If you have become a French citizen and have a child born abroad, you may be wondering about the conditions for your child to acquire French nationality. If you wish to acquire French nationality and want your children to benefit from it as well, or if you have already acquired French nationality and want your child to be able to acquire it through a declaration, you may be wondering what the consequences would be for minors who have remained French.
The Law Firm MALEKIAN can assist you in preparing your application for French nationality or in challenging the rejection of your application before the appropriate court.
What does a nationality declaration for a child born abroad to parents who have become French citizens mean?
When a minor child born abroad remains a foreign national despite one of their parents acquiring French nationality, that nationality can be granted to the child subject to certain conditions.
Acquiring nationality in this case is an automatic right.
A child born abroad to parents who have become French citizens can claim French nationality. This situation is different from when at least one parent is French at the time of the child’s birth or when the foreign parent was born in France. In these two latter cases, the child is French by attribution.
What are the necessary conditions for a child born abroad to parents who have become French citizens to acquire French nationality?
- At least one parent has become French
- The child is a minor at the time of the declaration. If the parent becomes French when the child has already reached adulthood, the child cannot acquire nationality through this reason.
- The child has had habitual residence in France for a period of more than 5 years before making the declaration and is residing in France on the day of the declaration.
- The child habitually resides with this parent (or alternately in cases of divorce or separation)
If the above conditions are met, the acquisition of French nationality is automatic.
What are the reasons for refusing a request for a child born abroad to parents who have become French citizens to acquire French nationality? The competent French authority may refuse your declaration, particularly for the following reasons:
- When one or more of the conditions described above are not met
- Lack of assimilation and a threat to public order (e.g. in cases of conviction in France)
- The documents requested are not authentic
- Etc.
How can a refusal of a request for a child born abroad to parents who have become French citizens to acquire French nationality be challenged? Appeals against the rejection of a request for French nationality due to birth and residence in France can be made to the appropriate administrative court.
