Will you be seeking French Citizenship?

Thanks for that Amanda

Thanks Amanda for link, very handy. Just looked at the "past address" section....that is enough to put one off. I have had at least 50 addresses since I was born! If I decide to do it I can see it is going to take the rest of my life to complete the form! LOL! :-D

I went to the Prefecture in Ajaccio today to ask about the naturalisation process. At first the lady wouldn't give me the paper work because I didn't have my passport (or ID card) with me. But when she found out that my wife is French she said the process is slightly different / easier and gave me the documentaiton regarding how to proceed.

However it is very clear that for all applicants, since 2012, the level of French language ability must be proven by an attestation or diploma.

Good excuse for a wander around! Apparently Bordeaux is really lovely now since they did it up.

hi, who has the right to be naturalised?? as a fr person? again, my husband has 4 irish g'parents who moved to scotland during the famine. and also, i still wonder why exactly it may be important to have euro citizenship? we both are retired/disabled and can show enough revenue to live; i've been in france nearly 19 yrs, husband 16 yrs. he worked briefly here. any thoughts, guys? thanks

Lisa - personally I'm waiting to see what the alternatives are going to be, before deciding. It may be that nothing changes, it may be we have to apply for residency permits but that will almost certainly be a lot less arduous than applying for citizenship. In any case, I don't see any imminent need to do anything.

sorry - to clarify, I have been here 2 and a half years. Hence, another 2.5 to achieve the 5 years i need as a prerequisite for naturalisation PLUS however long it takes :-(

But Irish nationality would solve the problem (for me at least and hopefully my wife by association). Not jumping into anything just yet though - I'm exploring possibilities

may i ask why you think it necessary now? i keep wondering why so many want to become fr; is it fear we will be forced to leave or what? heard some one in uk govt say expats in the uk, and british expats in europe, will keep their rights. wonder if this is true. poor expats in the uk being told by rascists to leave now, wrongly thinking the vote means all expats must leave! shocking. i am american and fear the same thing there w that bastard trump. what is wrong w people??

Yes irish grandparents qualify your husband for Irish citizenship. " You can become an Irish citizen if one of your grandparents was born in Ireland" from https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/france/our-services/citizenship/born-outside-ireland/foreign-births-registration-guide/ But for you I think it is the S1 issue that will be important, health cover or not. I doubt Irish citizenship would confer health care rights

it just seems too onerous and i still wonder what, as an american, i wd actually gain. stupid question, but will 'they' know if one cannot provide all old addresses, or all old jobs?? frankly, i am estranged from my siblings and don't even know THEIR addresses! - and when wd these meetings w fr officials start? not that i mind as i am fluent in fr and am fully integrated; just curious...

à Lisa : no-one has the right to be naturalised, you have to ask and the French authorities decide. To ask to be considered for naturalisation you have to have lived in France for at least 5 years and meet the criteria. We have the right to live in France whilst the uK is part of the EU, the question is what happens if the UK leaves (still not sure). Well it'll depend on the new agreements negotiated and on acquired rights for those of us already here. What ever happens I can't see them throwing me out and leaving my French OH and French kids here on their own, not to mention the business side of things!

à Anna - agree, let's wait and see, for many of us it shouldn't change anything, just a few admin hoops to jump through ;-)

thanks guys. i think in fact we shd mostly wait and see what they decide. maybe nothing huge will change.i am not worried that they wdnt let me become fr (i taught h s . fr in the usa, for ex) but that i simply can't come up w the paperwork, and don;t know if they check for past addresses etc. the brexit folks of course did not think of the expats, but even for the stock mkt(s) they say that doesn't concern me, yet it does! - and i will put a strain on us-uk relations. this is a disaster for the non united kingdom... it shd NEVER have been put to a referendum as many now say, and people did not understand the consequences, made worse by the blatant lies of the brexiteers! shocking! good luck to all, lisa ps and pls send prayers my way that trump doesn't win to make things now as bad as possible!

I'd wait until the dustbin men have finished striking before going there ;-)

Pleasure - that's the easy bit!

There isn't anything a box to tick to keep your UK citizenship, though, is there? By the time I've got all my 'dossier' together I hope I'll have an answer. It could take a while.

I had already started seriously thinking of taking French nationality (if they'll have me, Andrew!) as I and my wife have committed ourselves to living here. It just makes sense. Now, I am definitely up for it, because right now I feel ashamed to be English. The Brexit motives are selfish, inward-looking, xenophobic and isolationist. Yes, it is also a protest against big government, centralisation and bureaucracy, but that's aimed at Westminster at least as much as at Brussels. Unfortunately, although we've owned a house here since 2004, we only became permanent residents in 2013, so I believe I have to wait two more years to apply.

Does anyone know if, currently, possession of French Citizenship is a get out for the UK to honour the S1. Or are they duty bound to honour it as long at British Citizenship has not been revoked?

citizenship (nationality) or simply being resident here. Nationality would give you access to the sécu through one of the various chanels depeding on our status (work)

I know, but it would mean paying 8% of income for the privelege. The S1 incurs no cost !!

Understand and agree, you can imagine the remarks I'm getting from my customers, fortunately most are freindly leg pulling remarks.

BTW, not sure what happened to the on your bike post but I rode the Ariégeoise XXL last saturday, a big one for me!

no such thing as a free lunch...!