As of January, 1st, 2023, the procedures for appealing against a visa refusal in France was changing (according to the decrees n°2022-962 and n°2022-963 of 29 June 2022).
It will be different, depending on whether the refusal decision of the diplomatic or consular authority concerns a short-stay visa application (I) or a long-stay visa (II). However, no major changes occurr at the stage of a litigation appeal, the procedures remain identical for challenging the refusal of two types of visas (III) :
I/ Refusal of short-stay visas (starting from January, 1st, 2023)
Administrative appeals :
– informal appeals (“recours gracieux”) before the French consular authorities
– appeal to the sub-director of visas (“le sous-directeur des visas »), located in the General Directorate for Foreigners in France of the Ministry of the Interior, in Nantes. This appeal is compulsory in order to be able to subsequently lodge an appeal before the administrative judge.
This appeal before the sub-director of visas must be made within 30 days either from the notification of the visa refusal decision or from the acknowledgement of receipt of the visa application if the consular authorities have not given any reply.
The sub-director of visas may reject the appeal lodged by the foreigner himself or grant the appeal of the person concerned. In the latter case, he will instruct the diplomatic or consular authority to which the initial application was submitted to issue the short-stay visa requested.
II/ Refusal of long-stay visas (starting from January, 1st, 2023)
Administrative appeals :
– informal appeals (“recours gracieux”) before the French consular authorities
– appeal to the « Commission de Recours contre les Décisions de Refus de visa » (CRRV) in Nantes. The appeal to the CRRV is compulsory in order to be able to lodge an appeal before the administrative judge.
This appeal to the CRRV must be made within 30 days either from the notification of the visa refusal decision or from the acknowledgement of receipt of the visa application if the consular authorities have not given any response.
The CRRV may recommend to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of the Interior to grant the visa. It can also reject the appeal expressly (by written notification) or implicitly (by not responding within two months).
If the CRRV rejects the appeal or if the ministers confirm the visa refusal, despite the Commission’s favorable opinion, it is possible to lodge an appeal before the administrative court of Nantes within two months.
III/ The court appeal against the refusal of short and long stay visas
The court appeal must be lodged within two months of the notification of the decision rejecting the compulsory prior administrative appeal either expressly (by written notification) or implicitly (by not responding within two months).
The court appeal allows to contest a visa refusal, or even to demand the injunction to issue the visa if it has been illegally refused.
In case of urgency, a request for suspension of the refusal decision may be submitted to the interim relief judge (“référé-suspension”).
Since January 2023, the Nantes Administrative Court of the First Instance (“tribunal administratif de Nantes”) has been the first and last instance judge in disputes relating to visa refusals. The judgement is therefore no longer subject to appeal and only the cassation appeal before the Council of State (“Conseil d’Etat”) is open.
The new procedures are applicable to refusal decisions starting from January, 1st, 2023.
Our services regarding appeals against refusals of visas to France contain namely the following stages:
– Analyse the situation, make recommendations on the effectiveness of an appeal against the refusal, estimate the length and the possible costs of the procedure
– Preparing and submitting an administrative appeal to the French consular or diplomatic authority that refused the visa (” recours gracieux”)
– Preparation and submission of an administrative appeal to the Commission de Recours contre les Décisions de Refus de Visa (CRRV) in Nantes
– Preparing and filing a lawsuit at the administrative court in Nantes, accompanying through the litigation