Five Years, Cut to Two or to None by Who You Are, and a Passport You Do Not Have to Give Up
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Uruguay on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
147 exceptions recorded across 54 countries · none match Uruguay to France · Becoming a citizen
Naturalisation in France is governed by the Code civil, not by the immigration code. Article 21-17 asks for five years of habitual residence in France before the application - and opens by subordinating itself to the exceptions in the three articles that follow. Article 21-18 cuts the five years to two for someone who has successfully completed two years of higher education towards a degree awarded by a French university or higher-education establishment, for someone who has rendered or can render important services to France, and for someone with an exceptional record of integration. Article 21-20 removes the waiting period altogether for a person belonging to the French cultural and linguistic entity, where they are a national of a territory or State one of whose official languages is French, or French is their mother tongue, or they can show five years' schooling in a French-language establishment. Article 21-24 is the test everyone meets: assimilation to the French community, a stated level of the language, knowledge of French history, culture and society, adherence to the essential principles and values of the Republic, and signature of the charter of rights and duties. Article 21-16 requires residence in France on the day the decree is signed, and article 21-25-1 gives the administration eighteen months to answer, twelve where the applicant has lived in France ten years, extendable once by three months. There is no requirement to give up another nationality anywhere in these articles, and article 23 points the other way: a French national living abroad who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses French nationality only by expressly declaring that they do.
At a glance
- Ordinary residence period
- Five years of habitual residence in France before the application
Code civil article 21-17, expressly subject to articles 21-18, 21-19 and 21-20.
- Cut to two years
- Two years of successful higher education towards a French degree, important services rendered or capable of being rendered, or an exceptional record of integration
Code civil article 21-18, 1° to 3°.
- No waiting period at all
- For a person of the French cultural and linguistic entity who is a national of a State one of whose official languages is French, whose mother tongue is French, or who had five years' schooling in French
Code civil article 21-20. This is a condition about origin and schooling, not about time in France.
- Also no waiting period
- For service in a French army unit, for exceptional services to France, and for a recognised refugee
Code civil article 21-19, 4°, 6° and 7°; the exceptional-services route needs the opinion of the Conseil d'Etat.
- Where you must be when it is signed
- In France - residence at the moment the decree is signed is its own condition
Code civil article 21-16.
- Language
- Enough French to understand the essential content of concrete or abstract subjects in a complex text and to express yourself clearly and in detail on a wide range of subjects
Code civil article 21-24, which describes the level instead of naming one; the level and how it is assessed are fixed by decree in Conseil d'Etat.
- Language requirement waived
- For political refugees and stateless people lawfully and habitually resident fifteen years and aged over seventy
Code civil article 21-24-1.
- How long a decision takes
- Eighteen months from the complete file, twelve if you have lived in France ten years, extendable once by three months
Code civil article 21-25-1, which also requires a receipt to be issued immediately.
- Giving up your existing nationality
- Not required by articles 21-15 to 21-27 of the Code civil, which were read in full
Article 23 goes further: a French national resident abroad who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses French nationality only by expressly declaring it.
- By marriage instead
- Four years from the marriage, by declaration; five without three continuous years of residence in France
Code civil article 21-2.
- Born in France to foreign parents
- French at majority on five years' residence since the age of eleven, or claimable from sixteen, or from thirteen
Code civil articles 21-7 and 21-11.
- What bars it
- A conviction for an offence against the fundamental interests of the Nation or for terrorism, any sentence of six months or more without suspension, an expulsion order in force, or an unexecuted ban from French territory
Code civil article 21-27, which also bars anyone whose stay in France is irregular, and which does not apply to the minors acquiring nationality under articles 21-7, 21-11, 21-12 and 22-1.
Requirements
- Five years of habitual residence in France before the application, unless one of the exceptions applies
- Residence in France on the day the naturalisation decree is signed
- Majority: eighteen years of age
- Assimilation to the French community, including the language level set out in article 21-24 and knowledge of French history, culture and society
- Signature of the charter of rights and duties of the French citizen
- No conviction or measure listed in article 21-27
How the process runs
- Step 1
File the application
A receipt is issued immediately against a complete file, and the eighteen-month clock in article 21-25-1 runs from that moment.
- Step 2
The assimilation check
Article 21-24 asks for the language, for knowledge of French history, culture and society, for the rights and duties the nationality confers, and for adherence to the essential principles and values of the Republic. Article 21-25 leaves the conditions of the check, and of the health check, to a decree.
- Step 3
Sign the charter
At the end of the assimilation check, the applicant signs the charter of rights and duties of the French citizen, approved by decree in Conseil d'Etat.
- Step 4
The decree
Naturalisation is granted by decree under article 21-15, and article 21-16 requires the applicant to be resident in France when it is signed.
In detail
A waiting period that depends on where you are from
Article 21-17 states five years and then hands three articles the power to shorten or remove them, and two of those three turn on something other than time. Article 21-18 1° rewards two years of successful study towards a degree awarded by a French university or higher-education establishment - an advantage a student acquires by studying in France rather than by living there longer. Article 21-20 removes the period altogether for a person belonging to the French cultural and linguistic entity, and gives three alternative ways in: nationality of a State one of whose official languages is French, French as a mother tongue, or five years of schooling in a French-language establishment. The first of those is a nationality test on its face, which is why this site records it as a rule about origin.
Nothing asks you to renounce
Articles 21-15 to 21-27 of the Code civil were read in full and contain no requirement to leave another nationality, no undertaking to do so, and no assurance procedure of the kind Austria operates in § 20 of its Staatsburgerschaftsgesetz. Article 23 then settles the question from the other direction: a French adult living abroad who voluntarily takes a foreign nationality keeps French nationality unless they expressly declare that they are giving it up, and article 23-1 puts a one-year limit on making that declaration. France and Austria sit at opposite ends of this question, and both answers are in their civil and nationality codes rather than in their immigration ones.
Country-level policy
A foreigner admitted to stay in France for the first time who wants to remain durably enters a personalised republican integration pathway and signs a contract with the State undertaking to follow the training prescribed to them. Article L. 413-3 says what the pathway contains: civic training on the values, principles and institutions of the Republic and on the organisation, history and culture of French society; language training; professional orientation and support, which is itself conditioned on attendance and seriousness in the first two; and support adapted to the person's needs. The civic training ends in an examination, which may be retaken at any time if the mark falls below the thresholds. Those thresholds then decide residence. Article L. 433-4 makes the step from a one-year card to a multi-year one conditional on attendance, on a pass mark fixed by decree, and on a level of French described as understanding frequently used expressions, communicating in routine tasks and discussing immediate needs. Article L. 413-7 asks for more for the ten-year carte de résident: a higher examination result and a level of French described as understanding reasonably clear conversation, producing simple connected speech and setting out an idea briefly. And article 21-24 of the Code civil asks for more again for naturalisation. Three thresholds, three descriptions, three different moments.
French residence documents form a ladder and the code states each rung's length in one article. Under article L. 411-3 a long-stay visa and a carte de séjour temporaire each last at most a year, a carte de séjour pluriannuelle at most four, and a carte de résident ten. Article L. 433-4 is the step from the first to the second: a year of lawful stay, attendance at the integration training, a pass mark and a level of French produce a multi-year card bearing the same wording. The ten-year rung is reached either through a family or personal route - articles L. 423-6, L. 423-10 to L. 423-12, L. 423-16, L. 426-1 to L. 426-3 and L. 426-10 among them - or through time, under article L. 426-17, which gives the résident de longue durée-UE card after five years of lawful uninterrupted residence on resources at least equal to the minimum wage and with sickness insurance. Above all of them sits article L. 426-4: a carte de résident permanent of indefinite duration, granted on request at the expiry of a carte de résident and granted as of right at the second renewal of one - and issued to a holder over sixty even if they do not ask for it. The ladder also has a trapdoor: article L. 411-5 expires a carte de résident after three consecutive years abroad.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Uruguay
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Sous réserve des exceptions prévues aux articles 21-18, 21-19 et 21-20, la naturalisation ne peut être accordée qu'à l'étranger justifiant d'une résidence habituelle en France pendant les cinq années qui précèdent le dépôt de la demande.»Our translation - not official
Subject to the exceptions provided for in articles 21-18, 21-19 and 21-20, naturalisation may be granted only to a foreigner who shows habitual residence in France during the five years preceding the filing of the application.
The five years, and the sentence that makes them the default rather than the rule. Three articles of exceptions are named before the condition is even stated.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«1° Pour l'étranger qui a accompli avec succès deux années d'études supérieures en vue d'acquérir un diplôme délivré par une université ou un établissement d'enseignement supérieur français ;»Two years of successful higher education towards a degree awarded by a French university or higher-education establishment cuts the wait to two years.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«2° Pour celui qui a rendu ou qui peut rendre par ses capacités et ses talents des services importants à la France ; 3° Pour l'étranger qui présente un parcours exceptionnel d'intégration, apprécié au regard des activités menées ou des actions accomplies dans les domaines civique, scientifique, économique, culturel ou sportif.»The other two reductions, one about services rendered to France and one about a record of integration judged across civic, scientific, economic, cultural and sporting activity.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Peut être naturalisée sans condition de stage la personne qui appartient à l'entité culturelle et linguistique française, lorsqu'elle est ressortissante des territoires ou Etats dont la langue officielle ou l'une des langues officielles est le français, soit lorsque le français est sa langue maternelle, soit lorsqu'elle justifie d'une scolarisation minimale de cinq années dans un établissement enseignant en langue française.»Our translation - not official
A person belonging to the French cultural and linguistic entity may be naturalised without any waiting period, where they are a national of territories or States one of whose official languages is French, or where French is their mother tongue, or where they show at least five years' schooling in an establishment teaching in the French language.
The origin rule. It asks three alternative questions and each of them is about where a person is from or how they were schooled, not about how long they have been in France.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«4° L'étranger qui a effectivement accompli des services militaires dans une unité de l'armée française ou qui, en temps de guerre, a contracté un engagement volontaire dans les armées françaises ou alliées ;»Military service in a French unit, or a wartime volunteer engagement, also removes the waiting period.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Nul ne peut être naturalisé s'il n'a en France sa résidence au moment de la signature du décret de naturalisation.»Our translation - not official
No one may be naturalised unless they have their residence in France at the time the naturalisation decree is signed.
A separate condition from the five years, and it bites at a different moment: residence in France at the signature of the decree.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Nul ne peut être naturalisé s'il ne justifie de son assimilation à la communauté française, notamment par une connaissance suffisante, selon sa condition, de la langue, de l'histoire, de la culture et de la société françaises, dont le niveau et les modalités d'évaluation sont fixés par décret en Conseil d'Etat, et des droits et devoirs conférés par la nationalité française ainsi que par l'adhésion aux principes et aux valeurs essentiels de la République. L'intéressé justifie d'un niveau de langue lui permettant au moins de comprendre le contenu essentiel de sujets concrets ou abstraits dans un texte complexe, de communiquer avec spontanéité, de s'exprimer de façon claire et détaillée sur une grande variété de sujets.»The assimilation test. The language level is written out as a description of what the applicant must be able to do rather than as a label.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«A l'issue du contrôle de son assimilation, l'intéressé signe la charte des droits et devoirs du citoyen français. Cette charte, approuvée par décret en Conseil d'Etat, rappelle les principes, valeurs et symboles essentiels de la République française.»The charter is signed at the end of the assimilation check, not at the beginning.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«La réponse de l'autorité publique à une demande d'acquisition de la nationalité française par naturalisation doit intervenir au plus tard dix-huit mois à compter de la remise de toutes les pièces nécessaires à la constitution d'un dossier complet contre laquelle un récépissé est délivré immédiatement.»Eighteen months to answer, running from the handing over of a complete file against an immediately issued receipt.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Le délai visé au premier alinéa est réduit à douze mois lorsque l'étranger en instance de naturalisation justifie avoir en France sa résidence habituelle depuis une période d'au moins dix ans au jour de cette remise. Les délais précités peuvent être prolongés une fois, par décision motivée, pour une période de trois mois.»Twelve months instead of eighteen after ten years' habitual residence, and one extension of three months by reasoned decision.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Nul ne peut acquérir la nationalité française ou être réintégré dans cette nationalité s'il a été l'objet soit d'une condamnation pour crimes ou délits constituant une atteinte aux intérêts fondamentaux de la Nation ou»The bar on acquisition. The quotation stops mid-sentence because the article crosses a page in the published text and a page header stands in the break; the sentence continues with terrorism and with any unsuspended sentence of six months or more.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Il en est de même de celui qui a fait l'objet soit d'un arrêté d'expulsion non expressément rapporté ou abrogé, soit d'une interdiction du territoire français non entièrement exécutée. Il en est de même de celui dont le séjour en France est irrégulier au regard des lois et conventions relatives au séjour des étrangers en France.»The other two bars, and the third is the one that catches people: an irregular stay in France defeats the application whatever else is true.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Toute personne majeure de nationalité française, résidant habituellement à l'étranger, qui acquiert volontairement une nationalité étrangère ne perd la nationalité française que si elle le déclare expressément, dans les conditions prévues aux articles 26 et suivants du présent titre.»Our translation - not official
Any adult of French nationality habitually resident abroad who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses French nationality only if they expressly declare it, in the conditions provided for in articles 26 and following of this title.
The rule that settles dual nationality from the French side. Acquiring another nationality costs French nationality only if the person says so, expressly, in a declaration.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Est assimilé à la résidence en France lorsque cette résidence constitue une condition de l'acquisition de la nationalité française : 1° Le séjour hors de France d'un étranger qui exerce une activité professionnelle publique ou privée pour le compte de l'Etat français ou d'un organisme dont l'activité présente un intérêt particulier pour l'économie ou la culture française ;»Time abroad that still counts as residence in France. The first limb covers work for the French State or for a body whose activity is of particular interest to French economy or culture.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The language level in article 21-24 is described and not labelled. The article says the level and the way it is assessed are fixed by decree in Conseil d'Etat, and that decree was not read.
The statement that no renunciation is required is bounded by articles 21-15 to 21-27 of the Code civil, read in full in the consolidated text last modified 29 July 2026. It is a statement about those articles and not about every nationality rule France has.
The CESEDA points at the Code civil for all of this. Article L. 110-6 says any foreigner, whatever their category of stay, may acquire French nationality in the conditions of title I bis of book I of the Code civil - so the immigration code closes the subject by reference rather than deciding any of it.
Fees, the naturalisation interview and the practice of prefectures are not in either code. French naturalisation decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
- consolidatesCode civil, consolidated text last modified 29 July 2026
Legifrance, Direction de l'information legale et administrative · consolidated to 2026-07-29
Known to be out of date. The address cited is the code's plan: it lists article numbers without their text, so a reader following it will not find the quoted words on that page and has to take the whole-code PDF offered under "Telecharger le code". Legifrance answers 403 to every request this project can make, including to that PDF, so the reading behind these quotations was downloaded by a person in a browser and cannot be refreshed by running a command. The PDF prints its own two dates on its last line - last modified and generated - and the cut-off recorded here is the first of them.
About this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- consolidatesCode de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile, consolidated text last modified 27 August 2026
Legifrance, Direction de l'information legale et administrative · consolidated to 2026-08-27
Known to be out of date. The address cited is the code's plan: it lists article numbers without their text, so a reader following it will not find the quoted words on that page and has to take the whole-code PDF offered under "Telecharger le code". Legifrance answers 403 to every request this project can make, including to that PDF, so the reading behind these quotations was downloaded by a person in a browser and cannot be refreshed by running a command. The PDF prints its own two dates on its last line - last modified and generated - and the cut-off recorded here is the first of them.
About this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source