FRENCH NATIONALITY CERTIFICATES

FRENCH NATIONALITY CERTIFICATES

If your father or you mother was born French, you and your siblings sharing the same bloodline will be eligible to avail yourselves of the French nationality.

In France, the French parent(s) register the birth of each of their children with the French authorities within days of the child’s birth. However, when the birth takes place in a foreign country, the parents should declare the birth of each child at their local French consulate. The birth is recorded in a “Livret de famille”; a family book that follows the parents for their whole life. As well as each birth, the family book also records marriage, death of parents and, unfortunately, also the death of each of their children.

When the children get married or live as a couple together, they get their own family book and the cycle continues.

That is in an ideal world !

When the parents have moved to a foreign country for a new life, they very often forget or don’t see the point of having their children registered with the French authorities in their new country of residence. If the birth isn’t registered by the parents by the time the child turns 18 years of age, it is too late and proving French nationality becomes extremely difficult for the child who now needs to apply for a Certificat de Nationalité Française (CNF).

This application is done through the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris by compiling a dossier of IDs, birth certificates and a lot of time taken compiling the application but the success of the application is normally guaranteed as the applicant is French by blood (there are some rare exceptions to the rule, please check with us).

Now imagine a situation where your French grandparents, moving to a new life abroad had never registered the birth of your own parent with the French authorities in their new country …..

In June 2023, the highest French court in Paris (la Cour de Cassation) declared that if one of your grandparents was a French national, the grandchild can request French nationality even if his/her own parents had not registered their birth with the French authorities in the country at the time.

The CNF process as described above is still the only way forward but having jumped one generation is no longer an issue.

It can take up to 18 months for the CNF to be issued by the French authorities and often, a lot of work sourcing your ancestor’s birth and marriage certificates across the whole of France before sending your application form to France.

It always amazes me when I look at a copy of a birth certificate hand written in 1826 !

The European Concierge will carry-out all the family research on your behalf, complete the application forms and get the foreign documents translated in French by a French administration approved translator.

Contact us to enquire.