Rights groups take France to court over residency permit tech failures

Social rights groups on Tuesday lodged a complaint with France's top administrative court over technical glitches in the online system for residency permits which they say are preventing foreigners from working or keeping their jobs in France.

Ten associations have appealed to the Council of State following results showing that the move to Anef – the digital administration for foreigners in France – is not only making it increasingly difficult to apply for the initial right to stay in France but also creating gridlocks for foreigners who have sometimes been living in the country for decades.

The hold-ups, according to the witness testimonies lodged with rights groups, have led to an array of problems such as job losses and evictions.

"The situation is such that today employers who have had difficulties recruiting people are calling us for help in renewing their employees' residence permits," said Pascal Brice, president of the Fédération des acteurs de solidarité (FAS), one of the groups trying to convince the Council of State to push the government to sort out the issues.

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"The malfunctioning of the residence permit application system hamper foreign nationals' access to the labour market, exacerbate their precarious situation and heavily penalise the associations and companies that support or employ them," say the groups in a joint press release.

"This dematerialised, yet very real, wall against the residence and work of so many foreign nationals who want nothing more than to live in peace must come down for their dignity," added Brice. "It has to come down to stop hampering the work of associations and businesses."

Report

Last December, the Défenseur des droits – an independent panel of experts – published a 41-page report that took the government to task over Anef, a web portal launched in 2020 that was supposed to simplify administration.

"However, since the introductionof this tool, the Défenseur des droits has received a large number of complaints from people who are no longer able to complete the steps required to obtain a residence permit or to receive a response within a normal timeframe, even for a simple renewal," said its report.

"The service is failing to deliver on its promise to simplify administrative procedures," the report added. "The tool suffers from a number of limitations that affect both the submission and processing of applications."

The Défenseur's analysis highlighted persistent technical problems, patchy deployment and lack of information for users as well as lack of flexibility for completing or modifying a submitted application.

"The delegates of the Défenseur are confronted on a daily basis with situations of unacceptable denial of rights.

"The risk is that people who are prevented from accessing or completing a procedure may end up with no proof of their right to residency."

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The loss of this right, says the Défenseur's report, can lead to the loss of the right to work, loss of employment, suspension of social benefits, eviction or difficulties accessing healthcare.

Despite several meetings with officials from the Interior Ministry, the rights groups say there has been no progress in the quest for a swift resolution.

Sylvestre Wozniak, the managing director of Forum Réfugiés, added: "Every day, the Anef malfunctions are having an impact on people who are protected under the asylum system and who, as a result, are confronted with sudden disruptions in their path to employment or in their efforts to access housing. The aim of this appeal is to put an end to this obstacle."