Obtaining French nationality by naturalisation

The process to apply for French nationality is now done online, unless you are a resident of the following areas: Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Wallis et Futuna, Polynésie française or Nouvelle-Calédonie.

The application must be submitted via the ANEF – Administration Etrangers en France Website. You can create an account with your “numéro étranger”, that you’ll find on your Titre de séjour.

Step 1

The first part of the application consists of giving all your personal and professional information. Once you have filled the first part in and go to the next step, you won’t be able to go back. So make sure it is accurate and no mistakes were made.

Step 2

The second part of the application consists in uploading all your supporting documents. Here’s the common list, please note other documents can be required depending on your personal situation.

• Copy of your ID (passport)
• Copy of your current Titre de séjour
• Copy of your birth certificate
•  Proof of address (recent utility bill)
• Copy of your tax returns and proof of your income
• Proof you have the B1 level in French (this can be a French degree if you have one or proof you passed a TCF or TEF test less than 2 years ago).
• Proof of your marital status
• Birth certificates of your children if you have any
• Background check from your country of origin and any country you’ve lived in for over 6 months in the past 10 years
• A “Tax stamp”, Timbre fiscal, €55.

Please note that when uploading copies of your document, you will be asked to show the originals at the interview, so keep them safely.

All documents that aren’t written in French must be translated by a certified translator. Some may need legalised or apostilled depending on the country of issuance.
At this point, when you submit your application, you will receive a “récépissé” once it’s been checked and is considered complete. If not, the government services will get back to you asking for more information.

Step 3

If your situation changes once your application is submitted (address change, divorce, professional situation, etc.) then you must update your situation. You can upload the information via your online ANEF account.

Step 4

You will be called in for an interview. During this interview, the officer will check all the original documents, that you must bring with you.
The interview also aims to check the reasons you want to become French, if you have assimilated to French society and if you have knowledge of French history, culture and society). To prepare this interview, it is highly recommended you go over the official booklet : Livret citoyen 2022.

Step 5

You will receive an email to indicate you have been naturalized. Attached to the email will be a “décret de naturalisation”. You can also download this here.
If your application was rejected, you’ll receive a notification on your ANEF online account.

Step 6

Once you have French nationality, you can apply for your French Passport and National ID card. You can do this via the France Titre – ANTS website and your local « mairie », Mayor’s office .

The process is lengthy. I can only share my personal experience concerning this. I applied in August 2022. In October 2023, the agent in charge of my application called me asking for extra documents. Once I provided those, he set an interview for February 2024. After the interview, I had no news until I received an email beginning of August 2024, indicating I had obtained French nationality on the 27th of July 2024.

It is now time to gather the information and documents needed and start your French nationality application !