for individuals physically residing in France using credit establishments
with their headquarters in a State on the list of States receiving public development assistance
and which does not form part of the agreement on the European Economic Area. This was the
subject, on 4 December 2014, of a specific Order.8
The relevant operations in the State where the credit establishment is based are loans (for
intangible investments or the acquisition of tangible assets), funding investments, banking
services relating to payments, opening and holding a sight deposit or long term deposit account,
in any form. These are subject to authorisation being granted by the French Prudential
Supervisory Authority (ACPR - Autorité de contrôle prudentiel).
Finally, projects are supported in developing countries to encourage remittances to be guided
towards productive activities likely to improve the local economic context and to reduce
poverty.
7.3. Working with diasporas
France considers that diasporas need to be involved at the heart of its 'migration and
development' policy, in terms of developing their country of origin and this should be addressed
in the context of the Global Approach to Migration. Solidarity, expressed notably through skills
transfers, technology and money, is a natural vector for developing their country or region of
origin, including during times of crisis.
In terms of development, several programmes to mobilise migrants are supported. These
programmes may be bilateral, such as those concluded with Senegal, the Union of the Comores,
Morocco, Cameroon and Mali, or in partnership with French NGOs, such as the Forum des
Organisations Issue de la Migration (FORIM).
There are two priorities: supporting the potential of migrant solidarity and investment and
supporting productive investment and entrepreneurship.
In terms of local development, France's work is based on diasporas mobilising their skills and
resources to benefit the development of their region of origin. Because they straddle two
locations, migrants can contribute to the development of their region of origin, directly or in
partnership with other actors.
Strengthening this potential for solidarity and supporting local development projects
driven and jointly financed by migrants and their organisations is one of the priorities of
the French migration and development policy. Thus, in 2014, two new programmes were
launched with Senegal (a programme to support solidarity initiatives for development (PAISD
8 Order on the range of banking operations available to individuals physically resident in France using
establishments with the headquarters in a State listed as a State benefiting from public development assistance and
which does not form part of the agreement on the European Economic Area (Arrêté relatif à l'offre d'opérations
de banque à des personnes physiques résidant en France par des établissements de crédit ayant leur siège social
dans un Etat figurant sur la liste des Etats bénéficiaires de l'aide publique au développement et qui n'est pas partie
à l'accord sur l'Espace économique européen).
42
- Programme d'appui aux initiatives de solidarité pour le développement) and Mali (mobility
and migration programme for development - Programme mobilité et migration pour le
développement) and a new phase of the PRA/OSIM project (support programme for projects of
international solidarity organisations from migration - programme d'appui aux projets des
organisations de solidarité internationales issues de la migration) was funded with the FORIM
(Forum des Organisations Issues des Migrations).
France also funded programmes to support migrant entrepreneurs such as the Support
Programme for Migrants Productive Investment in Senegal and Cameroon (Programme d'appui
à l'investissement productif des migrants au Sénégal et au Cameroun) and the programme to
support the creation of enterprise by Moroccans resident abroad with the French Development
Agency (Programme d'Aide à la Création d'Entreprises Innovantes en Méditerranée) led by
the Institut de Recherche pour le Development, and the 'Entrepreneurs in Africa' programme
led by the CampusFrance agency.
In Tunisia, the Mobility France-Tunisia programme, which aims to mobilise skilled Tunisian
diasporas, was launched in 2014. It uses the CampusFrance alumni platform (an interactive
global platform to build, monitor and manage networks of former foreign students who
completed all or part of their studies in a French teaching establishment).
France shared its approach during the World Forum on Migration and Development (WFMD)
under the Swedish presidency and also during the meeting of the Euromed Migration III project
held in Lyon on mobilising the elite of diasporas for development.
Moreover, despite a constrained budgetary context, France remains attentive to ensuring that
on a European level, sufficient financial resources are allocated to implementing, as a priority,
the Global Approach which promotes the link between migration and development.
43
8. IRREGULAR MIGRATION
8.1. Enhanced border management at the external borders. 8.1.1. Border control measures: technology and infrastructures used for border checks
In terms of resources for checking borders at airports, the ways in which documents are read at
the control booths is currently being adapted, with the aim of ensuring better scanning of
machine-readable areas of various documents and improving the automatic consultation of
certain files (Interpol's Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database).
The European 'Smart Borders' project, which consists of an entry/exit system and
programme for registering travellers, should be implemented in 2020. This project will have a
non-negligible effect on the procedures which are currently in place at border control points. In
particular, it consists of collecting and verifying biometric data such as digital fingerprints.
Existing infrastructures and equipment therefore need to be adapted to ensure the security of
the new procedures while minimising their impact on traveller flows. This is why the European
Commission and the EU-Lisa agency, the EU agency responsible for the operational
management of large-scale IT systems and for the development and management of the future
mechanism, will conduct a test phase in 2015 to assess the impact of the plan on external
border management.
The Council of the European Union has adopted guidelines on this (COREPER of 10 December
2014).
It should be noted that in the context of this project, and in terms of the traveller registration
programme, it may be conceivable to use the same basic technology as that which was
developed for installation of the automatic PARAFE barriers (the French Automated Schengen
Border Crossing System)(Passage Automatisé Rapide aux Frontières Extérieures), which
enables easier border entry and exit for individuals with the right to free movement.
EUROSUR is a European Union external border surveillance mechanism, managed by
FRONTEX. The European regulation9 entered into force on 2 December 2013 and the system
is now operational.
Through the use of a dynamic mapping interface, EUROSUR improves the exchange of
information and operational cooperation between Member State and the European agency
FRONTEX, in order to support the work of Member States to combat irregular immigration -
and the fight against cross-border crime - by improving understanding of the situation at their
external borders and thus increasing the reactivity of their intelligence and border control
services.
From a technical point of view, the system consists of a central server situated at the FRONTEX
headquarters in Warsaw. This server is connected to each Member State's national coordination
centre. National coordination centres are also able to communicate with one another.
9 Regulation (EU) 1052/2013 of 22 October 2013.
44
The French NCC falls under the auspices of the Operational Centre of the Coast Guard Function
(COFGC - Centre Opérationnel de la Fonction Garde-Côtes) which, since February 2011 (as
part of a pilot project), has hosted the main EUROSUR station. The Centre keeps up to date
information which it sends to FRONTEX on the national situation in areas defined by the
Regulation. A remote station has been installed at the Central Directorate of the French Border
Police (DCPAF - Direction Centrale de la Police Aux Frontières), which has been operational
since July 2014. Currently, the remote station monitors events and will be used for analysis
purposes when the ad hoc European module is developed.
The Mediterranean Seahorse project is linked with Eurosur, and relates to cooperation
between countries bordering the Mediterranean10. The overall aim of this project is to increase
the capacities of authorities in North African countries to fight against irregular immigration
and illegal trafficking by strengthening their border entry and exit surveillance systems.
As well as providing institutional assistance with training and equipment, partner countries
receive help installing and setting up national technical systems enabling each country to
exchange information internally, as well as with the border authorities of neighbouring
Mediterranean Member States. These secure exchanges take place in real time and provide
information on illegal or suspicious activities emanating from or passing through one of these
countries and headed towards another, or detected by one of them within the international
waters of the Mediterranean.
The project is supported by the European Commission and is financed largely by European
funds. It is managed by Spain (by the Guardia Civil). The project has been disrupted by the
political instability of certain countries on the southern coast of the Mediterranean, but should
be operational by the end of 2015 or the start of 2016.
8.1.2. Border control measures: other activities to improve the effectiveness of controls at external borders
In addition to the technological mechanism and infrastructure used to control its borders,
France, through the work of the DCPAF, has initiated several actions aiming to improve the
effectiveness of border controls, by focussing on regular training for its officers, increasing the
number of controls, and by introducing action plans and protocols.
Training public officials and resource people in regional services on themes relating to
cross-border control is a means of guaranteeing the quality of the controls conducted. As
such, and for several years, the DCPAF has trained resource people in the regional services on
themes relating to cross-border inspections, namely cross-border regulations and documentary
fraud.
These resource people are renewed and assessed every three years. They provide on-site
training to officials in their services and partner administrations. Their network spreads across
the entire country.
Across the entire Border Police service between the start of January and the end of October
2014, 1,547 agents had been trained in documentary fraud, which is the equivalent of 11,606
10 Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus are the Member States involved, while Libya is
currently the only third country to participate in the project.
45
working hours; in terms of cross-border regulations, 1,117 agents were trained (7,618
working hours).
In addition, the DCPAF training division, in partnership with the private company MORPHO
(which designed PARAFE), has developed a tool-kit aimed at training PARAFE supervisors.
Instructors are trained at three airports (Roissy CDG, Orly and Marseille) and are responsible
for training PARAFE supervisors.
Another objective is to maintain the high level of expertise in officials who act as points of
reference. The DCPAF has obtained recognition of the certification allowing the qualification
'internal security border control guard' to be issued. This level III qualification was registered
in the National Directory of Professional Certifications (RNCP - Répertoire national des
certifications professionnelles), through an Order published in the Official Journal on 29 July
2014. It is equivalent to the French school leaving certificate plus two years of further study
and is recognised as a Level V European qualification (EUROPASS).
In France, this certification marks recognition of the specific skills which agents responsible
for cross-border inspections within the integrated Schengen border management system have. It
allows French border control agents to be professionally recognised by their European
counterparts (skills in terms of cross-border regulation, documentary fraud, safety and English
language).
In addition to training and the level of qualification, France has also established
operational measures aiming to improve border control. The DCPAF has therefore adapted
the volume of inspections through real time management of staff dedicated to cross-border
controls: monitoring at peak border crossing times by dedicated staff (for example, at Roissy,
airport coordinators and central coordinators) who can provide additional staff quickly
(including mobile border control teams and multi-purpose response companies).
Action plans and protocols have been established, particularly focussing on strengthening
partnerships between the DCPAF and other stakeholders on the airport site. Thus, some Border
Police services have specific staff dedicated to analysing migration risk (for example, there is
an immigration division in Roissy and Orly). Their work enables cross-border controls to be
refined and targeted. At DCPAF Roissy, the immigration division has a technological
monitoring unit which acts as an interface between the companies providing the PARAFE
barriers and users of this technology. This unit provides expertise on the new technology with
which airports may be equipped.
Similarly, partnerships with Air France (50% of passenger traffic) and with the Aéroports de
Paris have led to the resolution of practical issues around borders, particularly by:
- improving circulation and waiting areas, notably through the establishment of a
'double file' queuing system and by generally improving queue management through
better signposting, information for passengers on document checks, directing flows of
passengers (e.g. the creation of a light system at the international arrivals area to direct
passengers leaving the double file queue towards the next available booth and making
queues move more smoothly towards the control booths);
- adapting resources to passenger flows, particularly through communication by the
Aéroports de Paris (ADP) of estimated passenger flows, enabling staffing at the booths
to be better adapted to traffic flows;
46
- improving infrastructures, particularly as ADP has made a system available which
enables visualisation of surveillance cameras installed in the airport as well as in the
international arrivals passageways in order to identify the flight in question in the event
of identifying a passenger with no identity document or flight ticket, thus compromising
immigration channels using this operating method.
8.1.3. Preventing and combating irregular immigration by ensuring reinforced cooperation with third countries in the area of border management
France has concluded an agreement in the form of an exchange of letters with Brazil aiming to establish a cross-border movement system for residents of the border area between
the State of Amapa and French Guiana.
By exempting certain Brazilian inhabitants of the town of Oiapoque in Brazil from the need to
have a visa, the cross-border movement system enables them to cross the border at controlled
border control points on the Oyapock bridge and at the quay at Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock,
upon presentation of a border resident card which authorises them to stay for a period of 72
hours on the territory of the town of Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock.
Title of agreement
Third country
(countries) with
whom the
cooperation exists
Description
Agreement in the form of an exchange of
letters between the French Government
and the Government of the Federative
Republic of Brazil on the establishment of
a cross-border movement system for
residents of the border area between the
State of Amapa and French Guiana, signed
in Brasilia on 26 March 2014 and in Paris
on 28 April 2014.
Brazil
Establishment of a
cross-border
movement system for
residents of the border
area between the State
of Amapa and French
Guiana.
In addition, in 2014, France conducted 74 bilateral cooperative actions with EU third
countries to strengthen control of external borders. These can be broken down as follows in
terms of geographical zone:
Africa: 22;
America: 6;
North Africa and the Middle East: 3;
Asia: 32;
Europe excluding EU: 8;
Multi zone: 3.
In addition, for information, 15 other actions addressed countries which have newly joined
the EU.
More than half of these activities related to training to combat documentary fraud. Others to
have benefited from this type of training during the year include, e.g. in Africa, 27
47
commissioners and officers of the Burkina Faso border police at Ouagadougou airport and 45
judiciary policy officers from the Gendarmerie in Guinea-Conakry. Similar training has taken
place in Asia where, in particular, 52 immigration officers from the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region were trained in documentary fraud, as well as in Schengen regulations
and profiling. This training also targeted airline company staff (in particular, 16 staff from the
Chinese company Hainan Airlines and 13 staff from the Russian company Aeroflot were
trained) and maritime companies (278 staff from the Philippine Transmarine Carriers company
were trained).
Other activities aimed to share France's experience in organising border control services (e.g. a visit to France by the Afghan DCPAF and the General Directorate for Customs and
Indirect Taxation in order to provide inspiration for organising their services and a work
placement for three Chinese police officers in DCPAF), or related more specifically to the
subject of combating irregular migration and fighting against irregular immigration channels:
thus, under the auspices of OCRIEST, a work placement entitled 'Combating irregular
immigration networks' (Lutte contre les réseaux d'immigration irrégulière) was organised for
staff from various countries, in particular Pakistan, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
With the same objective of better managing migration flows, France participated in an
exploratory mission to Albania to various airport, maritime and land borders in order to assess
the way local border control police operate.
Finally, some of these actions consist of promoting return or providing equipment to countries
which are under-resourced: Haiti thus received equipment to help combat documentary fraud
(UV lamps, magnifying glasses and 4x4 vehicles).
8.2. Better tackling of misuse of legal migration channels
With a view to optimising the legal period by which rejected asylum seekers must leave,
it is planned to more systematically offer rejected asylum seekers help with return. Assisted
departures organised under the auspices of the French Office for Immigration and Integration
(OFII - Office français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration) are indeed a useful tool in
implementing the return to the country of origin policy, particularly for nationals of European
Union third countries.
8.2.1. Irregular migration through misuse of family reunification
The difficulty facing services (consulates in particular) and the interested parties is
checking the authenticity of official documents held by those benefiting from family
reunification, particularly those from countries where the civil service is inadequate. When
documents are not authentic, requests for family reunification are rejected on the grounds that
family ties have not been legally established between the applicant and the beneficiary.
8.2.2. Irregular migration caused by the use of false travel documents
In 2014, the prefectoral services detected 2,942 attempts to fraudulently obtain residence
permits for foreigners. The permits which were most often the target of fraud were those
issued for exceptional permission to reside, as the parent of a French child, and finally as an
individual suffering from an illness.
48
11 Source: DCPAF
Over the same period, 3,095 counterfeit or falsified documents were identified during the
application process for residence permits. These were mostly foreign passports, foreign
official documents and foreign identity cards.
Continued investment to combat the unwarranted issuance of residence permits led to a
significant rise in the number of attempted frauds which were detected (+70% between 2012
and 2014).
2012 2013 2014
Fraudulent attempts 1,732 2,240 2,942
False documents identified 2,648 2,472 3,095
Source: BLTIFI/DIMM/DEGF/Ministry of the Interior
11 Types of residence permit : Tradesperson/retailer/independent; Retired; Visitor; Child/spouse for reunification; Private and family life; Travel document for a foreign minor (DCEM – Document de circulation pour étranger mineur)/Republican identity document (TIR – titre d’identité républicain); Private and family life for other reasons ; Other exceptional residence permit (TSE – titre de séjour exceptionnel); EU, EEA, Swiss national; French spouse: Foreigner entered France as minor; Employee/temporary worker/seasonal worker: Student/Scientific researcher; Applicant for asylum/stateless/protection; Private and family life; Ill foreign national; Parent of child; Exceptional leave to remain
49
Efforts are currently underway to secure the chain by which official French documents are
issued through the use of complementary mechanisms, such as:
- the 2D-Doc barcode which aims to prevent falsification of residence documents;
- the COMEDEC system which digitally communicates birth certificates between the
town hall of the place of birth and the prefecture responsible for the application, thus
preventing these documents from being falsified;
- Checkdoc, a mechanism inspired by a system in place in Belgium aiming at instantly
verifying a document's status.
From an operational point of view, the DCPAF manages a European project under the auspices
of EUROPOL ('EMPACT ID FRAUD') which aims to coordinate inspection operations to
combat identity fraud (identity theft, copycat fraud). By cross-referencing this operational data
and highlighting operating methods, the aim is to dismantle criminal gangs using this type of
fraud across Europe.
External borders - ENTRY over ten months in 2014
Border Bearers of
false
documents
False
documents Counterfeits
Falsifi
cations
Fraudulent
use
Fraudulently
obtained
Stolen
blank
documents
Air 821 1,157 314 369 241 200 33
Sea 24 33 25 3 5 0 0
Land 38 44 13 8 16 5 2
General total 883 1,234 352 380 262 205 35
External borders - EXIT over ten months in 2014
Border Bearers of
false
documents
False
documents Counterfeits
Falsifi
cations
Fraudulent
use
Fraudulently
obtained
Stolen
blank
documents
Air 179 226 83 92 24 15 12
Sea 457 550 157 140 223 4 26
Land 599 719 247 186 252 3 31
General total 1,235 1,495 487 418 499 22 69
Source: DCPAF/SDIIST/UASEST – 25 November 2014
8.3. The fight against facilitation of irregular migration ('smuggling')
In France, two units within the DCPAF are responsible for, in particular, collecting information
and using national statistics relating to irregular immigration.
The work and various outputs of these units have the shared objective of shedding light on
migratory phenomena (risk analysis, threat assessment) and of improving national and
international coordination (exchanging and improving operational information) with the aim of
optimising work to combat irregular migration flows.
These consist of:
50
- A strategic analysis unit (UAS) in OCRIEST, which prepares publications, upon
request or upon its own initiative, aiming to provide a better understanding and
representation of irregular migration flows. This work highlights migration routes,
operating methods, the degree of structure of migration flows and possible future
changes in these phenomena.
- Simultaneously, the French Unit for the Operational Coordination of Measures to
Combat the Trafficking and Exploitation of Migrants (UCOLTEM - Unité de
Coordination Opérationnelle de la Lutte contre le Trafic et l'Exploitation des
Migrants), is responsible for the national coordination of operational information and
participates in international police cooperation.
8.3.1. Activities to monitor smuggling
The national coordination work carried out by UCOLTEM is reflected in the centralisation and
regular monitoring of enquiries underway across the whole Border Police investigation
services. In 2013, 297 cases were notified to UCOLTEM. 267 have been notified since the start
of 2014.
The unit cross-references all operational information notified to it (identity of the individuals
involved, addresses, telephone numbers, vehicle registrations, etc.) against various (national
and international) files, including SIE and I24/7, and informs the requesting services of the
results. When the screening involves an overlap, UCOLTEM liaises with the services in
question in order to prevent uncoordinated inquiries being conducted in parallel across the same
networks.
In addition, UCOLTEM strives to improve the circulation of operational information between
all services, on both a national and international level, which are involved in combating all
forms of irregular immigration, in advance of legal proceedings being initiated. These pieces
of information (1,800 in 2013 and 1,869 since the start of 2014), once checked and expanded
upon are, for the most relevant data, submitted for possible use by the judicial services. During
2013, 47 procedures were initiated following information sent by UCOLTEM, which led to the
dismantling of 10 networks. Since the start of 2014, nine networks have been dismantled as the
result of the work of this unit.
Recognised as an 'International Relations Group' (GRI - Groupe des Relations
Internationales), UCOLTEM is the single point of entry and exit for all international
requests made by border control services involved in combating irregular migration
flows.
Over several years, this unit has developed a special relationship with EUROPOL. In 2013,
1,295 exchanges with EUROPOL were registered and 1,116 since the start of 2014.
The Directorate for International Cooperation (DCI - Direction de la coopération
internationale) in the General Directorate of the National Police (DGPN - Direction générale
de la police nationale) is one of the main sources of information and reporting for UCOLTEM.
The exchange of operational information with internal security officers, security advisers,
liaison officers in foreign countries and their foreign counterparts working with UCOLTEM
are crucial aspects of this work.
In partnership with consulates, they provide technical expertise to consular agents. The aim is
to detect false or counterfeit documents presented during the visa application process: pay slips,
51
bank statements, written proof of accommodation, etc. The authenticity of these documents is
checked with the bodies alleged to have issued them.
In addition, immigration liaison officers (ILOs) and immigration safety advisers (CSI -
Conseillers Sûreté Immigration) provide training on combating documentary fraud for
staff responsible for airport controls, mostly based on European passports and Schengen
visas. They also aim to help detect false documents during check-in at airline company desks
in their country of residence. They may also, in partnership with local authorities, help staff
responsible for checking travel documents upon boarding on airlines flying to France and other
Schengen states.
The presence of ILOs and CSIs at the main airports through which immigration channels pass
led to airline companies or local authorities refusing to board around 23,800 people in 2013, of
whom 5,700 were refused through their direct action during controls of nearly 6,050 flights
destined for the Schengen area.
These refusals to board were primarily based on identity theft and, to a lesser extent, the use of
false travel documents. Similarly, 2,300 false or counterfeit documents were detected last year
by French border agents during documentary controls carried out upon the request of French
consulates or during airport boarding procedures.
In terms of data collection, UCOLTEM, which is responsible for providing a monthly count
of irregular immigration networks dismantled across the whole country, identified 203
networks in 2013 (74 with the support of one or more country).
By 31 October 2014, 199 networks had already been dismantled (58 with the help of one
or more countries). 1,659 individuals were apprehended (441 organisers, 117 landlords,
205 traffickers, 196 accomplices, 182 counterfeiters or providers of false documents, and
518 others).
52
Migrant traffickers by type, by border, year 2013 – 10 months 2014 (source PAFISA)
Year Data Air Sea Land Inside the Territory
General total
2013
Total migrant traffickers 88 296 1 001 4 328 5 713
Including organisers 12 1 34 378 425
Including handlers 51 294 810 674 1 829
Including landlords 6 0 70 562 638
Including employers 0 0 57 2 192 2 249
Including suppliers 19 0 26 446 491
Spouses of convenience 0 1 4 76 81
Year Data Air Sea Land Inside the Territory
General total
Cumulative total 10 months
2014
Total migrant traffickers 64 258 933 3 581 4 836
Including organisers 10 1 27 332 370
Including handlers 39 256 776 651 1 722
Including landlords 3 0 92 485 580
Including employers 0 1 16 1 533 1 550
Including suppliers 11 0 12 427 450
Spouses of convenience 1 0 10 153 164
Source : DCPAF/SDIIST/UASEST – November 25, 2014
8.3.2. Monitoring and identifying migration routes
Through these analyses, the OCRIEST Strategic Analysis Unit (UAS - Unité d'analyse
stratégique) contributes towards a better understanding of illegal migration flows and channels.
There are two types of such illegal activities: facilitating illegal migration flows and
maintaining them. In practical terms, this distinction tends to be blurred, as networks are
opportunistic and multifaceted.
In addition to providing operational intelligence, the French network of 22 ILOs and 19
CSIs contributes towards identifying migratory channels heading for Europe.
In addition to their role preventing irregular immigration mentioned above, the ILOs also play
a general role in operational monitoring and analysis of migratory phenomena affecting their
53
country of residence, through information notes which feed into DCPAF's cross-cutting
document base.
Finally, this information is also shared regularly with ILOs in different countries, through the
European teams.
This information contributes towards a better understanding of migratory phenomena and helps
dismantle irregular migration networks.
These networks appear, over the course of investigations, increasingly transnational and
organised. They allow migrants to enter the national territory or maintain their presence through
criminal activities. Depending on their continent of origin, irregular immigration networks
adopt different operating methods. The distance between the country of origin and France
appears to be particularly important in determining which methods are chosen.
Irregular migration networks and help with entering the country are themselves multifaceted.
They may be highly structured, from the country of origin through to the destination country
(for example Vietnamese or Chinese networks) or may consist of a multitude of juxtaposed
units which are more or less autonomous (Afghan, Iranian, Iraqi networks) throughout the
migrant's route. Others, finally, are more ad hoc and depend upon community and family
assistance (Africa, Eastern Europe).
Some systematically use documentary fraud, while others specialise in identity theft or in
obtaining documents on false pretences.
It appears that the further the irregular migrants originate from, the more highly
organised the networks are and the more sophisticated the operating methods and more
complex the routes, particularly when air travel is used.
Of the networks dismantled since the start of the year, nearly half (96) were specialised in
trafficking and maintaining irregular migrants on French soil: 90 used documentary fraud,
11 organised false family relationships and two involved marriages of convenience.
The majority of channels consisted of nationals from Tunisia and Brazil, China, Morocco and
Algeria, the Côte d'Ivoire, Pakistan and Cameroon.
Flows from Syria, Eritrea and Albania are monitored particularly closely.
54
9. RETURN
9.1. Strengthening cooperation with third countries of transit and origin
Ensure implementation of all EU readmission agreements to their full effect
In order to ensure the full implementation of EU readmission agreements, in 2014 France
concluded an implementing protocol for readmission agreements signed on the
Community level with third countries. In addition, an implementing protocol also entered
into force following its ratification and notification to the Joint Readmission Committee.
Third countries Signature of the EU
Readmission agreement Protocol
BOSNIA
HERZEGOVINA
18/09/2007
Entry into force: 01/01/2008
The implementing protocol was signed
on 3 July 2014; it is currently being
ratified.
SERBIA 18/09/2007
Entry into force: 01/01/2008
Protocol signed on 18 November 2009;
law approving the protocol dated 7 July
2014.
In addition to the conclusion of implementing protocols, as part of its work to prepare for the
Joint Readmission Committees, France participates by noting any difficulties in implementing
these agreements. Four meetings of the Joint Committees were held in 2014: EU-Russia,
EU-Pakistan, EU-Georgia and EU-Armenia.
9.2. Enhancing migration management including cooperation on return practices
Measures to develop swift, sustainable and effective return using a common EU approach
i. Recording entry bans in the SIS and facilitating the exchange of information
on entry bans
The standard repatriation mechanism is known as the Obligation de Quitter le Territoire
Français (OQTF). The obligation to return to a third country may only be approved if the OQTF
is accompanied by a re-entry ban. The OQTF alone is exhausted when a French border is
crossed. Only a re-entry ban can grant a European dimension impacting upon the return
decision.
Decree No. 2013-745 of 14 August 2013 modified the Decree of 28 May 2010 on the wanted
persons file (FPR - Fichier des Personnes Recherchées) in order that foreigners subject to a re-
entry ban could be listed on the FPR, through application of the Law of 16 June 2011 on
Immigration, Integration and Nationality. Article L. 511-1 III of the CESEDA states that
foreigners who are subject to a re-entry ban must be informed that they are the subject of an
alert for the purposes of refusing entry in the Schengen Information System, in line with Article
96 of the Schengen Convention. Because the FPR acts as a technical vector for entry into the
55
SIS, re-entry bans are thus communicated, and have been since August 2013, from the minute
they are registered as wanted persons, to all Schengen States.
ii. Operation of national forced return monitoring system (established in
accordance with Article 8(6) of the Return Directive)
Through the Law No. 2014-528 of 26 May 2014 modifying the Law of 30 October 2007
establishing the General Inspector of Prisons, the General Inspector of Prisons, an
independent administrative authority, was appointed responsible for inspecting the
forced return of foreigners in an irregular situation. As such, the Inspector conducts
'inspections of repatriation of foreign nationals by public authorities up to the point at which
they are returned to the destination country'.
A protocol defined the ways in which the General Inspector of Prisons and the Central
Directorates of the Ministries responsible for repatriation operations should cooperate.
Inspection of forced returns begins when the national police or gendarmerie services become
responsible for executing the repatriation order and throughout the duration of this process until
the foreign national is handed over to the authorities in the destination country. This period is,
therefore, likely to begin when the foreign national is apprehended or, where applicable, when
he or she is detained for the purposes of checking his or her right to freedom of movement or
residence, or at the end of a period of custody or incarceration in the event of detention.
Inspection covers all modes of transport (aeroplane, boat, car, etc.), commercial flights and
specially chartered flights. It covers forced returns escorted by the security forces and does not,
therefore, include voluntary departures by foreign nationals.
In terms of cooperation for the purposes of inspection, the General Inspector has access to any
information he or she considers useful relating to the repatriation procedures implemented
within the previously defined scope. The services of the Directorate General of the National
Police and the Police Prefecture, in Paris, the Directorate General of the National Gendarmerie
or any other service likely to implement a repatriation measure, must respond without delay to
any request from the Inspector which information which the Inspector deems useful for the
purposes of his or her work to inspect forced returns.
To this end, the CGLPL systematically receives, without delay, information sent to the
Prefectures by the Centre for Repatriation (Pôle central éloignement) of the Central Directorate
of the Border Police, notifying them of repatriation orders to be implemented under escort. The
Inspector is also informed, without delay, of cancellations to flights, boat crossings and other
modes of transport.
In terms of the organisation of departures, the General Inspector has complete freedom to
monitor the entire repatriation process, including within ports and airports, as well as the means
of transport used. The Inspector alone is responsible for organisation of his or her work to
inspect repatriation measures and, where appropriate, the corresponding financial costs. It is
incumbent upon the Inspector to have the necessary travel documents and visas required to
fulfil his or her mission to any foreign countries.
In addition, in the context of monitoring inspection operations, technical meetings may be
organised between the relevant services of the General Directorate for Foreigners in France, the
General Directorate for National Police, the Prefecture of Police in Paris and the General
Inspector for Prisons. Each inspection gives rise to observations, sent to the relevant Ministers.
56
Finally, an annual report on in the inspection of forced returns features in the annual report
drafted by the General Inspector for Prisons.
iii. Other actions
In terms of voluntary return, forced return and improving the procedures around forced return,
in 2014 France continued to be involved in work conducted in 2013 through numerous
European and bilateral projects.
In terms of forced return, the DGEF, alongside the DCPAF, is actively involved in the EURINT
project. The EURINT project is an interstate mechanism funded partly by European funds,
focussed exclusively on improving the implementation of forced return procedures. This project
aims to develop joint strategies to forced return based on the exchange of practical data and
experience. Eight priority countries were identified (Afghanistan, India, Morocco, Algeria,
Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iran and Iraq) in 2013.
France is among the top five countries in List A and has chosen to manage the working
group on Algeria. In 2014, the first meetings of the working groups identified the difficulties
encountered during readmission procedures and when issuing joint consular laissez-passer by
States participating in the project to be identified. In 2015, missions to India and Algeria will
be organised under the auspices of EURINT to raise awareness in the third countries which
have been identified of the issue of forced return and to improve their cooperation.
In addition, France is a member of several projects aiming to promote and support voluntary
return.
Thus, the ERI project (European Reintegration Project) aims to support the return of 1,250
migrants from five project partner countries towards seven third countries: Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan, Iraq, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan and Russia. This includes help establishing an
economic project as well as professional training. The closing conference took place on 6
February 2014. In total, just over 250 people took part in the programme. The ERIN project
was to follow, starting in June 2014 which enabled this cooperation to be continued, developed
and extended. France has confirmed its participation in this project.
The DGEF has also participated in the IOM's MAGNET project which focuses exclusively on
Iraqi Kurdistan and aiming, ultimately, to establish a job centre to facilitate labour market
integration for repatriated job seekers. 107 requests to participate in this mechanism were
registered. 47 applicants found a job, of which 37 were exclusively through the MAGNET
platform. The second phase of the MAGNET 2 project was launched in June 2014 for a
duration of 24 months. In addition to France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the United
Kingdom and Finland are taking part.
Activities to reintegrate and assist with repatriation in Kosovo are managed with Germany in
the context of the URA2 project. This work began in December 2013. 89 people who returned
from France with OFII repatriation assistance were referred to the URA2 centre to find help
with reintegration, which exceeded the objective which had been set of 50 candidates.
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9.3. Promotional measures relating to voluntary return led by OFII As part of assisted return measures undertaken by OFII, in close partnership with the prefectoral
services, CADAs, and local associations, all Regional Directorates (DT - Directions
Territoriales) of OFFI systematically conduct visits to CADAs in order to promote assisted
return measures with asylum seekers.
Regional OFII representatives are responsible for measures taken with local external partners
(NGOs, social workers) and with prefectoral services and directors of CADAs, to help improve
the accommodation measures for rejected applicants for asylum.
Some DTs, located in places such as Poitiers, Bordeaux, Montpellier and Reims, raise
awareness of the police and gendarmerie so that initial information on voluntary return can
be given to potential candidates through their respective services, particularly during
interviews.
As soon as the prefectures have received notice of an OQTF, they direct foreigners in an
irregular situation towards OFII so that they can make a request for assisted voluntary return.
When the CADAs are notified of the decision to reject an application for asylum, they give the
rejected applicant information on the assisted return mechanism.
Local associations, in partnership with OFII, help target foreign nationals likely to benefit from
assisted return: for example, the CARE project is conducted in partnership with the IMO for
victims of trafficking.
Some DTs such as in Toulouse, Amiens, Reims, Strasbourg and Nice work closely with
the Departmental Directorate for Social Cohesion (DDCS – Direction départementale de la
cohesion sociale) to extend promotion of the assisted return mechanism to failed applicants
who are immediately informed that the possibility is open to them to use the OFII mechanism,
depending on their situation. The DT in Nice, in addition, has involved hoteliers to give relevant
people notification of meetings and interviews with OFII as soon as the financial cost of
accommodation is no longer covered.
