The return visa (visa de retour) is a long-stay visa allowing a person who has a right to reside in France, but who is abroad without a valid document, to return to France: residence permit or receipt lost or stolen abroad, permit expired during a stay abroad while its renewal was pending, etc.
Why return visas are refused
Two grounds are most often invoked:
- a threat to public order: since the law of 26 January 2024, the authorities systematically consult police records before issuing a visa or a residence permit. These records may mention cases in which the person was simply involved (complaints, investigations), even without conviction or after the case was dropped;
- no right of residence in France: the consulate checks with the prefecture whether the residence permit is available. If it is, this ground cannot in principle be invoked.
A recent case: refused on abstract public order grounds
In December 2025, the French consular authority in Dakar refused a return visa to a Senegalese national holding a ten-year resident card valid until 2032. The refusal used the generic wording “risk of threat to public order, public security or public health”.
Yet the documents showed regular and continuous residence in France, exclusive family ties in France, two French children attending school, professional integration and no criminal conviction.
The strategy: prior appeal and référé-suspension
- In January 2026, a mandatory prior appeal was filed with the Commission de recours contre les refus de visa.
- Without waiting for the Commission’s decision, and given the prolonged separation from his minor children, our client filed an urgent suspension application (référé-suspension, article L. 521-1 of the Code of Administrative Justice), invoking urgency, insufficient reasoning, lack of examination, the absence of any established threat to public order, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the best interests of the child.
The outcome
In early February 2026, before the hearing, the Ministry of the Interior informed the court that, “in view of the evidence produced”, it had instructed the consulate in Dakar to issue the long-stay visa within a few weeks. By order of 13 February 2026, the judge declared that there was no longer any need to rule and ordered the State to pay €550 in legal costs.
What to learn from this case
- Public order is not a self-sufficient ground: it must be based on concrete, individual facts.
- The référé is an effective tool: the prospect of judicial review led the administration to re-examine the file at central level.
- Act quickly: gather evidence of residence, family ties and absence of convictions, and file the prior appeal within 30 days.
Read also: Visa refusals in France: grounds, appeals and solutions.
Need help with your case?
FATOU BABOU AVOCAT assists individuals, families and companies with visas, family reunification, residence permits and appeals against refusals, before consulates, prefectures and courts.
- Bordeaux office: 11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France – +33 9 85 40 18 64 – contact@legalfb-avocat.fr
- Dakar office: 14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal – +221 77 173 69 05 / +221 33 844 29 16 – contact@fbavocat-sn.com
- Book an appointment online
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Rules, amounts and deadlines change regularly: always have your own situation checked by a lawyer.