Removal order (OQTF) in detention: the 48-hour appeal before the administrative court (2026)
Accelerated procedure, single judge
Administrative court of Bordeaux
When a person is placed in immigration detention, two procedures open before two different judges. One concerns the deprivation of liberty, the other the removal. This page deals with the second appeal: the one directed against the order to leave French territory (OQTF) itself, before the administrative court, within forty-eight hours. No outcome can be guaranteed.
Two judges, two procedures
The judge of the judicial court — the liberty and custody judge (JLD) — reviews the deprivation of liberty: the lawfulness of the arrest, the notification of rights, the necessity and proportionality of detention, the steps taken by the administration. He does not rule on the OQTF, on the country of return, or on the ban on returning.
The administrative court of Bordeaux rules on the removal measure. It is before that court that the OQTF, the refusal of a period for voluntary departure, the decision setting the country of return, the ban on returning and, where applicable, house arrest are challenged.
The two procedures run in parallel, with different time limits. Release ordered by the judicial judge does not make the OQTF disappear; annulment by the administrative court deprives detention of its legal basis.
Appeal against the OQTF
48 hours
From notification, before the administrative court of Bordeaux — 5 days for a rejected asylum seeker in detention, 7 days for a Dublin transfer decision
Challenging the placement
96 hours to apply to the judge of the judicial court — see the procedure.
The 48-hour time limit: how it is counted
CESEDA, Articles L. 614-2, L. 921-2 and R. 921-2-1
An appeal against an OQTF notified to a person placed in detention must be filed within forty-eight hours of the notification of the decision. Article L. 614-2 of the CESEDA refers to the procedure of Article L. 921-2, the time limit being set by Article R. 921-2-1, created by Decree no. 2026-456 of 6 June 2026 which came into force on 8 June 2026. The court rules within ninety-six hours, under an accelerated procedure.
The same article provides for two derogations: five days where the person placed in detention has had an asylum claim rejected, seven days where the decision notified in detention is a transfer decision to another European State (Dublin procedure). A foreign national under house arrest or in prison has seven days (Article L. 921-1); if he is placed in detention before that period expires, it is interrupted and the forty-eight-hour time limit applies (Article R. 921-1).
Three points must be checked.
- — The starting point is the notification, not the date of the order. The record of notification, with its date and time, is what starts the time running: it is the first document to send.
- — Applying for legal aid does not interrupt that time limit. The appeal must be filed within forty-eight hours, the legal aid application being made in parallel.
- — The time is counted in hours. It runs from hour to hour from the time recorded on the notification, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays included. Depending on the decisions notified and on the person's situation, several time limits coexist in immigration law. Our appeal deadline calculator gives a benchmark; it does not replace a lawyer's check on the document itself.
This forty-eight-hour limit overlaps with the ninety-six hours open before the judicial judge and, often, with the first extension hearing. Both procedures are prepared together, from the same documents.
What is challenged, and what must be challenged together
Several decisions notified on the same day
A notification in detention rarely contains a single decision. Several decisions are taken on the same day and each of them can be challenged; those that are not become final.
- — The order to leave French territory itself, with or without a period for voluntary departure.
- — The refusal of a period for voluntary departure, where one is opposed: it is a separate decision, with its own conditions.
- — The decision setting the country of return, which calls for its own grounds, in particular where risks are relied on.
- — The ban on returning to French territory (IRTF), its duration and the related alert.
- — House arrest where it has been ordered, and its terms.
The detention order itself is not challenged before the administrative court: it falls to the judicial judge, within ninety-six hours (see immigration detention).
The grounds that count before the court
The most argued grounds
An appeal brought within forty-eight hours means choosing the grounds and documenting them.
Private and family life
Length of presence in France, cohabitation, marriage or partnership, family ties in France compared with those kept in the country of origin, integration through work. That ground is worth only what the documents produced are worth.
Children
Children born in France, enrolled at school, effective contribution to their maintenance and education, genuine exercise of parental authority. The best interests of the child are a ground in their own right, distinct from private and family life.
State of health
An illness requiring care the absence of which would have exceptionally serious consequences, and the lack of treatment actually accessible in the country of return. That ground requires medical evidence.
Error of fact and failure to examine
An order that ignores a pending residence permit application, a receipt, a declared child, a known address or a passport handed over reveals a purely formal examination. The error is shown document against document.
Risks in the country of return
Directed against the decision setting the country of return, that ground requires personal and detailed material. It is coordinated with an asylum claim, which in detention has its own time limits and an accelerated examination.
The strength of those grounds depends on the documents produced. No outcome can be guaranteed.
How the hearing takes place
Accelerated procedure
The appeal is decided by a single judge, without submissions from the public rapporteur. The hearing is held shortly after the application is filed and judgment is given within ninety-six hours (Article L. 921-2 of the CESEDA).
The detained person is summoned; he may be heard at the court or by audiovisual means, assisted by a lawyer, chosen or court-appointed, and by an interpreter if necessary.
The judgment may be the subject of an appeal before the administrative court of appeal. That appeal has no suspensive effect: the removal measure remains enforceable while it is being examined. First instance is therefore decisive.
What an annulment changes — and what it does not
Effects of an annulment and of release
If the administrative court annuls the OQTF, detention loses its legal basis: there is no longer any removal measure to carry out. Depending on the terms of the judgment, the administration may be required to re-examine the situation, and a temporary residence authorisation may be issued while that re-examination takes place.
If the judicial judge orders release without the OQTF being annulled, the person leaves the centre — after the ten hours during which he remains at the disposal of the court under Article L. 743-19 of the CESEDA — but the OQTF remains enforceable. It may justify a new placement in detention, house arrest, a check. Leaving the centre is not the same as being regularised.
Both procedures are therefore conducted in parallel where the time limits allow. See also our pages on extensions of detention and on the appeal against a detention order.
Legal aid
Means-tested, applied for in parallel with the appeal
An appeal against an OQTF notified in detention may be conducted under legal aid, subject to means. The application is filed with the legal aid office and may, in detention, be made at the hearing. A detained person may also ask for a lawyer to be appointed by the court.
Applying for legal aid does not interrupt the forty-eight-hour time limit: the appeal must be filed within that time, the legal aid application being dealt with in parallel. And legal aid does not remove the need to build the file: gathering the documents remains the family's task.
Cabinet G. Lassort accepts legal aid for this type of case. Where legal aid is partial, a supplementary fee agreement is signed: the amount is stated and accepted before any engagement.
What the family must gather from day one
The documents to send
The decisions and their notification
OQTF, refusal of a departure period, country of return, ban on returning, detention order, and the record of notification with its date and time.
Identity and history
Passport, birth certificate, former permits and receipts, proof of presence in France year by year, earlier decisions of the prefecture.
Family life
Family record book, children's birth certificates, school certificates, proof of cohabitation and of contribution to their maintenance.
Work, address, health
Employment contract or job offer, payslips, tenancy agreement or accommodation statement, medical certificates and prescriptions.
These documents should be gathered as soon as the placement occurs, without waiting for the summons: this is practical advice, not a legal deadline. See the page for families.
Fees
A one-page quote by e-mail or text message within the hour
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Appeal against the OQTF before the administrative court | Legal aid, where the conditions are met; a supplementary agreement applies where legal aid is partial |
| First hearing before the judge (placement and first extension) | 600 € incl. VAT (500 € excl. VAT) |
| Each further extension hearing, client already defended | 360 € incl. VAT (300 € excl. VAT) |
| Appeal before the First President, client already defended | 300 € incl. VAT (250 € excl. VAT) |
| Prepaid "detention defence" package | 840 € incl. VAT (700 € excl. VAT) (first hearing and any appeal) |
Same price at weekends and on public holidays. The family pays remotely, by payment link or bank transfer, before the hearing.
Legal references
- CESEDA, Article L. 614-2 — appeal against an OQTF notified to a person placed in detention: reference to the procedure of Article L. 921-2, the court ruling within ninety-six hours.
- CESEDA, Article R. 921-2-1 — forty-eight-hour time limit from notification; five days for a rejected asylum seeker in detention, seven days for a transfer decision.
- CESEDA, Article L. 921-1 — seven-day time limit and judgment within fifteen days for a person under house arrest or in prison.
- CESEDA, Article L. 741-10 — challenge to the detention order before the judge of the judicial court.
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-13 — house arrest ordered by the judge, handing over of the original passport.
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-19 — the person remains at the disposal of the court for ten hours after a decision ordering release.
- CESEDA, Article L. 742-4 — further extensions of detention of thirty days.
- CESEDA, Title IV — immigration detention (Articles L. 740-1 to L. 744-17) — full regime of detention.
- Decree no. 2026-456 of 6 June 2026 — sets, in Article R. 921-2-1 of the CESEDA, the time limit applicable in detention; in force since 8 June 2026.
Frequently asked questions about appealing an OQTF in detention
The questions we are asked most often
What is the time limit to challenge an OQTF notified in detention?
Forty-eight hours from the notification of the decision, before the administrative court of Bordeaux (CESEDA, Articles L. 614-2, L. 921-2 and R. 921-2-1, Decree no. 2026-456 of 6 June 2026). The time is counted in hours, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays included. It is five days for a person in detention whose asylum claim has been rejected and seven days for a Dublin transfer decision. The starting point is the time shown on the record of notification, not the date of the order.
Does applying for legal aid extend that time limit?
No. Applying for legal aid does not interrupt the forty-eight-hour time limit. The appeal must be filed within that time, the legal aid application being made in parallel.
Can the liberty and custody judge annul the OQTF?
No. The judge of the judicial court rules only on the deprivation of liberty: the lawfulness of the procedure, the necessity and proportionality of detention, the steps taken by the administration. The OQTF, the country of return and the ban on returning fall to the administrative court alone.
What must be challenged at the same time as the OQTF?
All the decisions notified on the same day: the refusal of a period for voluntary departure, the decision setting the country of return, the ban on returning to French territory and, where applicable, house arrest. Those that are not challenged become final.
Which grounds are the most useful?
Private and family life, the best interests of the children, the length of presence in France, the state of health, error of fact and the failure genuinely to examine the situation, and the risks faced in the country of return. Their strength depends entirely on the documents produced. No outcome can be guaranteed.
How does the hearing before the administrative court take place?
Under an accelerated procedure: a single judge, a hearing listed shortly after the application is filed and a judgment given within ninety-six hours (Article L. 921-2 of the CESEDA). The detained person is assisted by a lawyer and, if necessary, by an interpreter.
If the OQTF is annulled, does detention come to an end?
Annulment of the OQTF deprives detention of its legal basis: there is no longer any removal measure to carry out. Conversely, release ordered by the judicial judge does not make the OQTF disappear; it remains enforceable and may justify a new placement. Leaving the centre is not the same as being regularised.
Can the judgment of the administrative court be appealed?
Yes, before the administrative court of appeal. That appeal has no suspensive effect: the removal measure remains enforceable while it is being examined. That is why first instance is decisive and why the file must be complete as soon as the application is filed.
Appeal against an OQTF notified in detention
The forty-eight-hour time limit runs from the notification of the decision.