How To Become A French Citizen

If you are thinking of moving to France, becoming a citizen will be a great idea. A citizen of France is entitled to live permanently in France and can work there and vote as well. Other than these are a lot of other government offered benefits as well which a citizen only can have access to. French citizens have certain benefits in European Union countries as well, a few of those being that you can work there and live as well without the requirement of applying for a special visa or work permit.

Below are mentioned ways that will help you understand how to become a French citizen:

1. Becoming a citizen by naturalization
   To become a citizen by neutralization you first need to obtain a residency by visa which takes around two weeks for a U.S citizen and around two months for other nationalities for processing of the application, after which you need to live in France for five consecutive years then you will have to sing the reception and integration contract which is evaluated by the French government after when your application is submitted you will obtain your passport and other important documents that given by government after this your application interview is done and the additional paperwork takes place. For the same, you will need id proof, birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable, proof of address, etc.
2. Attaining citizenship through birth
   You can request citizenship if you are born in France to foreign parents, you can claim citizenship at the age of 16 and enjoy the benefits at the age of 18. You can also file a birth record for a child that is not born in France in this case the parents must be French citizens,] and the application form would vary if you apply within 30 days of the birth or after You can file a petition for a French nationality certificate as well in this scenario too the birthing parents must be French citizens. You can obtain the certificate from the local court where you reside in France. Otherwise, you can request the certificate from the national office in Paris.
3. Obtaining citizenship by marriage
   Marrying a French citizen and staying married for four years at least makes you eligible for citizenship in France you have to apply to your local prefecture. It is important that your partner has French citizenship retained and you both must be married at the time of applying. You must live in France for a year before you submit your application for the same. After this, you need to sign the reception and integration contract. This contract requires you to complete sessions of oral and written French tests, civics training, and important informational sessions.
4. Obtaining citizenship by serving in the French Foreign Legion
   To meet the French foreign legion’s basic requirements, you have to apply for services in the French foreign legion which is the French military group that accepts recruiters from all over the world. You must obtain the information and after that fill out the registration form, after you meet all the requirements of applying to the foreign legion you can go ahead with submitting the application form. The application process takes around two days to process. If your application is accepted you will have to appear for a pre-selection examination. You need to sign a five-year contract after you successfully clear the pre-selection examination. You must pass the selection tests which take 14 days and then you should complete the training and after which you must serve for a minimum of three years.