Migrants in Calais – OFII mobilised
French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII) teams are mobilised in Calais alongside State services.
The OFII helps, accompanies and provides information to the migrants upon existing schemes: indicates accommodation possibilities, informs on the procedures for asylum application, on possibilities for help to voluntary return, to social and economic reintegration in the countries of origin.
Since 2016, OFII teams have been carrying out considerable and essential outreach work to deal with a situation that requires the total mobilisation of agents in the field. In 2016, nearly 10,000 migrants were living in Calais in an unsanitary makeshift camp. To respond to this emergency health situation, the OFII mobilised all of its resources and, in particular, participated in organising the transfer of the migrants towards accommodations.
It was at that time that the OFII implemented its branch in Calais.
The work of the OFII over the last five years has consisted of :
– The implementation of a single-desk contact point for asylum seekers (GUDA), consisting of 4 agents, that has registered 4,200 asylum applications over 10 months;
– Massive orientations towards the National Reception Scheme (DNA) for accommodation in the whole country and towards Reception and Orientation Centres (CAO), which were also implemented specifically to meet the accommodation needs of migrants;
– An increase of 1,000 % in 2016 in treatments of applications for voluntary return;
– a marauding team responsible for contacting people in an irregular situation to offer them assisted return.
The OFII is still pursuing its local action today
The OFII scheme was presented by Larbi Belmir, territorial director of the OFII in Lille, on 1st December 2021, to Marlène Schiappa, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior in charge of Citizenship, during her visit on the state of the schemes implemented by the State.
The Minister Delegate warmly welcomed the mobilisation of OFII teams, particularly its marauding activities on the coastline and the work of its mobile teams in the “SAS” to shelter migrants and the Centres for Reception and Assessment of the Situation (CAES) present in the region for a total of 1,000 places.
The OFII is more committed than ever in Calais to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.
Find all information on the OFII schemes :