Violations of Foreigners' Rights: The Rights Defender Publishes a Report on ANEF
Par Antonin GAVREL - le mardi 1 juillet 2025 - 4 min read
The Rights Defender published on December 11, 2024, a damning report on the Digital Administration for Foreigners in France (ANEF). This document reveals that the platform, deployed since 2020 to simplify administrative procedures, is causing massive violations of foreign users' rights.
An Alarming Finding: 28% of Complaints in 2023
In 2020, when online appointment booking tools in prefectures were saturated, many foreign nationals could no longer obtain appointments. The lockdown and the closure of prefecture counters accelerated the implementation of digital solutions for residence permit applications.
Four years later, the assessment is unequivocal: foreigners' rights law has become the primary reason for contacting the Rights Defender. In 2023, these requests represented 28% of complaints received, and more than 75% of them concerned difficulties encountered with prefecture services, in the context of a first application or renewal of a residence permit.
ANEF: A Tool with Many Limitations
Despite certain advances and the initial project's ambitions, ANEF does not deliver on its promises to simplify users' procedures, streamline circuits and procedures, and optimize software used by prefecture agents.
The report identifies several major problems:
- Persistent technical problems that hinder the platform's proper functioning
- Choices or oversights in the design of the tool creating difficulties
- Piecemeal deployment that does not cover all territories
- Lack of information for users on usage procedures
Deployed following insufficient experimentation, the tool suffers from numerous limitations and malfunctions that affect both the submission and processing of permit applications.
Insufficient Support Services
The Rights Defender also observes that reception and support services, particularly for people far from digital technology, do not allow overcoming difficulties:
- Citizen Contact Center (CCC) and Digital Access Points (PAN): unproductive exchanges, difficult access
- Lack of staff qualification and lack of personnel
- Difficult access for the most vulnerable people
Serious Violations of Users' Rights
The consequences of ANEF's malfunctions are dramatic. When a person cannot access or complete a procedure, they risk finding themselves in an irregular situation, without a residence permit, even though they meet the legal requirements.
These situations generate serious violations of fundamental rights:
- Job loss and suspension of social benefits
- Difficulties accessing healthcare
- Disruptions in children's schooling
- Violations of the right to lead a normal private and family life
- Violations of property rights
- Non-respect of the best interests of the child
The Rights Defender's 14 Recommendations
Faced with the scope and severity of the violations observed, the Rights Defender formulates 14 essential recommendations to guarantee users' access to rights:
1. Guarantee Non-Digital Access
Incorporate into the Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and Asylum Law a provision recognizing the right to carry out any procedure through a non-digital channel, without prior conditions.
2. Automate Procedures
- Automate the automatic renewal of processing extension certificates (API)
- Create a digitalized certificate creating rights for people requesting the regularization of their administrative situation, issued after verification of the file's completeness
3. Improve User Information
Improve the information given to users on prefecture websites regarding the procedures for submitting permit applications and update it regularly.
4. Other Important Recommendations
- Strengthen digital support services
- Train staff on ANEF specificities
- Implement monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
- Guarantee service continuity in case of malfunction
- Improve platform ergonomics and accessibility
- Strengthen personal data security
- Implement effective appeal procedures
- Guarantee transparency in application processing
An Urgent Call to Action
Without questioning the principle of opening a digital channel for submitting residence permit applications, these recommendations highlight the necessary modifications to make ANEF a true simplification tool, serving its users.
The report emphasizes the urgency of action in the face of a situation that deprives thousands of people of their fundamental rights and endangers their social and professional integration in France.
Conclusion
This report by the Rights Defender reveals a major dysfunction of the French administration in its relationship with foreigners. ANEF, meant to simplify procedures, has become an additional obstacle to accessing rights.
Digitalization, while it can bring advantages, must not be done at the expense of access to fundamental rights. The recommendations formulated by the Rights Defender constitute an essential roadmap to correct malfunctions and ensure that digital administration truly serves its users.
Important reminder: This report highlights the importance of professional support in complex administrative procedures. Faced with ANEF's malfunctions, being accompanied by experts can make the difference in obtaining and renewing residence permits.
For personalized assistance in your administrative procedures and in facing difficulties encountered with ANEF, do not hesitate to contact us. Our team of experts will guide you at every step to overcome administrative obstacles and guarantee your rights.