Declaration of French nationality of the ascendant of a French national

Age

You must have 65 years or older.

Offspring

You must have a descendant direct of French nationality, i.e. a child, one grandchild or a great grandchild.

Residence in France

You must reside in France for 25 years or more in a manner that usual and regular (you must have a valid residence permit).

In addition, you must not have been expulsion order or a prohibition of French territory still in force.

No criminal conviction

You should not be in any of the following situations:

• To have been sentenced in France to a sentence of at least 6 months' imprisonment without suspension
• Having been convicted of a criminal offense crime or a offense constituting an infringement of the fundamental interests of the Nation
• Having been convicted of a criminal offense act of terrorism

However, you are not concerned in case of rehabilitation or erasure of the conviction of Bulletin No. 2 of your criminal record.

Documents to be provided

Prepare the following documents to build your case:

1. Form, photo, electronic stamp, identity, home

• Form cerfa no. 15561 in 2 copies
  You have to fill it out, date it and sign it.
• 2 recent ID photos
  You must paste the photos on the 2 copies of the form.
• Electronic tax stamp of €55 (except in the case of an application made abroad)
• Copy of ID
• If you are a national of a non-EU country European (EU) and that you went into the Schengen area from a state not included in this space for a period of less than 3 months during the 5 years preceding the filing of your application, provide your travel document and those of your minor children who could become French by their majority

2. Civil status

• Your original birth certificate
  The birth certificate issued in France must be less than 3 months old.
  The birth certificate must be issued by the registrar of the place where the birth certificate is kept.
  The birth certificate must indicate the surname, first name, date and place of birth of your parents.
  If any of this information is missing, the instructor service may ask you for the birth certificates of your parents.
  In case of impossibility to provide your birth certificate or in case of presentation of a multilingual extract, other documents will be requested.
• Documents with the date, place of birth and marriage of your parents if they are married.
• If you are married, your marriage certificate
• If you have a CIVIL PARTNERSHIP, the registration receipt issued by the court, mayor or notary
• In the case of previous marriages, marriage certificates and any documents justifying their dissolution.
  For example, copy of divorce judgment, death certificate.
• In case of previous CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS, proof of registration of the CIVIL PARTNERSHIP(s)

3. If you have children

• Birth certificates of your minor children
  A birth certificate issued in France must be less than 3 months old.

For your minor children foreigners can become French at the same time as you:

• Civil status documents or court decisions establishing the parentage children with you
• Documents proving their habitual residence with you, or their alternate residence with you in the event of separation or divorce
  For example, proof of attendance at nursery, school certificate for the current year.

4. Affiliation with your French descendant

• If this descendant is your son or daughter, with a birth certificate of less than 3 months of age including parentage
• If this descendant is your grandchild, his birth certificate of less than 3 months + the birth certificate of his ascendant of which you are the father or mother, with his or her parentage

5. French nationality of your descendant

You must provide one of the following:

• the birth certificate of your descendant if he/she was born in France to 2 parents born in France

• or his birth certificate stating that he is a French national,
• or the court decision recognizing him as a Frenchman,
• or any document issued by the French authorities indicating that he/she has acquired French nationality,
• or a certificate of French nationality.

6. Residence in France on the date of the declaration of French nationality

• Copy of your residence permit, or your valid passport if you are European and not required to hold a residence permit
• Any recent document in your name with your current address.
  For example, recent electricity, water, or landline bills, last rent receipt

7. Regular and habitual residence in France for 25 years

• All documents proving the continuity of your regular and habitual residence in France for 25 years.
  You can produce different documents to cover this period.
  For example, a career statement issued by a social security organization or an individual status statement, an income tax notice.

• If you are married, a copy of your spouse's valid residence permit or passport if he or she is European and not subject to the obligation to hold a residence permit
• If you have minor children, documents proving their residence in France

Francization of surname and/or first name

To facilitate your integration, you can request francization of your surname and/or first names when you apply for acquisition of French nationality.

Guidelines for documents to be provided

Civil status record

One civil status document must be supplied in full and in original in the language of the country of origin.

A French civil status certificate must have been issued less than 3 months ago.

Copy or original of a document

You can provide copies of the requested documents except for civil status records.

A copy of a foreigner act shall be accompanied, if necessary, by a copy of the decision in implementation of which it has been drawn up, rectified or amended.

You will, however, be required to present the originals of the documents when you are called for an interview.

Translation

You must attach a translation of each document written in a foreign language.

You must provide the original translation.

The translation must be done by a translator on the list of experts approved by the courts of appeal.

However, translation is not required for a multilingual birth certificate extract one of whose languages is French.

In addition, to avoid having to translate some documents issued by a the European Union, one multilingual form can be attached.

See the e-justice site for more information.

Legalization or Apostille

Certain documents established abroad must be legalized or apostilles to be accepted in France.

Inquire at the embassy or consulate of the country concerned.

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