French citizenship by marriage: the declaration, step by step

If you’re married to a French citizen, you can become French by a simple declaration after 4 or 5 years of marriage, from abroad, without ever living in France. France lets you keep your current citizenship. The catches are a French test at B2, a higher level since 1 January 2026, and strict paperwork: your marriage must be in the French registers, and your spouse must prove their own French nationality with specific documents.

This route is separate from citizenship by descent. If you have French ancestry yourself, read the French citizenship by descent guide first, and check the 50-year rule, which ends many descent claims.

The rules at a glance

• 4 years married if you lived together in France for 3 years since the wedding, or your French spouse was on the consular register for the whole time you lived together abroad. Otherwise 5 years.
• Shared life: you must have lived together, “materially and emotionally”, without a break since the wedding.
• Language: French at B2, spoken and written.
• Fee: EUR 255.
• Where: the French consulate or embassy for where you live (in the US, Washington or Los Angeles, depending on your district).
• Decision time in law: 1 year, or 2 if the government opposes.
• Dual citizenship: allowed.

Who qualifies

Under Article 21-2 of the Code civil, you can make the declaration if:

• your spouse was French on your wedding day and has stayed French since. If your spouse only became French after the wedding, this route isn’t open to you;
• you have been married for 4 or 5 years (see below) on the day you make the declaration;
• you have lived together, without a break, since the wedding;
• your marriage is in the French civil registers. A marriage that took place outside France must be transcribed first;
• you can prove French at B2; and
• you haven’t been sentenced to 6 months or more in prison, or convicted of terrorism or an offence against the nation’s fundamental interests, and no French expulsion order or entry ban applies to you.

Marriage on its own never changes nationality in France: Article 21-1 says so directly. You have to make the declaration.

4 years or 5?

The standard wait is 4 years from the wedding. It becomes 5 if you can’t show either of these:

• at least 3 years of regular, uninterrupted residence in France together since the marriage; or
• that your French spouse was on the registre des Français établis hors de France, the consular register, for the whole time you lived together outside France, without a gap.

The notice for applicants living in the US adds that the two can be combined: 2 years in France plus 2 years abroad with your spouse registered counts. For most couples living outside France, the practical question is simply whether your spouse has been registered with the consulate since the wedding. If not, you wait until your fifth anniversary.

Your spouse has to prove they’re French

This is where many files stall. A French passport, ID card, consular card or voter card is not accepted as proof here. The notice for applicants living in the US, for example, accepts only:

• for a spouse born in France to a parent also born in France: a full copy of their French birth record, less than 3 months old;
• for a spouse who acquired French nationality before your wedding: their birth record showing that, or the naturalisation decree or declaration;
• in every other case, including most spouses born abroad to a French parent: a certificate of French nationality (CNF).

The consulates warn that a CNF takes 6 to 18 months to obtain, so start it before anything else. If your spouse is French by descent, check that they haven’t lost French nationality under the 50-year rule: if they aren’t French, this route isn’t open to you.

The B2 French requirement

A decree of 15 July 2025 raised the level from B1 to B2 for marriage declarations made from 1 January 2026, spoken and written. The notice for applicants living in the US accepts only four kinds of proof:

• a French diploma issued by a French authority, at least the brevet level. Diplomas from private schools outside the state system, or for courses taught only in another language, don’t count;
• a DELF B2 or DALF diploma;
• a TCF IRN or TEF IRN result showing B2 overall, less than 2 years old. The general, Quebec and Canada versions of these tests are not accepted; or
• a medical certificate, on the official form, showing that disability or a chronic health condition makes a language test impossible.

There is no exemption for age, and a diploma from another French-speaking country isn’t accepted. Our language requirements guide compares France’s level with other countries.

The civic exam that France introduced from 1 January 2026 is part of the rules for naturalisation, not for marriage declarations. Instead, the interview checks your assimilation, which the government defines as accepting the essential principles and values of the Republic.

Documents

Each consulate publishes its own document list, so check the one for where you live. As an example, the notice for applicants living in the US (updated 21 March 2026) asks for two complete copies of:

• the declaration form (cerfa 15277), signed by both of you, and two passport photos (the US notice asks for US passport size);
• copies of your passport and your spouse’s French passport or ID, plus your spouse’s certificate of registration with the consulate;
• your long-form birth certificate, less than 6 months old, apostilled and translated, and your parents’ records if your birth certificate doesn’t give their dates and places of birth;
• a full copy of your French marriage record, less than 3 months old, your French family book (livret de famille) and the birth records of your children together;
• proof of any earlier marriage and how it ended;
• proof of your spouse’s French nationality (above);
• one document in both your names for the current year and for each of the 3 previous years, such as a joint lease, joint tax return, utility bill or joint bank statement. These don’t need translating if they are in English;
• your B2 proof;
• police records: for the US, an FBI background check less than 3 months old, apostilled by the US State Department (not a notary), with a French translation, plus police records from any other country where you lived more than 6 months in the last 10 years;
• if you ever lived in France, your old residence permits and every French address with dates; and
• a CV and a short motivation letter, both in French.

Translations must be by a professional translator; the US consulates suggest one listed by the American Translators Association, and the translation itself doesn’t need certifying. See our apostille guide and translation guide. The French records expire after 3 months, so order them last.

Applying, step by step

1. Get the marriage transcribed in the French registers, if you married outside France. This must be done before you send the file.
2. Get your spouse’s proof of nationality, including a CNF if needed.
3. Pass a B2 test or gather your diploma.
4. Send the file to the French consulate or embassy for where you live. In the US, you mail it to the nationality desk of the Consulate General in Washington or Los Angeles, depending on your consular district, and if anything is missing and you don’t supply it within 3 months, the file is returned and closed.
5. Attend the interview together. You sign a sworn statement that your shared life hasn’t ended, pay the EUR 255, and receive a receipt (récépissé).
6. Wait for the decision. The nationality office of the Interior Ministry (SDANF) has 1 year from the receipt to register or refuse the declaration, or 2 years if the government opposes it. If it doesn’t refuse in time, the declaration is registered automatically.
7. Collect your registered declaration at a welcome ceremony at the consulate. Keep it: it is your proof of French nationality.

Once registered, your French nationality counts from the date you made the declaration, not from the date of registration (Articles 21-3 and 26-5). Report any change, such as a new address or a divorce, to the consulate while the file is pending.

When France can say no

Refusal: if a legal condition isn’t met, the ministry refuses to register the declaration. You can challenge that before the tribunal judiciaire within 6 months, with a lawyer.

Opposition: even when every condition is met, Article 21-4 lets the government oppose by decree, after advice from the Conseil d’État, within 2 years of the receipt. The grounds are “indignity” or a lack of assimilation other than language. The law says actual polygamy, or a conviction for certain serious violence against a child under 15, counts as lack of assimilation. You have 2 months to challenge an opposition before the Conseil d’État.

Divorce, separation and fraud

Every condition is judged on the day you make the declaration. If you have separated by then, you don’t qualify. After registration, the law watches the first year closely: if you stop living together within 12 months of registration, that is presumed to be fraud, and the prosecutor can go to court to cancel your nationality within 2 years of discovering a lie or fraud. If the marriage is later annulled, the declaration stays valid for a spouse who married in good faith.

Can you keep your current citizenship?

France allows dual nationality, and nothing in the declaration requires you to give up your current citizenship. You are asked to declare the nationalities you hold and any you intend to give up, but renouncing is your choice. Whether you keep your other citizenship also depends on your other country’s law; some countries end citizenship when you voluntarily take another, so check yours. The US, for example, presumes that people who naturalise abroad intend to stay American. Our dual citizenship guide covers the details, and our citizenship by marriage comparison sets France beside other countries.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• French diplomatic network in the US: Nationalité française (marriage route, B2, one-year deadline, ceremony, and the US applicant notice for article 21-2), French
• Service-Public.fr: Déclaration de nationalité française par mariage (conditions, EUR 255, interview, deadlines, appeals), French
• Service-Public.fr: proving your French level for nationality (B2, accepted diplomas and tests, medical exemption), French
• Légifrance: Code civil, Articles 21-1 to 21-6 (acquisition by marriage, opposition), French
• Légifrance: Code civil, Articles 26 to 26-5 (registration deadlines, fraud presumption, date of effect), French
• Légifrance: Décret n° 2025-648 du 15 juillet 2025 (B2 for marriage declarations from 1 January 2026), French
• France Diplomatie: la double nationalité, French
• US Department of State: 7 FAM 080, Dual Nationality

Checked against these sources on 11 November 2026. The official cerfa notice still mentions B1; the US consulates say B2 applies regardless. Check your consulate’s page before you send the file.