One of the things you need to do when applying for citizenship is prove that you have not been convicted of a crime by providing your extrait de casier judiciaire (criminal records check).

Depending on your criteria for citizenship, you may need to demonstrate a clean record going back 10 years – both in France and in any other countries you have lived in during that period.

Getting your French casier judiciaire is fairly straightforward – you can apply online, the document is sent by email within a few days and the service is free. Other countries have different systems which may be more complicated, time-consuming and expensive.

Citizenship is highly likely to be refused to anyone who has:

• Conviction(s) for acts against the fundamental interests of the nation, or conviction for serious and / or violent offences;
• Conviction(s) for crimes against the public administration (crimes committed by persons holding a public office);
• Conviction(s) for acts of insubordination in relation to performance of national service;
• Engaged for the benefit of a foreign state, in acts incompatible with the quality of French national and commission of acts that are prejudicial to the interests of France.

Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis but it’s unlikely that citizenship would be refused due to a previous conviction for less serious crimes including driving offences.

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But what about once you have your French citizenship?

Now we know readers of The Local are fine, upstanding, law-abiding citizens but let’s say that you do find yourself in front of a French court after becoming French.

Well, chances are you’re not about to lose citizenship for most types of criminal convictions.

But not all. There are several circumstances in which people may be stripped of French nationality. 

• If you are convicted of a crime or an offence constituting undermining the fundamental interests of France;
• If you are convicted of a crime or an offence constituting an act of terrorism;
• If, while in public office, you are convicted of a crime or an offence constituting interference with public administration. For example, infringement of individual freedom, discrimination;
• If you have not complied with the obligations arising from national service;
• If you have acted for the benefit of a foreign state, incompatible with being French.

It is also possible for a person’s nationality revoked if the following two conditions are applicable:

• If you are are active in a foreign army, public service or international organisation of which France is not a member, and;
• You refuse to stop this activity despite a government order.

Being convicted of an ‘ordinary’ crime such as burglary or assault – or driving offences – would not result in your losing citizenship.

Does it matter when you became French?

You might have heard talk of the ‘two-year rule’ – this concept is often misunderstood, but in fact just means that your French citizenship can be annulled if you are found to have lied on the application or if the official in your case has made a mistake and you are not eligible for French nationality. In both cases, this can only happen within two years of your being granted citizenship.

Find a full explanation of the two-year rule HERE.

Once the two years have passed your citizenship cannot be annulled, but you can be stripped of citizenship in the circumstances described above.

There is a timeline of sorts here though.

Citizenship can only be stripped if the crime as outlined above was committed either before acquiring French nationality or within 10 years of acquiring French nationality.

This timeline is extended to 15 years in the event of an attack on the fundamental interests of the Nation or an act of terrorism.

Crucially, no person can be left stateless under French law – this means that only those who have dual nationality can be stripped of French citizenship. Therefore people whose home country does not allow dual nationality and who gave up their original nationality to become French cannot lose their French citizenship.

Anyone who is French by birth cannot lose their French nationality.