Welcome

What is the Gisti?

Welcome to the GISTI (Groupe d'information et de soutien des immigrés), the Group providing information and support to Immigrants, an independent non-profit organisation, which through its knowledge of immigration law—French, European, and in some respects international—and its experience of immigration practices, defends foreigners, offers training and publications and participates in the debate on migration policies.

The GISTI?

Whether you visit the site out of curiosity or for a specific purpose, you will find in "The GISTI?" a kind of self portrait: learn about its areas of expertise, its activities, its history, how to contact the organisation depending on what you are looking for, how to obtain legal assistance, order or subscribe to publications, sign up for training sessions, help the organisation financially or through volunteer work.

Publications

To learn more about all the documents published by the GISTI, whether practical aids or publications more legal in concept, select "Publications" where you will find a presentation of all the works published, including whether or not they are currently available, along with order and subscription forms.

• Immigration practice – for those who are primarily interested in publications providing a practical approach and wish to avoid too legal an approach, we recommend the collection of "Guides" and the "Practical Notes", as well as the information under the heading "Pratique" where they will find model letters (sample appeals and letters to the authorities).
  
  
• Immigration law – those who are looking for information of a more legal nature can consult "Le Droit", where they will find in particular the contents of publications traditionally called at the GISTI "brochures", the collection of "Cahiers Juridiques" and of "Notes Juridiques". They will also find the references of legislation and regulations (statutes, decrees, orders, circulars).
  
  
• "Plein Droit" – is the GISTI's quarterly journal. It is designed to address a wide audience and contains analysis and discussion of French and European migration policies, social issues linked to the presence of foreigners, and exposes instances of violation of their rights and liberties. "Plein Droit" also contains a section on recent case law. At the site, you can access the table of contents of the journal, order available back issues, subscribe and consult a selection of articles. N.B. an index allows you to navigate in the contents of the journal using key words.

Ideas

If you are interested in seeing how the GISTI has reacted to past or current events or news items—whether it addressed the issues on its own (press release or communiqué) or in a collective statement (joint communiqué signed by several organisations)—, you should go to the heading "Ideas" where you will also find the various petitions supported by the organisation. You can read the "Open Letter to Lionel Jospin" of July 10, 1997, which the GISTI, along with five partners, sent to the Prime Minister. This document is of interest as it sets forth the essential tenets of the GISTI's position on migration policy.

You will also find a selection of newspaper articles, some of them only with references, others fully accessible.

Training sessions

Ever since it has been in existence, the GISTI has organised training sessions for those who for professional reasons or by personal conviction (the two are not incompatible) want to learn more about the legislation applicable to foreigners. See the heading "Formations" for the subjects and dates of sessions, information on signing up, and on how to request a speaker from the GISTI.

Helping the GISTI?

The GISTI is a small organisation with limited means, both as far as staff is concerned and financially. The difficult position in which a growing number of foreigners find themselves, weighs heavily on the organisation in a number of ways: through the workload of volunteers and staff due to the large number of questions relating to individual situations, the many requests for speakers and training sessions, the necessity to publish more and more documents adapted to the needs of different categories of readers, who do not always have the means to pay.

This means the GISTI is fragile and needs your help, both to guarantee its survival and its independence. If you want to help the organisation survive and remain independent, click on "Aider le GISTI".

Useful Addresses

Since the GISTI cannot be everything to everybody, you may find what you want by consulting directly the heading "Adresses Utiles" if you are mainly looking for organisations which are close or similar to the GISTI, which offer legal assistance or websites with contents complementary to what you can find at the GISTI.