Is it possible to apply for French citizenship while living outside France?
Applicants by marriage must speak and write French to a certain level
Documents may need to be translated if not in French, and you will still need to have an interview
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Reader Question: I am British and live with my French wife in London. We are planning to move to France together and it will be much easier if I am a French citizen. Can I apply for this before we move? I have not lived in France before
People who apply for French citizenship via the standard naturalisation route must have been living in France for five years and still be living there.
However, It is possible for people who marry French citizens to become French even when living abroad.
This is done via the déclaration process, as it is obtained through family links.
The application, as well as the fees, can be sent to your local French consulate (of which there is one in London).
To be eligible, you must fulfill the following criteria:
Your partner has to have been French on the day of your wedding, and still be a French citizen at the time of your application
Your wedding must have taken place in France, or if abroad been have been added to the French marriages register (registre de l'état civil français)
You must have lived with your partner uninterrupted since your marriage (or if having lived separately for professional reasons, be able to prove this)
As you have lived in a non-French country for at least six months within the last 10 years, you must provide a criminal record check from that country (in this case, the UK)
Read more: Does a UK marriage need to be registered in France?
You must have been married for at least four years, or five years if your French spouse has not been registered on the French consular lists for the French abroad while living in the UK.
As a non-European, you must also have a valid residency permit or visa to live in France (this is not required for European citizens).
You will need to provide copies of ID documents such as a passport or national ID, as well as recent photos, and you and your spouse must complete the Cerfa form n° 15277*04.
Other documentation including birth and marriage certificates must also be submitted. If in English, these must be translated by a sworn translator to be accepted by the Interior Ministry.
Full information on the list of documents required is available through the service public website in both French and English. Note that in some situations additional documents may be required.
It is possible for spouses of a French citizen to obtain a vie privée et familiale visa to move to France (sometimes called a visa pour époux de Français). You can work while on this visa.
However, due to this requirement, it may be easier to move first and then apply for citizenship once in France, unless, for example, you have the right to live in France because you have an EU citizenship as well as British, or you have a Brexit Withdrawal Agreement card.
Language requirements must also be met
If you apply from abroad, you and your spouse will need to have an interview with the French authorities to prove your relationship is legitimate and you live together in a genuine relationship.
In addition, you will need to prove you have a sufficient level of French, by passing a test showing you officially have at least a B1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Changes included in the 2024 immigration bill are set to see this increase to a B2 level at some point before January 2026, but may begin earlier.
Read more: Will stricter language tests for some French residency cards start in July 2025?
