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The deadline registerAsylum · OFPRA and CNDA

Asylum application in France: the steps and time limits, from the single desk to the CNDA

By the AlphaDeep legal editorial teamPublished Drafted with AI assistance, references last checked: our method

An asylum application in France is registered at the single desk within 3 working days of being presented, then the complete file must reach OFPRA, the French asylum office, within 21 days (CESEDA, articles L521-4 and R531-2). Against a refusal, the appeal to the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) is lodged within one month, or within 10 days under the accelerated procedure and against inadmissibility for applications lodged since 12 June 2026 (article R532-10).

Go to the tool: the deadline register

Julie by AlphaDeep is an AI legal assistant for French law: it researches official references to help answer your questions (Légifrance, case law, service-public), analyses your documents and drafts your letters, for individuals and professionals alike.

General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.

What are your deadlines, from the attestation to the appeal?

Enter where the application was registered, the date of the attestation and, if you have received it, OFPRA’s decision: the register places each time limit. The example: an attestation issued on 6 July 2026 at the single desk, then a rejection under the normal procedure notified on 5 October 2026.

The application was registered at

It is shown on the attestation issued at the desk.

Procedure stated by the prefecture
Application lodged with OFPRA

Receipt of the registered letter, or viewing it in your online space.

Fictional example · asylum time-limit register

Send the appeal to the CNDA by 5 November 2026 at the latest; legal aid is requested within 15 days.

Days left: to be calculated

  1. Registration at the single desk and issue of the asylum application attestation

  2. Last day for the complete file to reach OFPRA (21 days)

  3. Notification of OFPRA’s decision: the appeal time limit starts

  4. Last day to ask the CNDA for legal aid (15 days): the request suspends the appeal time limit

  5. Last day to send the appeal to the CNDA (1 month)

No extension is applied to the dates shown: if one falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday, act before it. The time limit that applies is the one stated in the notification.

"Dublin" procedure: the transfer decision is challenged before the administrative court within 7 days of its notification.

What changed in the French asylum procedure in 2026?

The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum has applied since 12 June 2026; several decrees have implemented it.

  1. In the Val-d’Oise, the France asylum regional centre (pôle territorial France asile) brings together registration, reception by the OFII and lodging the application with OFPRA, on the same day and without a paper file (CESEDA, article L121-17; OFPRA).

    Sources: OFPRA · CESEDA L121-17

  2. The appeal to the CNDA falls to 10 days against an inadmissibility decision or a rejection under the accelerated procedure, for applications lodged from that date; one month remains the rule in other cases (decree no. 2026-451 of 3 June 2026). In these cases, the appeal counts as a legal aid request.

    Sources: CESEDA R532-10 · Decree no. 2026-451 · Decree 2020-1717, art. 41

  3. A file arriving late or an unjustified absence at the interview leads to an implicit withdrawal of the application, which can be challenged within 10 days before the administrative court, with no possible reopening (article R531-33; OFPRA).

    Sources: CESEDA R531-33 · OFPRA

  4. For work, the 6-month wait now runs from registration at the single desk, and the "Dublin" procedure no longer gives access to the labour market, according to service-public (fiche F2741).

    Source: Service-public F2741

  5. The CNDA opens a second chamber in Nancy, bringing its regional chambers to eight, and several départements change jurisdiction (order of the vice-president of the Conseil d’État of 3 August 2026; CNDA).

    Source: CNDA

Summary card: registration within 3 working days, complete file to OFPRA within 21 days, appeal to the CNDA within one month or 10 days, legal aid requested within 15 days.
The time limits of an asylum application in France, from the single desk to the appeal before the CNDA.

How does registration at the single desk work?

The process starts with an appointment at the département’s first-reception service for asylum seekers (SPADA), booked through the OFII in the Île-de-France region, according to OFPRA. The SPADA fills in the registration form and issues a summons to the single desk (guichet unique), which must register the application no later than 3 working days after it is presented, 10 working days when demand is high (CESEDA, article L521-4).

At the single desk, the prefecture takes fingerprints and states the procedure, normal or accelerated; the OFII assesses vulnerability and offers the material reception conditions. The asylum application attestation issued that day is valid for 10 months under the normal procedure and 6 months under the accelerated procedure, then is renewed for periods of 6 months (order of 9 October 2015, article 1).

Sources: CESEDA L521-4 · OFPRA · Order of 9 October 2015

What must you send to OFPRA within 21 days?

The form issued at the single desk, completed and signed, a photograph, an account in French of the reasons for the application and copies of travel documents and useful papers, according to OFPRA. The complete file must reach the Office within 21 days of the attestation being issued (CESEDA, article R531-2); if it is incomplete, OFPRA gives 8 days to complete it (article R531-4).

A complete file not received within 21 days leads OFPRA to record the implicit withdrawal of the application. This withdrawal is challenged before the administrative court within 10 days of its notification (article R531-33), the court in Melun according to OFPRA. At the France asylum centre in the Val-d’Oise, the application is lodged on the spot: there is no paper file to send.

Sources: CESEDA R531-2 · CESEDA R531-33 · OFPRA

How long do you have to challenge an OFPRA refusal before the CNDA?

One month from notification, in principle. The time limit falls to 10 days against an inadmissibility decision or against a rejection under the accelerated procedure, for applications lodged since 12 June 2026 (CESEDA, article R532-10, and decree no. 2026-451 of 3 June 2026). The time limit that applies is the one stated in the notification; according to the CNDA, what counts is the date the appeal is sent.

The appeal is written in French, reasoned, signed and accompanied by OFPRA’s decision or a copy of it. It is sent by fax or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or filed at the Court in Montreuil, according to the CNDA. The procedure is free, and legal aid is granted as of right, except for a manifestly inadmissible appeal (article 9-4 of the law of 10 July 1991).

Sources: CESEDA R532-10 · Decree no. 2026-451 · CNDA · Decree 2020-1717, art. 41

When the appeal time limit is one month, the legal aid request is filed with the CNDA within 15 days of notification of OFPRA’s decision. It suspends the one-month time limit, which resumes for the remaining period when the decision on legal aid is notified (article 41 of decree no. 2020-1717 of 28 December 2020). The Conseil d’État has held that these 15 days, then set by statute, are not a clear-day time limit (13 November 2023, no. 467595).

When the time limit is 10 days, the appeal itself counts as a legal aid request, unless the appellant says otherwise, and the Court appoints a lawyer after registration (same article 41). A refusal of legal aid is challenged before the President of the Court within 8 days, according to the CNDA.

Sources: Decree 2020-1717, art. 41 · CE, 13 Nov. 2023, no. 467595 · CNDA

Can you stay in France and work during the procedure?

Once the application is lodged with OFPRA, the attestation counts as a temporary residence authorisation, renewable until the Office’s decision and then, where relevant, the CNDA’s (CESEDA, article L541-2). After a rejection under the normal procedure, the right to remain lasts until the Court’s decision is read (article L542-1). Under the accelerated procedure, the appeal is not automatically suspensive: you must ask the administrative judge for the right to remain, according to OFPRA.

Work is open only after 6 months without an OFPRA decision (article L554-1): the employer then applies for the work authorisation, and the authorities’ silence for 2 months counts as approval (article L554-3). According to service-public, the 6 months run from registration at the single desk for applications lodged since 12 June 2026.

Sources: CESEDA L541-2 · OFPRA · CESEDA L554-1 · Service-public F2741

Which time limit applies at each step of an asylum application?

Each time limit runs from a specific act: presentation, attestation, notification or appeal.

Time limits of an asylum application under the normal and accelerated procedures, texts in force on 25 September 2026
StepTime limitStarting pointText
Registration at the single desk3 working days, 10 when demand is highPresentation of the applicationCESEDA L521-4
Complete file to OFPRA21 days; the same day at the France asylum centreIssue of the attestationCESEDA R531-2
Completing an incomplete file8 daysOFPRA’s letterCESEDA R531-4
OFPRA decision under the accelerated procedure15 daysLodging of the applicationCESEDA R531-23
Legal aid, one-month appeal time limit15 daysNotification of the decisionDecree 2020-1717, art. 41
Appeal to the CNDA1 month; 10 days under the accelerated procedure or against inadmissibilityNotification of the decisionCESEDA R532-10
Appeal against an implicit withdrawal10 days, at the administrative courtNotification of the withdrawalCESEDA R531-33
Judgment by the CNDA5 months; 5 weeks under the accelerated procedure or against inadmissibilityReferral to the CourtCESEDA L532-6

Placement in detention: 5 days to lodge the complete application, and OFPRA decides within 96 hours (CESEDA, articles R531-2 and R531-23).

Sources: CESEDA L521-4 · CESEDA R531-2 · CESEDA R532-10 · Decree 2020-1717, art. 41 · CESEDA R531-33 · CESEDA L532-6

What does article R532-10 of the CESEDA provide for the appeal to the CNDA?

Article R532-10 is the text of the two appeal time limits, rewritten by decree no. 2026-451 of 3 June 2026.

Les recours contre les décisions de l’Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides sont exercés, à peine d’irrecevabilité, dans un délai d’un mois à compter de leur notification.

Par dérogation au premier alinéa, les recours sont exercés, à peine d’irrecevabilité, dans un délai de dix jours à compter de leur notification lorsqu’ils sont formés contre les décisions d’irrecevabilité et contre les décisions de rejet prises à l’issue de la procédure accélérée prévue par l’article 42 du règlement (UE) n° 2024/1348.

Le délai de recours ainsi que les voies de recours ne sont opposables qu’à la condition d’avoir été mentionnés dans la notification de la décision.

Article R532-10 of the Code on the entry and residence of foreigners and the right of asylum (in French)Version in force on 25 September 2026 (in force since 8 June 2026)Read the article on Légifrance (in French)

In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): Appeals against the decisions of the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons must be lodged, on pain of inadmissibility, within one month of their notification. By way of exception, they must be lodged within ten days of notification when they are brought against inadmissibility decisions and against rejection decisions taken at the end of the accelerated procedure under article 42 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348. The time limit and the means of appeal can be relied on only if they were stated in the notification of the decision. The decree reserves the 10-day time limit for appeals against decisions on applications lodged since 12 June 2026 (article 2, III).

What do asylum seekers ask between OFPRA and the Court?

On what date is an OFPRA decision notified?

On receipt of the registered letter, on the date of the delivery notice if the letter is not collected, or when you view it in your personal online space. A decision not viewed within 15 days is deemed notified on the date it was made available, according to OFPRA.

How long does the CNDA take to decide an appeal?

The CESEDA gives it 5 months, and 5 weeks against an inadmissibility decision or one taken under the accelerated procedure (article L532-6). According to the Court, the decision is given one week after a single-judge hearing and three weeks after a panel hearing; it can be challenged before the Conseil d’État within 2 months.

How much is the allowance for asylum seekers?

€6.80 a day for a single person, €10.20 for two and up to €37.40 for ten, plus €7.40 a day when no accommodation has been offered (CESEDA, annex 8). You must have accepted the OFII’s material reception conditions, be 18 or over and have income below the RSA (service-public, fiche F33314).

Can you apply for asylum again after a final rejection?

Yes, through a subsequent application based on new elements, to be lodged with OFPRA within 8 days of its registration (CESEDA, article R531-36). It follows the accelerated procedure and, if the Office finds it inadmissible, the appeal to the CNDA is lodged within 10 days, according to OFPRA.

What does placement in detention change for the time limits?

Everything tightens. An applicant placed in detention lodges the complete application within 5 days of notification of the placement (CESEDA, article R531-2), and OFPRA examines it within 96 hours of receiving it (article R531-23).

What should you read alongside the asylum procedure?

Which texts set these steps and time limits?

  1. CESEDA, article L521-4 (registration within 3 working days, 10 when demand is high)Légifrance, in French
  2. CESEDA, articles R531-2 and R531-4 (complete file within 21 days, completing it within 8 days)Légifrance, in French
  3. CESEDA, article R532-10 (appeal to the CNDA: 1 month or 10 days)Légifrance, in French
  4. Decree no. 2026-451 of 3 June 2026 amending the time limits for appeals to the National Court of AsylumLégifrance, Journal officiel, in French
  5. Decree no. 2020-1717 of 28 December 2020, article 41, and law no. 91-647 of 10 July 1991, article 9-4 (legal aid before the CNDA)Légifrance, in French
  6. CESEDA, article R531-33 (implicit withdrawal: 10 days before the administrative court)Légifrance, in French
  7. CESEDA, articles L541-2 and L542-1 (right to remain during the procedure)Légifrance, in French
  8. CESEDA, articles L554-1 and L554-3 (access to the labour market)Légifrance, in French
  9. CESEDA, article L532-6 (CNDA decision times)Légifrance, in French
  10. Order of 9 October 2015, article 1 (validity of the asylum application attestation)Légifrance, in French
  11. Applying for asylum: the single desk, OFPRA, the accelerated procedure and implicit withdrawalOFPRA, in French · pages updated between 11 June and 27 July 2026
  12. Normal procedure, legal aid and regional chambersNational Court of Asylum (CNDA), in French
  13. Asylum seekers’ access to work (fiche F2741)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 16 September 2026
  14. CESEDA, article L121-17 (France asylum regional centres)Légifrance, in French
  15. Conseil d’État, 13 November 2023, no. 467595 (the 15-day time limit is not a clear-day limit)Légifrance, in French
  16. The allowance for asylum seekers (fiche F33314), and annex 8 of the CESEDA (scale)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 1 April 2026

Texts cited last checked: 25 September 2026