Article 21-17 of the Code civil sets five years as the rule. Article 21-18 cuts it to two after two years of successful higher education in France, and articles 21-19 and 21-20 waive it for recognised refugees and for francophone nationals. The spouse of a French citizen does not naturalise at all: article 21-2 is a declaration, counted in years of marriage rather than years of residence. Fiche F2213 lists a few further cases, among them service in the French army.
- Naturalisation by decree
- The path under Code civil article 21-17. It asks for five years of habitual, stable residence with France as the centre of your interests, French at B2 oral and written, a pass in the civic exam, stable and sufficient resources and good conduct. You file online through ANEF, pay the 255 euro fee and the prefecture interviews you on your adhesion to the values of the Republic before the file goes to the Ministère de l'Intérieur. The legal deadline to answer is 18 months, 12 if you have lived in France for 10 years, and naturalisation is granted by decree published in the Journal Officiel. France asks no renunciation, you keep your original nationality if your own country allows it.
- Graduate two year route
- Code civil article 21-18 cuts the residence period to two years for a person who has completed two years of higher education in France and obtained a French university or grande-école diploma, and for a person who has rendered or can render important services to France. Every other condition applies in full: B2 French, the civic exam, resources and good conduct. This tracker cannot verify your studies, so your projected date stays on the five year figure; if this is you, count from two years instead.
- Francophone route
- Code civil article 21-20 waives the residence duration entirely for a national of a French-speaking country whose native language is French or who attended at least five years of schooling in a French-language institution. You must still actually reside in France when you apply and when the decree is signed, and the other conditions apply in full: B2 French, which this profile usually clears easily, the civic exam, resources and good conduct.
- Refugee route
- Code civil article 21-19 waives the residence duration for a person with recognised refugee status in France. You must still reside in France when you apply, and the language, civic exam, resources and good conduct conditions apply, with your OFPRA documentation standing in for certificates your country of origin would normally issue. A refugee or stateless person aged 70 or over with 15 years of residence is exempt from the language proof.
- Spouse of a French citizen
- Under Code civil article 21-2, the spouse of a French citizen can claim nationality by declaration after four years of marriage with a continuous shared life, five years if you cannot show three years of continuous residence in France since the marriage. French at B2 applies, the civic exam does not. The four years run on the marriage, not on your residence, so this tracker does not compute a date for it. Both spouses are interviewed, and the government has a year from your receipt to refuse registration; silence means the declaration is registered and nationality takes effect from the day you filed. The government can still oppose the acquisition by decree in Conseil d'État within two years, for indignity or lack of assimilation.
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