Is it possible for foreign-born persons to acquire full citizenship?
Yes. If the foreign-born person is the child of a French parent, citizenship may be obtained as of right. Foreign-born persons with a French spouse may claim French citizenship following two years of marriage. If the foreign-born spouse has not resided in France without interruption for at least one year during the marriage, then three years of marriage must be justified. Relevant documents establishing paternity and French citizenship of the parent are presented to the Consulate abroad, or to the Court of Small Claims (Tribunal d’Instance) where the foreign-born person resides in France. Processing generally takes over one year. Furthermore, foreign-born persons may request to be naturalized if such persons have resided continuously in France for five years prior to filing of the request. French nationality in this case is given in the discretion of the French High Administrative Authority (Conseil d’Etat) if the French speaking person can show that his acts in France have been merito
