American, Canadian, or Australian people may have roots originating in Europe, and people lucky to have French descendants current in their ancestry may be qualified for nationality by descent. Citizenship by descent is the second-affordable route to obtain nationality.
France’s nationality used to be overseen by the jus soli principle, which implies the freedom to soil. The United States also operates on this premise regarding the law of nationality. It means that any child born in this nation’s territories, notwithstanding the parent’s citizenship, will typically obtain the nation’s citizenship.
Hence, France abandoned the jus soli policy and moved more towards the jus sanguinis policy, which implies the right of blood concerning nationality. Since France took this action, nationality by descent has become more desirable. This policy permits people who have parents of French citizenship to become nationals of France. Hence, this policy has a drawback: France will only permit candidates to return a single generation to a French parent, not a French grandparent.
French nationality can be desired for people who do not have parents in French, and the person will only have to ascertain their qualification for French nationality. Ascertaining French nationality by descent qualification is simple; documentation of the parent’s French citizenship is needed.
Still, this can be difficult if the French parent is estranged or if the candidate needs to possess a route for tracking them. This would lead to the candidate demanding to check out archives to provide paperwork or evidence that they have connections to France.
Table of Contents
Eligibility Measures For French Citizenship By Descent
Specific qualification measures would make a candidate qualified for French citizenship by descent. The scenarios that would make a person qualified for French nationality via their ancestors have to do with the following:
- An individual is qualified to become a French national via descent if at least one parent was a French national when they were born. This person will be required to ascertain their identity and the identity of their parents.
- If a person is over 18 and born in an international nation to a French mother, who may have been born in France or another place, they may be qualified. However, this candidate is only qualified if their French mother maintained their French citizenship at the time of birth. Furthermore, the parent-child connection with the French parent must have been introduced while the child was young.
- French nationals can pass their citizenship onto their child via descent if they keep their French citizenship on the day of delivery, and the parent-child relationship is introduced when the child is under 18.
People who fit into the classes for one of the abovementioned cases may qualify to apply for French nationality by descent. Still, France demands that every generation be enrolled as nationals before the candidate applies.
This implies that if a French parent has their ancestry via their parents, they must apply for their nationality before their baby can apply for nationality.
Equally, this would imply that the people with kids must enroll first and receive their French nationality before they can apply for their kids to have a nationality and get their passports.
In situations where a candidate and their parents have not had any business with France for five decades and, therefore, have resided outside of France for this duration, there will also be no qualification for citizenship.
This implies that people and their parents need connections to France to be qualified for a request. Because of this, nationality by descent can be tough to get in France. Hence, the qualified people who can ascertain this will discover that French nationality can be quickly received.
The Application Conditions
French nationality through descent is a simple method to obtain French citizenship if you have at least one parent who is a French national. Specific qualification measures and documents are required for this application; hence, ensure you satisfy all qualification measures and possess all needed documents before you apply.
The qualification measures for the French citizenship-by-descent application procedure include the following:
- The candidate must have at least one parent who was a French national at the time of their birth.
- The child must have been born in wedlock or must at least be identified by the French parent.
The document demanded this application has to do with the following:
Should you find this piece engaging, we kindly invite you to explore the wealth of content in our other articles:
- The French parent’s certificate of birth is required to be offered.
- The candidate’s certificate of birth is required to be offered.
- The candidate must give the certificate of their parent’s marriage and offer evidence of the French parent’s French nationality.
- Proof of the French parent’s residency is required if they reside overseas.
- Candidates must ensure to offer any other applicable documentation for the request, which has to do with divorce rulings and adoption documents, if appropriate.
There are some other conditions that the candidate is required to satisfy for their nationality by descent request:
- The candidate must have no record of being charged with a severe offense.
- The candidate is required never to have been involved in any exercise that could be suspected of being dangerous to France’s interests.
- The candidate may need to withdraw from any other nationality even though dual nationality is usually relevant. So, in most situations, the candidate must prepare to withdraw any other nationality upon acquiring French nationality.
Application Procedures
The French nationality by descent scheme is also like every other nationality path. The candidate must assemble every document to ascertain their qualifications, which is the most challenging aspect of the procedure.
Getting the evidence is based on the candidate, and a case must be developed for a favorable judgment. This application is to get a French certificate of citizenship, an official document that will ascertain nationality in France.
So, the department to which candidates are required to forward their applications is the Department of Nationality for French People Born and Established Outside of France. The application procedure will demand the documents mentioned below to be offered:
- Evidence of Identity that has to do with an authentic passport.
- Evidence of residency, which has to do with family bills.
- A copy of the candidate’s certificate of birth that shows the parent-child relationship to the French parent.
- A copy of the French parent’s certificate of birth.
- Any document that can support introducing the parents as being French citizens. Some documents that this could comprise are as follows:
- A citizen’s identity card
- Voters card
- Passports
- Citizenship certificate
- Consular enrollment cards
- Military booklets
- A certificate of marriage of the candidate’s parents. A copy of the credential that identifies and ascertains parentage is needed if the candidate’s parents are not legally married.
This request must be made in person unless certain events deter it, such as the person’s inability to go on trips. If the person is not able to travel, the tribunals will approve the paperwork through mail.
It is usually accurate to offer any accompanying documents supporting ascertaining the relationship, which may help in a successful request. Furthermore, according to the paperwork above, the candidate will be required to satisfy two other conditions:
- The candidate is required to offer evidence of integration into the French community, which will be examined during an interview.
- A language exam is required. The candidate must ascertain that they can write and speak French. Still, if the person has an identified diploma from a program of studies at a French school and is educated in French, this could be administered as a replacement for the exams.
When the application is concluded and presented, the candidate must wait to understand if it was successful. Those who have a successful application will get French nationality and are then capable of applying for a French passport. Hence, if the application is refused, the candidate will be qualified to appeal against this judgment by directly contacting the Ministry of Justice.
Reasons For Application Refusals And How To Prevent Them
Requests for French nationality by descent can be refused if there is insufficient evidence of the candidate’s roots or the candidate’s parents’ French citizenship.
Furthermore, if the candidate offers only some applicable documentation and the documents are accurately translated, it is also possible to get a reduction for this. Candidates applying for French nationality by descent also must pass the culture and language proficiency exams. If the outcome of these exams is insufficient, the request may be refused.
Applications can also be refused based on criminal exercise or the candidate’s past involvement in exercises that France may consider unprotected or a threat to the nation. Even though unlikely, it is also feasible that a refusal may take place if the candidate has stateless parents and evidence of past French nationality by descent needs to be fully verified via the accompanying documents.
