‘I was disappointed’: France tries to expel foreign students | Educational Matters

Names with an asterisk have been changed to protect information.

Paris, France – In Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris and one of the poorest in France, many children from other countries are graduating from technical schools.

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But instead of getting a job, some are getting eviction letters.

In April, 19-year-old Mariem*, who is studying medicine as part of a two-year vocational degree called BTS, received a phone message saying she was waiting for her at the post office. When he went to collect it, he found it was an “Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Francais”, or OQTF, an expulsion order.

Mariem, who arrived in France from Tunisia in 2019 at the age of 12, said: “I was devastated, I didn’t know what to do. I think I was worried,” Al Jazeera reported.

Mohammed*, 19, is facing a similar problem. Currently enrolled in a two-year BTS program in electrical engineering, he arrived in France from Morocco at the age of 14 with his family.

In September, he returned from vacation to write a similar letter. The OQTF, issued by the French Ministry of the Interior, told him that he did not have a valid study visa since he arrived on a tourist visa. The letter also stated that Mohammed was not enrolled in the school, which he said was false.

“I’m shocked, I’m disappointed,” Mohammed said. I sat outside on the couch and watched. I was just wondering why, what did I do?”

Many students are affected

In this regard, Al Jazeera spoke to five high school students, school staff and experts in French immigration who confirmed that although there are no restrictions in place to protect the education of students to fulfill certain difficult and limited jobs in France, including some areas of medicine, some high school students from other countries are being ordered to leave the country.

Some are unable to continue their education or work due to lack of papers.

Although official figures are not available, an instructor at a business school in Saint-Denis who spoke to Al Jazeera said that 50 students were either undocumented or deported because they could not process their documents. The education consultant said that a dozen other technical schools in the area are facing similar problems.

These students are in a gray area because they arrived with their parents on a non-study visa when they were children. Until they turn 18, they are safe from deportation. But after those years, they do not have the same security despite having strong ties in France and the future prospects of professionals.

In January 2025, Bruno Retailleau, then the interior minister, reduced the number of permits issued to high school graduates to stay in France legally.

His law was designed to reduce the return of documents in a country where, according to the largest labor union in France, the renewal of visas can take 18 months because the government has created strict guidelines for which French documents can be accepted.

In fact, the number of visas issued has decreased by 40 percent and the number of work permits has decreased by 50 percent, according to the French Ministry of the Interior. From 2023 to 2024, France issued more deportation orders than any other country in the European Union, although not all were executed, according to Serge Slama, professor of law.

In the most difficult cases, students have to wait up to three years for their documents to be approved, an academic adviser told Al Jazeera. Even in fields with hard-to-fill jobs that needed to be prioritized — including construction, engineering, nursing and maintenance — at least one student still received an expulsion order, the counselor said.

‘Administrative Disorder’

Several students interviewed by Al Jazeera have lost job opportunities or education and training opportunities because the district’s permit approval period does not match the academic calendar.

The high number of work permits is particularly bad in Saint-Denis.

“Saint-Denis is where the queues were the longest. There are no more physical queues, but now there are digital queues. It’s the same problem, in a way,” Slama told Al Jazeera.

The average processing time for a residence permit in Saint-Denis is 145 days, compared to 117 for the rest of France.

Deportation orders are issued for a variety of reasons ranging from denial of immunity to administrative misconduct.

About 100,000 asylum claims are rejected in France each year, and if the claim is rejected, residence permits are revoked, followed by deportation, Slama said.

Not all OQTFs are legal or logical, according to Samy Djemaoun, an immigration lawyer. Djemaoun has customers who have been ordered to leave during family reunification or if legal approval continues.

He also said that criminal cases also cause people to be deported.

“What I see is from an unpaid metro ticket to terrorism. Terrorism cases are the biggest threat to the government. They are not many, contrary to what people would have you believe,” Djemaoun told Al Jazeera.

In many cases, deportation orders are the result of administrative errors, convoluted regulations or language barriers, according to Djemaoun.

“Many OQTFs should not exist. We often see management conflicts that are often a regional problem,” Djemaoun said. “Conditions are created randomly – huge labyrinths – to justify the use of repression. Then it is easy to say, ‘There are many OQTFs who have not been killed, so we will tighten the conditions for entering France further.'”

The Ministry of the Interior defended the action, saying: “All questions about residence permits are processed by the province in accordance with the law. The procedures for managing the status of young people who live in the country without a permit are defined by the Code on Entry and Stay of Foreigners and the Right of Asylum (CESEDA) and explained by criminal law.”

Due to the backlog, the Seine-Saint-Denis Departmental Council signed a policy on January 6 to allow the initial review of unaccompanied minors in the health service.

“This is to support, in accordance with the law, the management of young children who want to improve their time when they reach adulthood and are enrolled in vocational training programs,” said the Ministry of the Interior.

The French Government decided on May 5 that the government must “correct the errors” of the platform used to apply for a residence permit within six months. The council concluded that the portal “must unduly restrict the rights of users or violate their ability to exercise the rights granted to them by law”.

Some foreign nationals with legal permits in France who have lived in the country for years have been unable to renew their residence permits due to internet problems, the Council of State has confirmed.

‘We can’t even talk’

Some students like 22-year-old Ghada who did not receive permission to deport are still in dire straits, unable to pursue further studies or be employed without a permit.

He arrived from Tunisia in 2019 with his family on a tourist visa. He has excelled in his studies in France, especially in IT. For three years, Ghada has been working with a lawyer to change his situation. He needs a residence permit to take the engineering school entrance exam soon but he doesn’t have one.

“Our leadership is above everything else. We cannot even speak because we are in trouble,” said Ghada.

Ghada has little connection to his homeland and does not want to return.

I want to go far. I want an engineering degree. Why not practice medicine?

Her family moved to give Ghada and her sister more opportunities, but regulatory issues thwarted that dream. They arrived on tourist visas in the hope of finding a permanent way to settle in France.

“In my country, everyone wants to go to France. It’s considered a very prestigious country. That’s not true, but that’s how people think. It’s everyone’s dream. You can start a career there. But when you get there, you see the real thing.”

In Saint-Denis, the election of a leftist mayor has given some of the students hope. Bally Bagayoko, who was born in France and is of Malian heritage, took office at the end of March.

Last month, Bagayoko and other representatives in Saint-Denis held a “civic pairing” event in which undocumented technical school students were supported by French politicians to support their right to stay while they wait for their documents.

Participants were given documents confirming their inclusion. Although it does not bind, it provides permanent support.

Mohammed, an electrical student from Morocco, said the event was confusing. But in the end, “it is good to know that there is someone who supports you and that you are not alone,” he said.

But Ghada was not finished. He had a job interview.