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Pathway

French Citizenship by Marriage

France Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

If you are married to a French citizen, you may apply for citizenship after four or five years, depending on your circumstances. Your spouse must have remained French and your married life must continue. You normally need B2 French in speaking and writing. Marriage alone does not give citizenship.

Marriage
Usually 4 or 5 years, depending on residence and consular-registration history
Shared life
A continuing genuine marriage to a spouse who remains French
French
B2 speaking and writing, unless an official exemption applies

Summary

A spouse of a French citizen can seek citizenship by declaration using proof of continuing married life and the French partner’s citizenship, alongside language and other personal checks. Calculate the filing date from the couple's actual history: time in France and consular registration can determine whether the four- or five-year marriage period applies.

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Eligibility

The applicant generally must show all of the following:

Living at different addresses does not always prove a marriage has ended—for example, work or health may explain it—but it increases the need for clear evidence. Authorities can look at joint housing, taxes, finances, insurance, children, travel, correspondence, and each spouse's explanation.

The applicant can live in France or abroad. The filing authority and documents differ by residence. A foreign marriage must be transcribed before the declaration can be registered.

More about this route

You can apply after four years of marriage if you can show either at least three years of continuous legal residence in France since the wedding, or the French spouse’s consular registration throughout your shared life abroad. Otherwise, the waiting period is five years.

Since 1 January 2026, the applicant must normally prove French at B2 level in speaking and writing. The separate 2026 nationality civic exam applies to naturalization and reintegration by decree, not to a marriage declaration. An interview is still part of the marriage procedure and is used to assess the couple's shared life and the applicant's assimilation.

Only marriage supports this particular nationality declaration. A PACS, civil union, domestic partnership, engagement, or long-term unmarried relationship is not enough.

The couple’s history determines the declaration waiting period
  1. Confirm the French spouse’s citizenship Establish the status at marriage and its continuation.
  2. Calculate the applicable marriage period Use the residence and consular-registration facts to distinguish the four- and five-year rules.
  3. Prepare the declaration and shared-life evidence Use the authority responsible for the application and keep the qualifying relationship evidence current.

Marriage does not automatically grant nationality or substitute for an entry or residence permission.

What This Route Allows

If the declaration is registered, the applicant acquires French nationality on the legally effective date. The person can then obtain updated French birth, marriage, and other family records and apply for a national identity card and passport.

Unmarried minor children may sometimes receive nationality through the collective effect of the parent's acquisition if they live with the applicant and are named in the declaration. Check custody and residence evidence before filing.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a spouse visa or residence card. A non-French spouse who wants to move to France must separately meet the entry and residence rules. Having a French-spouse residence permit does not itself complete the nationality process.

It is not a route for PACS or unmarried partners, and marriage alone does not guarantee registration. France can refuse or oppose the acquisition where the legal conditions are not met, the shared life is not genuine or continuous, records are false, or serious public-order issues exist.

The four-year mark is not always the correct filing date. Couples with substantial time abroad must check the three-year residence and consular-registration rules carefully before choosing between four and five years.

Next Steps

  1. Confirm the spouse was French on the wedding date and gather accepted evidence that the spouse remains French.
  2. Calculate the marriage period and determine whether the four- or five-year rule applies using the couple's exact residence and consular-registration history.
  3. If married abroad, obtain transcription into the French register of births, marriages, and other family events before filing.
  4. Build evidence of continuous shared emotional and material life from the wedding to the present.
  5. Obtain current B2 language evidence or verify an official exemption or medical housing.
  6. Gather full birth, marriage, and other family records, residence records, criminal-record certificates, and translations/legalization (official checks confirming a document's origin for use abroad) required by the current checklist.
  7. File with the responsible nationality platform in France or the French consulate when resident abroad, and prepare both spouses for the interview.
  8. Keep the marriage and shared-life evidence current while the declaration is processed; the conditions continue to matter after filing.

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Other routes in France.

Sources