France’s rules on citizenship have undergone several big changes in the last year – so we held a live Q&A to answer the key questions from members of The Local. Here’s a roundup of the main topics.
From new laws on language tests, written civics exams and and the ‘contract of republican values’ to changes on income requirements, the rules on becoming French have undergone some major changes in the last year.
To make things more complicated, some of these changes – new language level requirements, written civics tests – are the result of a new law, which came into effect on January 1st 2026.
However changes to the required amount of French income were introduced by ministerial memo in May 2025, and are being applied retrospectively.
Find all the latest HERE
It’s not surprising that people are confused, so we offered members of The Local a live Q&A session where we answered their queries.
Here’s a look at the main topics;
Income requirements
A memo sent by the former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau requires préfecture staff to more strictly apply the criteria on income for applications based on residency (applications based on marriage or family ties have different rules).
Crucially, préfecture staff are no longer allowed to use their discretion when it comes to applications by people who have retired to France – more details here.
Q: My income is mostly from outside France and is mostly pension income. I have a tiny French pension, not enough to pay an electricity bill. My other pensions do provide a reasonable income. Is there any point in applying for French nationality now?
A: Unfortunately, I think that under the current regime there probably isn’t any point applying, because we know of many applications of this type which have been turned down.
We do get asked this question a lot, so we go into a bit more detail here. It’s possible things may change, of course, and naturally we will update our website if that happens
Q: As a US-UK passport holder, resident in France for 50 years (yes 50) and now receiving a pension in Euros from the United Nations, do I have any chance of succeeding in obtaining French nationality? It’s not a French pension!
A: Essentially the requirement is for applicants to have the majority of their income from ‘French sources’, so if your UN pension doesn’t count as a French pension then you don’t have the majority of your income from a French source – so unfortunately a citizenship application would be unlikely to succeed under the new rules.
I realise that seems very unfair to such a long-term French resident as yourself. More info on the income requirements here
Q: Do I have any advantage, or chance, in getting French nationality as an American married to an Italian wife, and possessing a 5-year Carte de Séjour de membre de famille d’un citoyen de l’Union /EEE/Suisse? Or, because my income is sourced in US Social Security and a 401K retirement portfolio, am I essentially ineligible for French nationality?
A: Unfortunately, in French citizenship terms, your Italian wife is no use to you (although I’m sure she’s lovely!)
You would be applying for citizenship based on residency in France and if the majority of your income comes from outside France (eg a US pension) I’m afraid that you would be unlikely to meet the income criteria. More info on income criteria here
Q: I have a ways to go before I’m eligible to apply for citizenship and know that the requirements might change in 5 years. I’m an author who is already published in French as well as several other languages. I just received my artist-talent visa in January, and I’m in the process of setting up my business in France. I’ll be paying into the social system here. Under the current rules, how will that help me apply for citizenship?
A: Working in France and setting up your business here definitely helps. There are lots of different requirements, of course, but when it comes to income the requirement is to have ‘sufficient and stable income’, that comes ‘from French sources’. That would, therefore, include being registered as a business in France and paying taxes/social contributions here.
It’s difficult to predict what might change in 5 years, however!
Rejections
Getting French citizenship is far from being a simple box-ticking exercise – overall, around a third of all applications are rejected and candidates are required to meet a number of criteria around language, integration and (if applying based on residency) income.
Rejected candidates do not get a refund on the application fee and may be barred from applying again for a certain time period. Naturally then, people want to know in advance whether their application is likely to succeed.
Q: What is the most common reason for being rejected? What are the most common application errors?
Is being an employer of an US-based company with a Paris office presence where I work full time make me in ineligible for citizenship? If paying social taxes? Is there a minimum time of having paid social taxes?
A: The government doesn’t publish detailed data on reasons for refusal, but the most recent report from the Interior Ministry said that a criminal record is the most common reason, with economic reasons second. However a ‘rejection’ doesn’t include people whose application is adjourned, or people whose application is not accepted because they do not fulfil the criteria More detail here
I think ‘application errors’ would mostly see people having their application simply not accepted, so we have no official data on that. (If you just fail to include a single document, you will be asked to supply it within a certain time frame, so you wouldn’t be rejected based on that.)
When it comes to people applying for citizenship based on residency – marriage rules are a little different – then anecdotally, some of the common errors I see are people not including all of their income information (eg only providing documents for a main income source, not for other smaller pensions or freelance income, for example).
It’s also very important to have made tax declarations for your period of residency in France, any tax irregularities will almost certainly see you being rejected
When it comes to being an employee of a US firm – it largely depends on your own status. People on the ‘posted worker’ status usually can’t fulfil the citizenship criteria, likewise frontaliers (cross border workers) are often rejected.
However if you are fully resident in France and have a salarié/talent passport carte de séjour and pay income tax and social security contributions in France then it shouldn’t matter that your employer is a US based company. If you are applying based on residency you normally need to have 5 years residency in France (unless you graduated from a French higher education programme), if you have been working for that period then you should have been paying social contributions then.
Q: What seems to strengthen applications? How long are they taking at the moment if successful? Thanks
A: When it comes to waiting times it really does depend where you are, because there are huge variations between préfectures. Alpes-Maritimes (one of the worst) told us last year that it was starting to process applications from 2019 . . . some are much quicker though, in Paris it’s 12-18 months, while applications through French consulates (for people married to a French citizen) are usually quicker still. More info here .
In terms of strengthening applications there’s not much you can do to strengthen them, it’s just a case of making sure that you meet all the criteria and that you have documents to prove this. You will also save time by making sure your dossier is submitted with all the documents requested, in the correct format and with certified translations as necessary Some tips here
Q: I’m a cross border worker, living in France, working in Switzerland. I submitted my application in October 2023 and the process still hasn’t progressed. Have there been any recent refusals based on being a cross border worker, which was in no way a barrier to obtaining citizenship at the time of application?
A: We haven’t heard of any recent refusals of cross-border workers, but unfortunately it has always been more difficult for cross-border workers to get French citizenship, because of the ‘French income’ requirement.
Previously it was not impossible if you could demonstrate integration in other ways, but under the new rules I think it might be difficult to meet the income criteria if all of your income comes from Switzerland – more details here
We will be keeping an eye on this issue, however, and will update the website if we get any more news
Application process
Like most French admin, the citizenship application process is complicated and time consuming, with many people waiting years for their application even to be looked at.
Q: I submitted my online application at the end of December [2025] and received an automated reply acknowledging receipt. I’ve been living in France since 2008 and married to a French lady. I understood I should have received a further acknowledgement by now to advise that my dossier is complete (or otherwise);is it normal I’ve still not heard anything back?
A: Unfortunately this is very common. Préfectures can be very slow and sometimes applications hover at a particular stage for a long time before moving on. You can find more info about tracking your application here
Another good resource is Facebook groups, as you can find people applying in your prefecture and see roughly how long each stage took for them, since the waiting times vary hugely between préfectures.
Q: Does acceptance vary widely by prefecture/region? (I believe processing time varies widely, yes?) Also, does the type of visa you have make a difference in acceptance? Eg I have a talent visa right now that “expires” in July 2028, when I hope to apply for citizenship.
A: Yes, processing times vary very widely between préfectures, mainly due to staffing issues. However acceptance doesn’t seem to vary so much, the rules should be fairly standard.
When it comes to the interview people often report completely different experiences even within the same préfecture – some get a real grilling, some just a few questions. It seems to depend on the mood of the interviewer!
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The type of visa doesn’t make a difference, but people with certain statuses are more likely to be able to fulfil the criteria, eg people on the ‘talent passport’ for high earners would have no trouble with the income requirements, while people on the ‘visitor’ visa which prohibits work in France are likely to struggle with the income requirement. But technically, no.
Q: I put my dossier forward and received an accusé de réception last summer, before Retailleau’s reform. I was at B1 comprehension on my language test, which was a passing grade at the time. Will my dossier be evaluated according to the standards at the time when it was submitted? Or will I have to retake the language exam for a B2?
And now that there’s a multiple choice test as well as an interview, do you have any insight into how the interview now goes? Same as before plus a test? Or a new set of criteria for the discussion? Or (please God please) are they abolishing the interview entirely? Many thanks…
A: The Interior ministry has confirmed to us that applications submitted and accepted before Jan 1st 2026 (like yours) will be treated according to the old rules, so B1 is fine.
Sorry, but the interview stays! It will probably now involve fewer factual questions (eg what is the longest river in France?) and more testing of your knowledge of French values, agreement with those values and levels of integration. That said, the interview does seem to vary wildly according to who you get, some people just get a few questions, some get a full grilling, so it’s hard to predict. I would advise definitely preparing questions on French values and demonstrating your level of integration
Appeals process
If your application is rejected you can appeal, within strictly defined criteria – more here.
Q: Have there been any recent cases where appeals have been granted after the first refusal? If so, what were the extenuating circumstances? Thanks
A: The government doesn’t publish detailed breakdowns of appeals granted/rejected so it’s a bit difficult to tell. When it comes to the recent changes in income requirements, which have resulted in a lot of people being rejected, they’ve only been in place since May 2025, and immigration data is usually published with a one-year delay, so it’s hard to say.
Anecdotally, all the people we know who appealed against rejection based on the new income requirements have failed in their application. We may know more about this later this year once we get more data.
Chances of a change to the law
Q: Will France ever consider an amendment to their citizenship requirement like Canada? As of December 15, 2025, Canada passed Bill C-3, which removes the “first-generation limit” on citizenship by descent. This means individuals born outside Canada before Dec 15, 2025, to a Canadian parent/grandparent can now claim citizenship, even if the Canadian ancestor is several generations back.
A: There’s no current proposal for any changes to France’s rules on citizenship by ancestry. France is, compared to many of its neighbours, not very generous when it comes to ancestry citizenship – only a French parent will do, details here
It is, however, more generous than many other European countries when it comes to residency requirements (5 years, compared to 10 in many other countries).
So I can say at present there has been no discussion on changing ancestry rules. In my opinion, that would be unlikely since unfortunately at present the political climate seems to be more about tightening up citizenship rules, rather than relaxing them. I’d be delighted to be wrong about this, however!
Just a reminder that our answers are for general information to help inform you. You may want to consult a lawyer or immigration specialist for specific advice about your own case.
Thanks to everyone who took part in our Q&A, you can find more information about French citizenship here, and members of The Local can always email us directly with questions on news@thelocal.fr
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