We have recently devoted significant coverage to the process of seeking French citizenship, as some people have found it increasingly difficult. However, for those who love France and have lived here for several years, it can still be a rewarding option.
Gaining French citizenship, with limited exceptions, is never guaranteed. It is not, legal rulings have stated, a ‘right’ but rather a ‘favour’ of the state.
Some non-negotiable criteria must be met – for example, candidates for naturalisation must in most cases have lived in France for five years. Assuming you meet these, even if your situation may include difficult elements, it could well be worth a shot.
That is because officials at the prefecture and interior ministry will consider your overall situation, and exceptions can be made.
Decisions depend on a host of factors such as how well integrated you are. Do you belong to local clubs? Do you volunteer, have French friends, appreciate French culture?
With regard to the ‘centre of your material interests’ issue – which has seen some people with income from abroad face rejection – you may be able to try to improve your chances by putting money into French investments, letting a French property or starting a part-time job.
Routes to citizenship
There are two main routes to citizenship: by declaration or ‘naturalisation by decree’.
‘Declaration’ is for those with close French family links, and their applications are fast-tracked and subject to fewer conditions (if applying through marriage these include passing a French test and having been married for four years).
The simplest way is not one you can choose: if you were born in France to foreign parents you obtain it automatically by le droit du sol at age 18.
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Naturalisation may be requested by adults who have lived in France for at least five years as their main home – providing they have abided by the law and supported themselves. Claiming benefits is not a bar, but you should not have spent long periods living mostly from this.
Applications from those who are still students are often rejected or postponed due to the ‘supporting yourself’ criterion.
To obtain citizenship by naturalisation requires patience and stamina, as a lot of information and supporting documents are required, and time between submission and obtaining a decision can vary greatly, from about a year-and-a-half to five years. Paris is reportedly among the quicker areas.
Regarding France being your home, officials will look for evidence of this, including three years of income tax statements and a bordereau de situation fiscale (a tax summary, which you can request by private message at impots.gouv.fr).
Your background
How your income is checked depends on your situation: employees, for example, must provide their work contract, last three payslips and payslips for November and December of the previous three years.
Some documents are easier to obtain (eg. utility bills) than others, such as a birth certificate translated by a sworn translator (and apostilled by the State Department if you are American). For tax or utilities bills, in most cases it will be quickest to find these in your online accounts.
Getting that French passport can be a complex processHiram Rios/Shutterstock
The good news is that it is no longer systematically necessary to have your parents’ birth certificates, as long as their names feature clearly and legibly on your own.
Each traducteur assermenté (sworn translator) is on a list of experts approved by their local appeal court and you can find up-to-date lists. Open the annuaire des experts, do a Ctrl+F search for trad and then scroll down. You do not have to use a local one – everything is done by email and post.
Sign in using FranceConnect or your residency card number (a helpline is available on 0806 001 620).
There is a €55 fee, payable via electronic timbre fiscale, which you can buy on completing the form – a bargain compared to the £1,735 for UK citizenship or $710 for US ($380 for those on modest incomes). However, there have been proposals to increase the fee substantially.
The more time-consuming parts of the form include giving dates and addresses of all previous jobs and places you have lived. If it is not possible to be precise with all of them, give what details you have.
Language skills
Applicants must also – unless unable to due to disability – obtain a certificate at European level B2 (B1 if applying prior to January 1, 2026) issued after a recognised French test such as TCF, TEF or Delf.
You must arrange to take one at a local language school and pay a fee of about €150.
Essentially, the government wants French people to be able to read and communicate in French for a broad range of common situations.
Native-speaker perfection is not expected and you will not be faced with highly technical or academic texts but rather kinds that you might come across in daily life. There are also audio recordings similar to what you may hear on French TV or radio.
The tests consist of multiple choice questions assessing listening and reading comprehension, and writing short passages.
There is also an oral element, involving role play and a discussion of topics (for example, protecting the environment or vegetarianism). It may be an unfamiliar experience if school days were long ago but should not be too stressful if you use French regularly.
From 2026, a multiple-choice cultural and civic knowledge test is also set to be required, also to be taken in private centres.
On applying for citizenship, if you wish, you can also request to make your first or last name sound more French, such as turning Brown into Brun or Baker into Boulanger.
Once the application is lodged, you should receive updates in your Anef account.
Interview stage
The last stage is to be called for a prefecture interview, which is done if your application is in good order to check your ‘assimilation into the community’. A booklet called le Livret du Citoyen can help you prepare.
Reports of interviews vary and there is no fixed format, but it is not an ‘interrogation’ – rather a discussion to find out more about your life in France.
You will be informed by email if your dossier has been passed up to the ministry for final approval.
Should you obtain le précieux sésame (knowing phrases like this is a good sign of being ‘assimilated’!) you will find out by seeing your name in a decree in Le Journal Officiel online. You will usually also be notified by email.
It is a great feeling to see your name and to know it was worth all the admin and waiting.
From the day of publication you are French, but most people are also invited to a citizenship ceremony in the following six months, often held at a prestigious public building.
Expect to hear speeches from local officials and to see a short film about your new rights and responsibilities and to sing la Marseillaise.
At my ceremony the words were put up on a screen and along with the familiar first verse I was interested to see that they added rarely-sung lines about mercy, unity, how “everything is possible” – and how the French will stop singing this “fearsome refrain” when we have no more enemies!
It felt very welcoming to receive a booklet from the smiling sous-préfète and to shake her hand and those of a line-up of councillors and representatives of the Légion d’honneur and ordre national du Mérite.
There was also a chance, but not obligation, to say a few words into a microphone (I mentioned my pride in Nice’s long friendship with the British and at having now become French).
Once you are French, there remain the pleasant duties of ordering a French birth certificate, carte nationale d’identité and passport, and registering to vote – all of which I found quick and simple to do.
