A Right of Residency for Mohamed !

— 2016/06/27 BREAKING NEWS : Mohamed and Laïla gave birth to their son in January 2016, today they obtained the right to stay for Mohamed as « father of a child of French Citizenship » ! During two years, the Prefecture has refused to recognise the right to privacy and family life for this couple, condamning them to an instable administrative status, for no reason !!

— 2015/09/04 BREAKING NEWS :  Mohamed just received a letter from the prefecture saying that his application for a permit to stay was rejected. During the course of their appeal against this unjustified decision, mobilisation has to continue !!

Mohamed is Egyptian. In the summer of 2001 he arrives in France on a transit visa.
In 2008 he meets Laïla, a French-Norwegian, with whom he shares a passion for Brazilian dance. In 2009 they begin living together and in August of 2013 they marry.
With a happy and fulfilling life together and a strong social network, they wait the 6 months necessary to prove their co-habitation after moving into their new flat together. They have been gathering all the documentation needed by the immigration office and in April of 2014 are nearly ready to hand in Mohamed’s application for permanent residency…

Then, on April 22, 2014, Mohamed is stopped in the street by two policemen for a random control. Having no permanent residency card he is taken directly to a detention center for deportation and is locked up in a prison cell. 48 hours later there is a court hearing during which the judge dismisses his case on the grounds that his human rights to private and family life have been violated. The judge orders the prefect to give Mohamed a temporary permit of residency (APS), until his case be studied and a decision be made in regards to his residency in France.

And so begins a long and tedious series of administrative obstacles. The APS is not granted despite the judge’s orders. Momo and Laïla then hand in an application for a residency permit. It is rejected without anyone even reading it. They are told that he cannot receive a right of residency because his entry permit is not of the right type. After insisting numerous times, he is finally given a first appointment in order to register his application. Six months later in October 2014 he is finally granted his first temporary 3-month visa, albeit one that does not give him permission to work.

In April 2015, Laila and Mohamed go to apply for an extension of the temporary visa. They are then told that an OQTF (obligation de quitter le territoire français) – a written order to leave France is on it’s way and that Mohamed would soon have to go back to Egypt. They are told that the documents in his file – including over 50 testimonials from family, friends and co-workers – are not sufficient to prove his private and family status nor to prove that he has resided in France for over 10 years !

In July 2015, Mohamed goes a third time to the prefecture to renew his temporary visa yet again. He is asked to hand in his complete file again for « re-examination »(he must provide copies of all the documents that he already has brought in twice).That very same day an officer informs him that his application has been rejected and that he will « sooner or later » receive an OQTF « obligation-to-leave-the-country » letter.

After living in France for over ten years, six-years of relationship and two years of marriage with Laila, Mohamed could, any day, be forced to leave the country !!!

Laïla and Mohamed have contributed to the participatory site « Nous sommes ici ! » (« We are here ! »).

See their online photo and message.