Is there a work requirement for French citizenship applications?

Reader Question: I have heard that there is a requirement for people wanting to gain French citizenship needing to have worked in the country for at least 18 months, but this is soon increasing to five years. Is this true, and if so is there any type of work that is excluded? 

There are two main ways to obtain French citizenship, either through declaration (mostly for spouses and close family members of French citizens) and naturalisation. 

Prior work in France is not a legal requirement for declaration, and is not always required for naturalisation, but is often looked for as evidence of the person’s integration in France. 

Naturalisation usually relates to non-citizens who have been living in France for at least five years. 

A stable income and ‘material interests’ in France

To naturalise, residents must apply showing that they can among other things, speak the French language to a sufficient level and have ‘integrated’ into society. 

The latter is partly assessed during an interview at the local prefecture, and can be shown through engagement with local groups and associations such as sports clubs or charities. 

They must also be able to prove they have a stable income, which can be from various sources including pensions.

However, in March 2025 then-Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau sent a circular to prefectures across the country asking them to toughen their stance on citizenship applications. 

Whereas ‘foreign’ pension income was usually accepted by authorities, it can now be rejected as insufficient, with a ‘French’ income being asked for instead. 

This has led to difficulty for retirees living in France looking to apply for French citizenship, who have been rejected for not integrating their ‘material interests’ in the country. 

He added that the person’s income, not including any benefits they claim, should be at least equivalent to the national minimum wage.

In addition the circular gave a new emphasis on work, which is likely what you are thinking of. 

Mr Retailleau wrote: “The applicant’s autonomy must rest on a proven and lasting integration through work which procures for them stable and sufficient resources. 

“It demonstrates not only the stability of his or her move to France but constitutes equally an essential element of his or her integration in the national community”.

It added that “integration through work should be evaluated over a period of five years”. So, this is likely the five-year period you are thinking of. 

Mr Retailleau wrote that, for employed workers, officials should consider their whole career but also look for them to have held a CDI (unlimited time) contract for at least a year at the time of applying, or otherwise to have worked on CDD (limited time) contracts for an uninterrupted period or 24 months.

These criteria were however, he said, not applicable to people who are disabled or who suffer from recognised long-term health conditions (ALD). 

He added that officials can also, assuming the person is of exemplary character and shows they adhere to the values of the Republic, take particular account of the situation of people such as elite students and professionals holding ‘talent’ visas and who are likely to bring honour to France through their high level participation in sport, the arts, research etc. 

It should be noted that a ministerial circular, while influential, does not in itself set new legal rules.

There is nothing in black and white in law saying you must show five years of work, but for all the reasons mentioned above, this is likely to be looked for unless you can show exemplary integration or desirable skills etc, in other ways.