Help for migrantsAsylum application in France: the organisations that support you for free
First reception, postal address, OFPRA file, interview, appeal to the CNDA, shelter, healthcare: France terre d'asile, Forum réfugiés, La Cimade, Comede, the Red Cross, Utopia 56, Dom'Asile, Secours catholique, and the role of the SPADA, OFII, OFPRA and CNDA.
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Information checked on 2 November 2026.
To apply for asylum in France, the first door is a first reception centre for asylum seekers (SPADA) in your region: it pre-registers your application and gives you an appointment at the préfecture's single desk (guichet unique). Several of these centres are run by organisations, including France terre d'asile and Forum réfugiés. For free support (OFPRA file, interview, appeal to the CNDA, postal address, healthcare), the leading organisations are La Cimade, Forum réfugiés, France terre d'asile, Comede, Dom'Asile in Île-de-France, the French Red Cross, Utopia 56 and Secours catholique.
In an emergency. If you are on the street, call 115 (emergency shelter, free). Immediate danger: 112. Have you received a rejection from OFPRA? According to the CNDA, the appeal must be filed within one month of notification, and legal aid must be requested within 15 days: contact an organisation right away.
The rules changed in 2026. The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum has applied since 12 June 2026, and several decrees followed between June and October. Service-public says its asylum pages are being updated. The deadlines quoted here come from official websites consulted on 2 November 2026: have them confirmed by the organisation supporting you.
This article is part of our series on organisations that help migrants in Europe and the Americas. Compatri presents these organisations to point you in the right direction: it is not linked to any of them and gives no legal advice.
Asylum application: the organisations in one table
| Organisation | What it does | For whom | Where | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France terre d'asile | First reception, postal address, information on the procedure, shelter, unaccompanied minors | Asylum seekers, refugees, unaccompanied minors | 62 cities in 10 regions | Facilities (FR) |
| Forum réfugiés | SPADA, shelter, third party at the OFPRA interview, mental healthcare (Essor centres) | Asylum seekers, refugees, minors | SPADAs in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Marseille, Nice, Toulon | First reception (FR) |
| La Cimade | Asylum advice, support at the OFPRA interview when available, detention | Foreign nationals | Regional delegations and local groups | Getting help from La Cimade (FR) |
| Comede | Social, legal, medical and psychological helplines | Exiles, organisations, professionals | National lines, Île-de-France, PACA, Loire, French Guiana | Phone helplines (FR) |
| Dom'Asile | Postal address and access to social rights | Asylum seekers, recently recognised refugees, rejected applicants | 9 centres in 7 départements of Île-de-France | Centres and sessions (FR) |
| French Red Cross | Tracing relatives, family reunification, emergency aid | Anyone, whatever their status | National network | Family links (FR) |
| Utopia 56 | Street outreach, shelter, support for people sleeping rough | Exiles | Calais, Grande-Synthe, Lille, Paris, Rennes, Toulouse, Tours | Contact (FR) |
| Secours catholique | Help with paperwork, including asylum applications, French | Migrants | 72 delegations | Locations (FR) |
The official steps of an asylum application in France
The steps and public bodies, as described by service-public, OFPRA and the CNDA:
| Step | Body | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. First reception | SPADA (often run by an organisation) | Pre-registration, appointment at the single desk, postal address |
| 2. Registration | Single desk (préfecture and OFII) or pôle territorial France asile | Registration within 3 working days according to service-public, fingerprints, asylum seeker certificate, offer of material reception conditions |
| 3. File | OFPRA | Form to send within 21 days according to service-public; since 1 March 2026, copies and not originals |
| 4. Interview | OFPRA | Individual interview, possibly with a lawyer or an approved organisation |
| 5. Appeal | CNDA | One month after notification of a rejection; legal aid to request within 15 days |
The SPADA and the single desk
Forum réfugiés sums up the role of the SPADA: anyone who wants to apply for asylum must go there to get an appointment at the single desk, which brings together the préfecture and the Office français de l'immigration et de l'intégration (OFII). After that, the SPADA supports applicants who do not yet have accommodation, notably with a postal address. OFPRA now presents step 2 as "the single desk or the pôle territorial France asile".
OFII: reception and allowance
OFII offers the material reception conditions (accommodation and allowance). According to service-public, the asylum seeker allowance (ADA) requires among other things that you have accepted these conditions, are an adult, hold the asylum seeker certificate and have resources below the RSA. It is paid onto a payment card issued by OFII, and can be suspended if you refuse or leave the accommodation offered without good reason. This page is also being updated.
OFPRA and the CNDA
The Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides (OFPRA) examines the application and interviews the applicant. The Cour nationale du droit d'asile (CNDA) rules on appeals against its decisions. According to the CNDA, a legal aid request made within 15 days suspends the one-month deadline; since 12 June 2026, in the accelerated procedure, at the border or against an inadmissibility decision, the appeal itself counts as a legal aid request.
First reception, file and interview: who supports you
France terre d'asile
France terre d'asile guides, advises and supports asylum seekers. It runs 10 first reception centres that provide a postal address, information on the procedure and social and administrative help, and sometimes help put the file together. It also runs reception centres for asylum seekers (CADA), facilities for unaccompanied foreign minors, and street outreach in Paris. The organisation says it is present in 62 cities and 10 regions.
Forum réfugiés
Forum réfugiés runs SPADAs in five départements: Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône and Var. It also runs accommodation centres, provides a third party at the OFPRA interview, and works in detention centres. Its website has a section for unaccompanied minors and a guide to the EU Pact.
La Cimade
La Cimade advises on asylum law in its regional sessions. It can accompany an applicant to their OFPRA interview, mainly to provide a citizen's perspective and depending on availability. The request must be sent at least ten days before the interview, to the address given on its "Être aidé par La Cimade" page. Almost all its sessions close in summer.
Secours catholique
Secours catholique helps with paperwork, including asylum applications and benefit files, and with using the internet. It also offers French lessons. Its CEDRE branch primarily helps exiles who receive no other support.
Postal address: having an address
Without an address, no mail from OFPRA or the CNDA. SPADAs provide an address for applicants without accommodation. In Île-de-France, Dom'Asile provides an address for asylum seekers, recently recognised refugees and rejected applicants who cannot get one elsewhere, in 9 centres across 7 départements. Its volunteers first check whether a public body can register you, and refer you there if so. No document is required to come, but bring your papers.
Shelter and emergencies
115 remains the emergency shelter number. Utopia 56 runs street outreach, shelter and support for exiles sleeping rough, in Calais, Grande-Synthe, Lille, Paris, Rennes, Toulouse and Tours. France terre d'asile shelters vulnerable applicants in Paris, Créteil, Melun, Angers, Saint-Denis and Mayenne while they wait for a CADA place. Details are in our guide to emergency help and shelter for foreign nationals in France.
Health and trauma
Comede runs national phone helplines open to individuals: one social and legal (access to care, health cover), the other medical and psychological. It runs a health centre at Bicêtre hospital. Forum réfugiés runs the Essor health centres, in Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand, which offer free consultations to exiles in psychological distress and to victims of violence and torture. See also our guide to healthcare access for foreign nationals in France.
Finding relatives: the Red Cross
The French Red Cross restoring family links service traces a relative in France or abroad, helps keep in touch and supports family reunification for beneficiaries of international protection. Its services are free and confidential, and tracing is possible whatever your status in France.
Beware of paid intermediaries
Remember
>
- Applying for asylum is free. Pre-registration goes through the SPADA, not through an intermediary.
- A serious organisation never promises asylum: OFPRA and the CNDA decide.
- Your story is yours. Be wary of anyone selling you a ready-made "story".
- A lawyer is registered with a bar: ask which one. Before the CNDA, legal aid exists.
- Since 1 March 2026, OFPRA asks for copies: keep your originals.
Finding your compatriots
The procedure lasts months, and waiting is isolating. Compatriots who have already been through the same SPADA or préfecture know where to find an interpreter, a French class or a helping hand. On Compatri, for free, the community from your country in your city brings them together, in the cities of France. See for example the pages for Congolese from the DRC in France, Guineans in France or Ivorians in France. Our article on mutual help between compatriots explains how to ask for and return that help; the directory of organisations lists diaspora organisations, mostly in Belgium for now.
Once protected, other steps follow: see our guide to the organisations that help with a residence permit in France and our article on the OFII summons and the republican integration contract.
Sources
- Service-public: asylum application (FR)
- Service-public: asylum seeker allowance (ADA) (FR)
- OFPRA: applying for asylum (FR)
- CNDA: standard procedure (FR)
- CNDA: requesting legal aid (FR)
- France terre d'asile: first reception and information (FR)
- France terre d'asile: facilities (FR)
- Forum réfugiés: first reception (FR)
- Forum réfugiés: mental health, Essor centres (FR)
- La Cimade: getting help from La Cimade (FR)
- Comede: phone helplines (FR)
- Dom'Asile: getting a postal address (FR)
- French Red Cross: restoring family links (FR)
- Utopia 56 (FR)
- Secours catholique: migrants (FR)
Frequently asked questions
Where do I go to apply for asylum in France?
To a first reception centre for asylum seekers (SPADA) in your region. It pre-registers the application and gives you an appointment at the single desk (préfecture and OFII) or the pôle territorial France asile. Several SPADAs are run by organisations such as France terre d'asile or Forum réfugiés (Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Marseille, Nice, Toulon).
What is the deadline to appeal to the CNDA?
According to the CNDA, one month from notification of the OFPRA decision; the date the appeal is sent is what counts. A legal aid request made within 15 days suspends this deadline. Since 12 June 2026, in the accelerated procedure, at the border or against an inadmissibility decision, the appeal counts as a legal aid request.
Can someone accompany me to the OFPRA interview?
Yes. According to service-public, the interview can take place with a lawyer or an approved organisation. Forum réfugiés provides a third party at the interview, and La Cimade can accompany an applicant depending on availability, on a request sent at least ten days before the interview.
Where can I get a postal address as an asylum seeker?
The SPADA provides an address for applicants without accommodation. In Île-de-France, Dom'Asile provides one for asylum seekers, recently recognised refugees and rejected applicants who cannot get one elsewhere, in 9 centres. Its volunteers first check whether a public body can do it.
Who pays the asylum seeker allowance?
OFII. According to service-public, the ADA requires among other things that you have accepted the material reception conditions offered by OFII, are an adult, hold the asylum seeker certificate and have resources below the RSA. It is paid onto a payment card. The official page is being updated after the 2026 decrees.