France

Dual Citizenship France

Allowed

Unlike other European countries whose nationality laws relied in lineage (jus sanguinis), France has maintained nationality practices based on a mixture of territorial (jus soli) and lineage (jus sanguinis) ties.

Consequently, the French nationality can result from an attribution or an acquisition, as follows:

• attribution by lineage (" jus sanguinis ") or by been born in France by parents born in France (“jus soli”)
• acquisition - by rights (example: birth and residence in France) - by statement (declaration) (example: marriage with a French spouse) or by decree of naturalization

The statement (declaratory form) concerns an applicant if he/she is married or he/she has a relationship with a French person (descendant, child, grandchild, great-grandchild, brother or sister, etc.).

Naturalization is subject to several conditions, in particular length of residence in France. Special rules apply if the applicant was born in France from foreign parents. Finally, an individual can become French again if he/she has lost French nationality. The process varies depending on whether he/she was born abroad or in France.

Possession of one or more other nationalities has, in principle, no impact on French nationality. France denounced Chapter I of the Council of Europe Convention of May 6, 1963 on the reduction of cases of multiple nationality and on military obligations in cases of multiple nationality. This denunciation took effect on March 5, 2009.

Consequently, from this date, the voluntary acquisition of the nationality of one of the States parties to this convention by a French national no longer automatically entails the loss of French nationality.

Persons who have lost French nationality on the basis of this convention may be authorized to reinstate French nationality.

Furthermore, France makes no distinction between dual nationals and other French people in terms of the rights and duties linked to citizenship. However, a French dual national cannot often assert his French nationality with the authorities of the other State whose nationality he also has when he resides on its territory, this dual national then being generally considered by this State as its exclusive national.

Law No. 2011-672 of June 16, 2011 relating to immigration, integration and nationality included an article which indicates that upon acquisition of French nationality by decision of the public authority or by declaratory form, the person concerned indicates to the competent authority the nationality(ies) which he/she already possesses, the nationality(ies) which he/she retains in addition to French nationality as well as the nationality(ies) which he/she intends to renounce. This is only for statistics purposes.

The attribution of the French nationality through decent is a very complex procedure. Indeed, the French nationality by lineage may be interrupted and subsequently lost:

1. a) When the lineage is not evidenced

The applicant needs to obtain the necessary civil status documents allowing the French authorities to examine if French citizenship could be conferred on him/her by attribution.

1. b) When a French national was naturalized by a foreign country in the past

Article 1 of the law dated June 26, 1889 amending article 17 of the French Civil code provides for that French citizenship is lost when a French national is naturalized abroad. If the French national is still subject to military service, naturalization will result in the loss of French citizenship only if it has been approved by French government.

1. c) When a French national is absent from France for a protracted period and does not maintain ties with the country.

Such loss of nationality was written into France’s ancient nationality laws.

The Civil code of 1804 had taken on this idea in its article n°17-4 °, which stated that the quality of French will be lost " by any establishment in foreign country without the intent to return ". This text had given place to difficulties of interpretation, in particular about the notion of absence of intent to return. The Court of Cassation had very fast admitted that the absence of intent of return cannot be presumed and must be proved, but it had not succeeded in defining this notion in a clear way.

These difficulties of interpretation explain the abrogation of the article 17-4 ° by the law of June 26, 1889.

However, in order not to maintain artificially the French nationality of descendants of emigrants no longer having ties with France, the Nationality regulations tried to take back the rule of 1804, but by transforming it regarding two essential points:

• It is no longer, as in 1804, exiled French national who is exposed to lose his/her French nationality, but only his/her descendants in the second or in the third generation.
• The condition is no longer the subjective condition of the loss of the intent of return, but the objective condition of duration.

Indeed,

1) the article n°30-3 of the Civil code indicates that “When an individual lives or usually lived abroad, where his/her ascendants who could have transmitted their French nationality remained fixed during more than half a century, this individual will not be allowed to obtain the French nationality by lineage if himself or his/her father and mother who could have transmitted their French nationality but were not in the state of possession d’état”. Would this be the case, the Tribunal would have to state that the applicant is a foreign national based on article n° 23-6 of the Civile code.

2) the article n° 23-6 of the Civil code indicates that "the loss of the French citizenship can be pronounced by judgment for the French national by lineage if he/she cannot prove his French “possession d’état” and has never had his/her usual residence in France, if the ascendants, who could pass down to him/her the French nationality, have themselves neither the French “possession d’état”, nor residence in France for half a century ".

The French “possession d’état” is the fact for the applicant conducted him/her self as French and have been treated as French by the public French authorities (Court of Appeal of Paris, November 4, 1997).

This rule is of strict interpretation and implementation but has been made more flexible by the law of July 22, 1993.

If the applicant does fall into the scope of articles 30-3 and 23-6 of the Civil code, he/she would still be allowed to file a declaration of citizenship based on article 21-14 of the Civil code: “The persons who lost the French nationality in application of the article 23-6 or against whom was invoked  the article 30-3 can ask for the French nationality by declaration signed according to articles 26 and subsequent provisions. They would have either kept or acquired with France obvious ties of cultural, professional, economic or family order, or effectively have been enrolled by the military services in a unit of the French army or participated in the French or allied armies in wartime…”

The article 21-14 of the Civil code offers a new chance to those who consider themselves French nationals or who, even if they are descendants of French nationals, have not shown themselves as such since several generations.

The circular of June 27th, 1994, in its article 1.3 gives examples of documents to supply to prove the cultural, professional, economic or family ties with France: “These links can be characterized for example by the fact of belonging to an association which has for object to spread the French culture, to send his/her children to French schools, to exercise an activity in a French company or collaborating strictly with French institutions, to own in France the personal or real estate properties, to maintain relations with his/her family living in France.”

Article 1 of the same law amending article 21 of French civil code provides for that a French national who would do military service for a foreign country without authorization of French government will not be allowed to re-enter French territory unless upon agreement based on a decree and will be subject to French naturalization rules to recover French citizenship.