When applying for French citizenship there are two paths – par décret (by decree) or par déclaration (by declaration), and which one you follow depends on your personal circumstances.

Décret

Most people applying par décret will be applying through residency – once you have lived in France for five years (or two years in certain circumstances) you can apply to become French. In order to do this you will need to gather a massive file of paperwork and go through a lengthy application process which includes an interview grilling you on all aspects of life in France.

In 2021, of the 130,400 people who became French, 58 percent of them applied par décret.

As a general rule, applying by décret is usually a tougher and longer process (although processing times vary on a local level) and – crucially – the final decision is in the hands of the local préfecture. Your application can be rejected and plenty are; the most common reasons are lack of integration. This might be due to poor language skills or lack of knowledge about France and its values; not having a stable income in France or not having a ‘stable and regular presence’ in the country – this most often applies to people who have a spouse or minor children living in another country.

Déclaration

The second route is through family connections – in 2021, 40 percent of successful applications were through this route. The most common was parents applying on behalf of their children who have been born in France at 25 percent, while 13 percent of successful applications were through marriage.

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Applying par déclaration is generally easier (although everything is relative) and the crucial point is that citizenship through this path is a ‘right’.

However, that doesn’t mean that it is just handed out automatically – there are a number of conditions that you must fulfil, and if you either don’t fit the criteria or do not provide sufficient proof that you fit the criteria you can and will be rejected.

Choose

It’s not unusual for people to fit both criteria – for example you’re married to a French person and you have also lived in France for more than five years.

In this case, it’s your choice how you apply – the marriage route is generally thought of as a quicker and simpler process, but set against that if your spouse divorces you or dies while you are still going through the process then your application may be no longer valid.

If you get divorced within a year of getting French citizenship then it’s also possible (although rare) for your citizenship to be annulled.

Marriage conditions

Four years – you need to have been married for four years to a French national. So if you have only just got married then you will need to wait. Likewise if you have been married for a long time but your spouse has recently become French, then you will need to wait four years from the date of their naturalisation.

Living in France – unlike the décret option, you do not need to be living in France to apply for citizenship through this route. However, where you live does make a difference – if you can show proof of residence in France for at least three years, you can apply after four years of marriage.

However, if you have not lived in France for at least three years, the qualifying period may be raised to five years of marriage, unless your spouse was inscribed on the Registre des Français établis hors de France (list of French people living overseas) during your time out of France.

Live together – you must, however, be living with your French spouse. You will need to demonstrate a ‘practical and emotional communal life’ – this is basically to weed out fake marriages for passport purposes. You will need to demonstrate that you know some basic things about your spouse (birthdays, childhood, favourite films etc) and if you’re in France you may also get a home visit by the local gendarmes to check that you really do live together as a couple.

Speak French – you must also speak French to a reasonable level. The level currently required is B1 on the international CERL/DELF scale which is described as ‘intermediate’. It’s possible that this may change in the future.

You can test yourself against the scale HERE.

What is needed to apply 

It’s not enough merely fulfilling these criteria, you also need to provide the appropriate evidence, in the format requested. 

So for example you will need to supply proof of ID and address plus birth certificates for yourself and your spouse, and your marriage certificate – if you were married outside France you will require a re-issued certificate that is less than three months old, and you will also need to get any certificates that are not in French translated. The translations must be done by a certified translator.

You will also need a certificate showing that your French is at least B1 level, this must be from an approved course or diploma, unless you studied at a French university. There is an exemption that is possible on health grounds, although the age-related exemption has now been scrapped.

Please note that this is not a complete list of documents – you can obtain a personalised list here.

How to apply 

One important thing for people applying by marriage to note is that the new online citizenship portal can at present only be used by people applying par déclaration.

For the moment, those applying through marriage apply via their local préfecture, or through the French consulate if they live outside France. It seems likely that applications may move to the online portal in the future, but at the time of writing people applying through marriage cannot use it.

Once you have put together your dossier of documents and submitted the application, the next stage is an in-person interview – in French – where you will be tested on your knowledge of France and French values. People applying through marriage often report a few ‘Mr and Mrs’ style questions, testing how well you know your spouse (in order to check that this a real marriage).

The experience of the interview varies quite widely – some people get a few cursory questions, others get a proper grilling. It’s not just a formality either – of the people whose applications through marriage are rejected, a significant percentage are for ‘insufficient assimilation’, which can be either poor language skills or insufficient knowledge of France.

If you’re living in France you may also get the local gendarmes paying you a visit, again to check that you are truly cohabiting. Not everyone gets this, and it seems to be more common in rural areas, but it’s a distinct possibility.

If you satisfy all of the above criteria then congratulations, you become French.

The entire process is quite a lengthy one – the general rule is to allow around 18 months for your application, although there are wide regional variations and applications done through French consulates are usually slightly quicker.

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So in short, citizenship through marriage is a right if – and this is quite a big if – you meet all the criteria and provide the proof required.