Summary

Important information

Proposed by

Ofpra

Target audience

AudienceStatutory refugees, Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, Stateless people

Level of FrenchLiteracy, A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2

AgeTous les âges

Price

Free of charge

Where is it?

All over France

Procedures AdministratifFill in the family reference form

Fill in the family reference form

Updated on 3 months ago

What is it?

Since January 2, 2025, Ofpra no longer sends a family reference form (FFR) for newly protected persons. If you have been protected since 2025, you will not receive this form attached to your decision and you do not have to complete it. If you are married, in a civil partnership or divorced, you must complete the simplified form attached in Appendix 1 of your decision. However, if you have a decision dated before January 1, 2025, you must continue to complete the family reference form that was sent to you. You can follow the procedure below.

If you received your refugee status or subsidiary protection before January 2, 2025 , Ofpra will send you a document to complete: the family reference form.

This is a "certificate of honour", which means that you officially declare that the information in the document is correct.

The family reference form allows Ofpra to finalize your civil status (your identity in France).

You must complete it in French and sign it.

If the family reference form is completed correctly, your file will be processed more quickly.

Ofpra sends a family reference sheet per adult. There is no sheet for minors, except in special cases.
It has a personal barcode. Please note that it is therefore impossible to take another person's family reference sheet to fill it out.

If you have received the admission decision from Ofpra in your personal digital space , your family reference sheet is sent at the same time to your digital safe.
If you received your international protection following a decision by the CNDA (National Court of Asylum Law), you will receive the family reference sheet by mail.
If you completed your family reference sheet during your hearing (resettlement program), it will not be deposited in the digital vault.

If you do not send your completed family reference form, Ofpra will not be able to produce your civil status documents. It is therefore important to check that you have received it and sent it to Ofpra.

How to do it?

Ofpra checks whether all the information in your file is consistent between:

the asylum application form
the interview at Ofpra
the possible decision of the CNDA
the family reference sheet
photocopies of your documents (passport, identity documents, civil status documents, etc.)

If you want to modify information after sending the family reference form or explain differences between the different documents, you must send:
- an explanatory letter
- any photocopies of documents which help to explain the inconsistencies.

In France, it is not possible to have abbreviations on identity documents.

You must write the first name in full, for example:
Jr: Junior
MD: Mohammed
MST: Mosammat

We cannot have numbers in the first or last name, or signs that do not exist in the French alphabet.

If information is missing from your file, Ofpra will send you a request for additional information and the file risks being blocked.

To avoid blocking the file, it is NECESSARY to complete everything correctly on each page, especially on marriage and divorce situations.

Page 1: your identity and address in France

Your marital status: Complete all the sections on your identity precisely. Write down the days, months and years for all the dates requested, if you know them.
Address and contact: Indicate your full address to be sure to receive letters from Ofpra. Please note, you must modify your contact details on the Ofpra website if you change your address, telephone number or email (see the section “If your personal situation changes” at the bottom of this sheet).

Page 2: your current family situation

Complete as precisely as possible depending on your situation:

Single: If you are currently single, you can proceed to the next page.
Cohabitation: if you live with a person without being officially married, fill in the “your spouse ” section and if relevant “children resulting from this union”.
Married: if you live with your husband or wife and are officially married, complete part “ a - if you are married ” “ your spouse ” and if relevant “children from this union” .
Divorced: if you were officially married, but you are no longer in a relationship with the person and your divorce has been officially registered, complete parts "a- if you are married" " if you are divorced (e) " your spouse " and if relevant "children from this union".
Widower: if your husband or wife is deceased, complete parts“ a – if you are married ” “c – if you are a widow ” “ your spouse ” and if relevant “children from this union”.

If you were not able to write all the important information on page 2, you can add it on plain paper (on a separate white page) to inform Ofpra, for example the marital status of the children.

- If you are married:
You must clearly write which authority celebrated the marriage and whether it was officially registered in the country of origin (town hall, consulate, etc.). The form of marriage (civil, religious, etc.) does not call into question the right to family reunification.
To read: the Réfugiés.info sheet: “Apply for family reunification ”.

- If you are divorced:
You must clearly write which authority officially pronounced the divorce (judge, court, etc.).

Page 3: your previous union

Complete page 3 using the template on page 2.

If you have had several previous unions (if you have been married several times), copy the page to complete it on plain paper (a separate white page) to add with the family reference sheet in your letter to Ofpra.

Be careful to complete all the information on this page, because this is often where information is missing, and this slows down the processing of the file.
For example, if you said that you were married then separated, you must complete the “ your previous union ” section with all the information requested.

Page 4: date and signature

Don't forget to write the date and sign.

What happens next?

Check that the file is complete, with:

The 4 pages of the family reference sheet
If you have not already done so, the originals of your passport, identity card and birth certificate issued by your country of origin, which you must no longer use.
The additional information that you wish to communicate to Ofpra on plain paper.

You can then send your complete file by post to:

OFFICE FRANÇAIS DE PROTECTION DES REFUGIES ET APATRIDES

201, RUE CARNOT

94136 FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS CEDEX

It is advisable to send your mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

You must inform the Ofpra immediately:

if you move: address to be modified on the website

> To read: the Réfugiés.info sheet “Inform the OFPRA of a change of contact details” ”.

if your family situation has changed (marriage, separation, death, etc.): send the supporting documents by post.

Did you find this sheet useful?

Thank the contributors who wrote and translated it for you!

Fill in the family reference form

1Pay attention to the consistency of the information in your file

2Thoroughly complete all the pages of the family reference sheet