The facts
A foreign national, recognised as a refugee by the OFPRA in December 2015, applied for long-stay visas for two children, under the family reunification procedure for refugees (réunification familiale) provided by the CESEDA.
The French consular authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo refused the visas in April 2023, considering that the civil status documents did not prove the children’s identity or their filiation with the applicant. The Commission de recours contre les refus de visa rejected the appeal in September 2023, and the Administrative Court of Nantes dismissed the action in September 2024.
The appeal
Our firm appealed to the Administrative Court of Appeal of Nantes, arguing in particular that:
- the decisions were insufficiently reasoned and not individualised;
- identity and filiation were established by supplementary birth judgments and by possession of status;
- the refusals breached the provisions of the CESEDA on family reunification of refugees, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the best interests of the child.
The court’s decision
The court recalled that foreign civil status records are valid unless evidence shows that they are irregular, falsified or inaccurate (Article 47 of the Civil Code), and that the French administration cannot call into question a foreign court decision, except in cases of fraud or manifest contradiction with international public order.
The children were identified by supplementary judgments delivered in 2017 by a juvenile court in Kinshasa, then legalised. These decisions were not contested by the Minister, and nothing allowed them to be regarded as fraudulent. The court therefore held that identity and filiation were sufficiently established and that the Commission had made an error of assessment.
Outcome: annulment of the first-instance judgment and of the Commission’s decision, injunction to issue the visas within two months, and €1,200 awarded against the State in legal costs.
Why it matters
This decision strengthens the probative value of legalised foreign judgments, even when consular authorities have expressed doubts, and requires a concrete and individual assessment of the evidence.
Read also: Civil status: the new lock on family reunification.
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.