French Citizenship: A Secure Plan B
For many people, interest in holding a second citizenship is growing, as people look for added long-term security and greater flexibility for the future. What many people do not realise is that foreign nationals can obtain French citizenship through several pathways, and one of the most direct routes is through ancestry.
Foreign nationals with French parents or even French grandparents may already have a legal claim to French citizenship. As an added benefit, French citizenship through family ties does not require living in France, learning the language, or making a financial investment.
Obtaining French citizenship through proven French heritage can offer a meaningful Plan B, providing an alternative citizenship in a stable Western democracy with automatic EU residence rights.
Why Obtain French Citizenship?
The decision to take another citizenship is usually based upon careful long-term planning, risk management, and the wish for greater international flexibility. For those with parents or grandparents from France, citizenship through ancestry is often an attractive option because it can be obtained without relocating or learning a new language.
Plan B Citizenship in a Stable Western Democracy
By obtaining French citizenship, holders gain an alternative nationality in France, a founding member of the G7 and one of the world’s leading democracies. Having French Citizenship as a second nationality acts as a hedge against political, economic, or social instability. Having a Plan B means the applicant has options available should circumstances in the United States ever become challenging.
France is recognised for its long-standing democratic institutions, established rule of law, and mature legal and economic systems.
For most foreign nationals, obtaining French citizenship is not about giving up their birth nationality or making an immediate lifestyle change. It is about adding an additional option.
In practice, having a second citizenship acts as a contingency plan. It may never be used, but it offers reassurance. For many high-net-worth families, holding more than one citizenship is already part of broader long-term planning, similar to geographic or asset diversification.
Automatic EU Residence Rights (Not Just Travel)
When you obtain French citizenship, you automatically become a citizen of the European Union. This is an important distinction. The value of citizenship is not visa-free travel for short-term visits, but the legal right to live and work permanently across Europe.
French citizenship gives you the legal right to live and work in France and across all European Union member states. It also provides equivalent rights in Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland under freedom of movement agreements.
French citizens do not require visas or work permits and are not subject to the 90-days-in-180-days limitation that applies to short-term visitors.
This creates real flexibility. For example, if a US citizen who also has French Citizenship ever needs to leave the US long term, they have 31 countries to choose from and legally reside.
No Residency or Language Requirements (Through Ancestry)
Most ways to obtain French citizenship require living in France for around five years and demonstrating French language ability. The ancestry pathway is different. If you qualify, you simply prove your lineage and obtain French citizenship based on existing rights.
There is no requirement to live in France, although the option remains available if you wish to do so. There is also no obligation to speak French at the time of application, even if language skills may become useful later.
For those who qualify, citizenship through ancestry is often one of the most straightforward pathways. In many cases, French citizenship can be obtained within 12 to 36 months, without relocating and with minimal disruption to day-to-day life in the United States.
Generational Security for Your Family
Another significant advantage of having French citizenship is that it automatically passes to your children and future generations. This helps to secure long-term optionality for your family.
For example, the children of parents with dual French and foreign citizenship can hold dual nationality from birth, with the right to live and work across the EU throughout their lives.
Can You Obtain French Citizenship Through Your Family Heritage?
France follows a citizenship by blood principle, meaning citizenship can be passed down through family lines. To obtain French citizenship this way, you must prove your French lineage using official documents such as birth certificates and civil records.
Many foreign nationals qualify but never explore this option, often because they assume citizenship only passes from parents. In reality, you can obtain French citizenship through grandparents in many cases, not just direct parental links.
France and many countries recognise dual citizenship, Therefore, applicants from countries who recognise dual nationality can keep their current passport while adding French citizenship as a long-term safety net and alternative option.
Obtaining French Citizenship Through Your French Parent
French nationality law grants citizenship to children born to at least one French parent, regardless of their place of birth. This means that individuals born in France or its overseas territories to a French parent are eligible to apply for French citizenship.
To be able to apply for French citizenship through your parent, the following criteria must be satisfied:
- One of your parents must be a French citizen when you are born.
- If your parents were unmarried, your French parent must have legally recognized you and established a parent-child relationship before you turned 18. Applicants will be required to provide proof of this.
- Your French parent(s) must have maintained connections to France through passport renewals, consular registrations, or voter registrations.
- If you were adopted as a minor by a French citizen in France, you automatically become French.
Please note that to qualify for French citizenship through a French parent (Droit de sang), your previous generations must have been registered as French citizens. This means that if your grandparents are French citizens, but your parent(s) aren’t, your parents must first obtain French citizenship before you can apply.
When obtaining French citizenship this way, you are not becoming a citizen, you are proving you have been French since birth. French law considers you French from birth if your French parent was a French national when you were born.
Obtaining French Citizenship Through Your French Grandparent
For eligible applicants, being able to apply for French citizenship through their grandparents is particularly important today due to historic migration patterns between France and other countries.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many French citizens emigrated abroad to a wide range of destinations such as the USA or Canada. In numerous families, the French-born grandparent retained French nationality, but their children, born outside France, either did not register their birth with French authorities or later acquired another citizenship.
As a result, many people today have a French grandparent without realising that French nationality may still be claimable through lineage. French nationality law places strong weight on descent rather than place of birth. If the French nationality of the grandparent can be proven and the line of descent is intact, citizenship may still be inheritable.
This can be especially valuable. It provides access to French and EU citizenship without the need to relocate, reach a high level of French, or go through lengthy naturalisation periods.
To be able to obtain French citizenship through a French Grandparent, the following criteria must be satisfied:
- At least one of your grandparents was a French citizen.
- Important Note: Your parent must either be a French Citizen or first obtain French citizenship (through their French parent). You cannot skip a generation, therefore, your eligible parent must first obtain French citizenship. Once your parent obtains French citizenship formally, you can then obtain French citizenship through your parent.
Required Documents to Obtain French Citizenship
To obtain French citizenship through ancestry, applicants must be able to prove a clear legal link to a French ancestor using official civil status records issued by French authorities. In practice, this is often the most demanding part of the process.
Below is an overview of the core documents typically required to substantiate a French citizenship claim by descent.
Documents Needed to Obtain French Citizenship Through Your Parent
When applying for French Citizenship under your French parent(s), the following documents are required:
From France (French civil registries):
- The French birth certificate of your parent(s) (acte de naissance intégral)
- The birth certificate must be an official copy from the Service Central d’État Civil (SCEC) in Nantes (central registry) or the specific town hall (mairie) where your ancestor was born
- Your parent’s French marriage certificate if applicable
- Proof of your parent’s French citizenship (national ID, passport, certificate of nationality)
From the country of birth:
- Your birth certificate (original or certified copy)
- Apostille for your birth certificate
- Certified translation of your birth certificate into French
- Your current passport or ID
- Your parent’s identification documents
Additional documentation:
- Marriage certificates for any marriages in family line
- Legal documents showing name changes if applicable
- Sworn statement that you have not renounced French citizenship
Common Challenges
The primary difficulty most applicants encounter is not legal eligibility, but access to records. Many French civil registries have not been fully digitised. Requests must often be sent to the exact town where the ancestor was born, which requires precise location details and correspondence with local town halls, usually in French. Response times can be unpredictable, stretching from weeks to several months.
As a result, applicants pursuing French citizenship through ancestry abandon the process after six to twelve months due to administrative delays and ongoing uncertainty.
Given the complexity involved in properly preparing the documentation, professional legal guidance can make a significant difference. Our team will conduct a detailed review of your supporting documents to confirm they meet French legal and administrative standards, reducing the risk of delays or refusal.
Our team will also guide you through each stage of the French citizenship process, from eligibility assessment to submission. If an application is refused, we analyse the decision, explain the reasons provided by the authorities, and advise on the available options such as appealing or amending the application.
Documents for Two-Generation Claims (Grandparent Route)
To obtain French citizenship through a grandparent, applicants must be able to show the full line of descent across both generations (parents and grandparents). This requires official civil status records for the French grandparent and for the intervening parent, establishing an unbroken legal connection between the original French national and the applicant.
In practice, this means assembling birth, marriage, and, where relevant, naturalisation records that clearly demonstrate continuity of French nationality and family relationship across generations.
Step 1: Your parent obtains French citizenship:
In order for the grandchild to apply for French citizenship through the Grandparents, at least one of the parents of the applicant must be a French Citizen. If the parent is not a French Citizen, they themselves must first apply for and be granted French citizenship first.
To do this, the following documents must be provided:
- The grandparent’s French birth certificate
- The grandparent’s French citizenship documentation
- The parent’s birth certificate proving lineage
- Apostille and certified translation
- Marriage certificates if applicable
- Proof grandparent was French when your parent was born
Step 2: You obtain French citizenship:
- All of the above (proving your parent’s French citizenship)
- Your birth certificate
- Apostille and certified translation
- Proof your parent was French when you were born (certificate from step 1)
- Your identification documents
Please note that all documents need to be authorised. To satisfy this requirement, the following process must be completed:
- All documents need apostille
- All documents need certified French translation
- Translations must be by approved translators (traducteurs assermentés)
- Original documents or certified copies required
“Step-by-Step: How to Obtain French Citizenship Through Ancestry”
A properly prepared application for French Citizenship through descent will typically receive approval within 6 to 12 months. The application process requires completing the following steps.
Step 1: Document Collection & Preparation (2-6 months)
The first stage involves gathering all required French documents proving that your parents are French citizens and establishing their relationship to the applicant, along with US documents confirming the applicant’s status, obtaining any required apostilles, and arranging certified translations.
This is typically the longest phase of the process and the point at which most applicants encounter delays or administrative difficulties. Documentation must be properly prepared and accurate. Failure to properly prepare the documentation could result in delays or even rejection of the application.
Harvey Law Group can assist with this stage by managing French civil registry requests, apostille coordination, and certified translations in parallel rather than sequentially. In practice, this approach allows the document preparation phase to be completed within approximately six to twelve weeks.
Step 2: Application Preparation
Once all supporting documents have been collected and validated, the next stage is the formal preparation of the French citizenship application. This involves applying for one of the following, depending on your circumstances:
- Certificat de nationalité française (Certificate of French Nationality) – proves you are French citizen or;
- Déclaration de nationalité française – formal declaration claiming citizenship
The application to obtain French citizenship must be prepared according to French prefecture standards with all supporting documentation properly organized, authenticated, and translated.
Step 3: Submission to Appropriate French Authority
Once the application has been prepared, it must be submitted to the correct French authority based on the applicant’s place of residence. For applicants, this would be the French Embassy with jurisdiction for your state. Applicants in France will be required to apply through the local prefecture
Jurisdiction is strictly applied, and submitting to the wrong office can result in delays or rejection. For foreign nationals, this distinction is particularly important, as applications are most commonly lodged outside France.
Harvey Law Group will help to manage this stage carefully, confirming the correct authority and handling the procedural requirements so applications to obtain French citizenship are filed accurately and efficiently.
Step 4: Prefecture or Consulate Review (8-18 months)
During the review stage, the French authorities examine the application to obtain French citizenship in detail. This includes verifying the authenticity of all the documents, confirming an unbroken line of French nationality from the ancestor to the applicant, checking compliance with French nationality law, and reviewing the accuracy of certified translations.
It is common for authorities to request additional documents or clarifications relating to family history, while interviews are rare in ancestry-based cases.
Step 5: Interview (If Required) – Rare for ancestry cases
When applying for French citizenship through ancestry, interviews are uncommon and, where they do occur, are limited in scope. If an interview is requested it is usually for the purpose of verifying the applicant’s identity, confirming the authenticity of submitted documents, and clarifying elements of family history. These interviews do not involve French language testing and do not assess cultural integration.
This approach significantly contrasts to the naturalisation procedures, where applicants are required to demonstrate French language proficiency and knowledge of French society and civic values.
Step 6: Approval & Certificate of French Nationality
Once the application has been approved, a Certificat de nationalité française (Certificate of French Nationality) will be issued to the applicant.
This certificate is your proof that you successfully obtained French citizenship through ancestry.
Once the Certificate of French Nationality has been obtained, the applicant can apply for their French passport to complete the process to obtain French citizenship. To apply for a French passport an application can be filed at any of the following; a French consulate in the US, any French town hall if you are in France or a French embassy abroad if in another country.
The following documents will be required when applying for a French passport:
- Certificate of French Nationality
- Passport photos (French format)
- Application forms
- Passport fee (approximately €86)
What Makes Some Applications Successful While Others Struggle?
While many people are eligible to obtain French citizenship through ancestry, the application process requires careful preparation and consideration. The challenges below explain where applications commonly fail and why professionally managed cases are far more likely to succeed.
Check your eligibility to the French citizenship now
Challenge 1: Obtaining French Civil Registry Documents
The first significant challenge when trying to obtain French citizenship is locating original French civil registry records. A significant number of French birth, marriage, and nationality records are not digitised and are held by small local town halls rather than central archives.
Applicants must identify the exact town of birth, submit requests directly to that mairie, often in French, provide proof of family connection, and then wait for a reply which can sometimes take weeks or months.
Challenge 2: Proving an Unbroken Citizenship Line
To obtain French citizenship through ancestry, applicants must demonstrate that their French ancestor did not lose or formally renounce French nationality. This can be an issue for those whose families moved abroad and established their lives outside France, or where a grandparent or great-grandparent later became a US citizen.
In many cases, French emigrants acquired US citizenship without renouncing French nationality, as dual nationality was historically permitted. This analysis determines whether the citizenship line remains intact or has been legally broken. Harvey Law Group can help work with applicants to confirm their eligibility.
Challenge 3: Document Authentication and Translation
All documents submitted as part of a French citizenship application must be properly authenticated with apostilles and translated by certified translators recognised by the French authorities. Coordinating apostilles and certified translations can be technically demanding and time-consuming, particularly where documents are issued in multiple jurisdictions.
Why Choose Harvey Law Group to Help You Obtain French Citizenship
Harvey Law Group has more than 30 years of experience advising individuals and families on citizenship, residency, and cross-border mobility matters. With offices across Europe, North America, and Asia, including Paris, Hong Kong, Miami, and Montreal, the firm is well positioned to support ANY individual who qualifies, to obtain French citizenship through ancestry with coordinated, jurisdiction-aware advice.
Our approach focuses on ancestry-based French citizenship claims, where success depends on accurate legal analysis and proper document preparation rather than discretionary assessment. We assist clients at every stage of the process, from confirming eligibility and proving family nationality history to obtaining French civil registry records, coordinating apostilles, managing certified translations, and preparing applications that align with prefecture and consular expectations.
Applicants can successfully obtain French citizenship when their documentation is complete, their family lineage is clearly supported by official records, and the French nationality line has remained legally intact. In most cases, the difficulty is not eligibility under French law, but dealing with the administrative and documentary requirements correctly.
With careful preparation and experienced legal guidance, ancestry-based applications can move forward with improved chances of approval.
Contact Harvey Law Group for a confidential consultation to assess whether you can obtain French citizenship through your family heritage and discuss the documentation process for your specific situation.
Read Also: Eligibility for French Citizenship by Descent Explained
Other Ways to Obtain French Citizenship (If You Do Not Have French Ancestry)
If you do not have French parents or grandparents, it is still possible to obtain French citizenship through alternative legal pathways. However, these options involve relocation to France, longer timelines, and additional legal and practical requirements.
French Talent Passport (Investment Route to Obtain French Citizenship)
The France Talent Passport allows investors to gain residency in France by investing a minimum of €300,000 in the economy, with potential approval within three months. This program offers a renewable four-year residence permit for the investor and their family, including spouses and children under 18.
After five years of residency, applicants may qualify for permanent residency or citizenship, subject to language proficiency. With no specific language or education requirements for the initial application, the France Talent Passport is an appealing option for those looking to establish a presence in Europe.
Marriage and Traditional Naturalisation
Marriage to a French citizen can also potentially lead to French citizenship. Eligibility through marriage generally requires four years of marriage combined with residency requirements, and traditional naturalisation following five years of lawful residence in France.
All non-ancestry routes require genuine residence, French language proficiency, and successful completion of integration assessments.
