Your child is French and you want to join him or her in France, but the French consulate in Dakar refused your visa? There are two very different situations, and the right appeal depends on yours.
Two situations to distinguish
- You are the dependent parent of an adult French national (“ascendant à charge”): once in France, the law provides for a ten-year resident card for the dependent parent of a French national and of his or her spouse (CESEDA, article L423-11). The consulate mainly checks that you are genuinely dependent;
- You are the father or mother of a French minor child living in France: your right of residence depends on your effective contribution to the child’s maintenance and upbringing (CESEDA, article L423-7).
The most frequent grounds for refusal
- “You are not dependent”: the consulate considers that you have sufficient resources in Senegal, or that your child’s support is not regular;
- Parent-child relationship disputed: birth certificate considered irregular, supplementary judgment called into question;
- No proof of contribution to the maintenance of the French minor child;
- Risk of misuse of the visa.
Evidence that makes the difference
- Regular, long-standing money transfers from your child to you;
- Proof of your resources (or lack of them) in Senegal;
- Regular civil status records establishing the parent-child relationship;
- For a minor child: proof that you take part in his or her maintenance and upbringing.
How to challenge the refusal
- Appeal to the CRRV (Commission de recours contre les décisions de refus de visa) within 30 days of notification of the refusal. This appeal is mandatory before any court action.
- Action before the Administrative Court of Nantes if the CRRV rejects the appeal or does not reply. An urgent application (référé) is possible in case of urgency.
Decisions obtained by our correspondent law firm
Some cases won by FB AVOCAT, our correspondent law firm in France, in comparable situations (case reports in French):
- Annulation d’un refus de visa court séjour d’un parent d’enfant français (Guinée)
- Annulation d’un refus de visa pour enfant de Français
- Annulation de deux refus de visa pour des parents venus au mariage de leur fille française
How we help
Legal Field Avocats in Dakar and FB AVOCAT, our correspondent law firm in France, review the refusal, gather the evidence of dependency or of your contribution, draft the CRRV appeal and represent you before the Administrative Court of Nantes.
Parent visa refused? Act within 30 days. Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.
Sources: CESEDA, articles L423-7, L423-11 and D312-3 to R312-6. Accessed on 4 November 2026.
LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com
Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr