French citizenship

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French Republic passport

The French nationality (French. Nationalité française ) is the nationality of the French Republic . You were of legal age until June 1974 at the age of 21, and since then at the age of 18.

1789 to 1940

Naturalization file of Frédéric Louis Sauser, called Blaise Cendrars, created Aug. 4, 1914.

Development up to the civil code

In pre-revolutionary France, civil rights were regulated differently from region to region by the decisions of the respective parlements (courts of law). The admission took place through a royal lettre de naturalité. At the time of the revolution, the status of citoyen du pays de la liberté was very generously granted to foreigners. A decree was necessary for this from 1809.

Since the introduction of the Civil Code in 1803, citizenship in France has mostly been acquired on the basis of the principle of descent ( ius sanguinis ). The corresponding sections 9, 10, 12, 17-21 were not very clear. Provisions for naturalization were found in the constitution of year VIII (December 24, 1799). These were incorporated into the Civil Code in 1867.

Nationality Act 1851

Since the law of 7 February 1851, the children of a foreigner have become French if the foreigner was born in France. This "double land right" ( French double droit du sol ) represents a weakened principle of the place of birth . French women who had lost their citizenship by marrying foreigners could easily be naturalized again until 1889 as widows / divorced persons.

The possibility of dismissal when joining a foreign armed forces or acceptance of a civil service position in a foreign state always existed, but the formalities have changed frequently over the course of time.

Nationality Act 1889

The Nationality Act of June 26, 1889 summarized the provisions. Naturalization was made easier, and at the same time the possibility of revocation abolished. What was new was the possibility of retention when settling abroad for French women who married a foreigner. Minor changes were made in 1893 and 1909.

Since 1889, the place of birth principle has also given the possibility of becoming French based on the double ius soli . Double means that both the child to be naturalized and at least one parent were born in France. The third generation is then deemed to have acquired employment.

After a number of naturalized people had taken up arms against France from 1914 onwards without losing their citizenship, the law on aliens was increasingly tightened. In this way, almost all of the 140,000 Chinese coolies could be removed. In the first half of the 1920s, four guarantors were required for a foreigner's residence permit application. Since 1923, attention has been paid to “good character” ( bonne vie et moeurs ) and assimilation of naturalization candidates.

Treaty of Versailles

In the Reichsland Alsace , which had been under French administration again since December 1919 , around 150,000 people of German origin were expelled before the Treaty of Versailles came into force in January 1920. Full and half French and their descendants who had not emigrated from 1871 to 1873, as well as women who had lost their citizenship through marriage before November 11, 1918, became French citizens again.

In colonial areas that were accepted as a B League of Nations mandate , i.e. parts of Togoland and Cameroun , the natives living there on the day of the declaration of war or when the treaty came into force became French subjects, known as administrés français. This did not apply if they lived elsewhere as Germans “in need of protection”.

Special regulations were issued for the League of Nations mandate for Syria and Lebanon , formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, with its areas of État de Grand Liban and the Syrian Federation (merged in 1925 from État des Alaouites , Djébel druze , État de Damas and État d'Alep ). On the one hand, the respective tribal chiefs had a say, and on the other hand, options were regulated for ethnic Turks who remained in the areas on the basis of the Treaty of Lausanne of July 24, 1923.

Citizenship Act 1927

At that time, "France" also included Réunion , Guadeloupe , Martinique and the coastal strip of Algeria, with the three departments of Algiers, Constantine and Oran, established in 1848. With regard to entitlement to entitlement, it significantly expanded compared with 1889. The position of women who were married also provided for significantly more self-determination than was the international custom at the time.

The acquisition of citizenship in France has traditionally been handled liberally. The four changes in the first decade after the enactment then repeatedly modified Article 6, which regulated the residence periods before naturalization. The aim of the Citizenship Act of 1927 was to encourage expansive population growth through immigration and naturalization, as there was a fear of falling behind due to the low birth rate compared to neighboring countries - a relationship that reversed after 1945. However, the legal objective was achieved. On average, 40,000 people were naturalized annually from 1927 to 1938. After that, the conditions were tightened and naturalized people were a little worse off than natives. The government had more leeway for withdrawals. Changes at the time of the Vichy government had no lasting effect.

The Loi du 10 août 1927 sur la nationalité stipulated that the following persons would receive citizenship from birth :

  • the legitimate child of a French, whether born in the motherland or abroad
  • all children born in wedlock in France if their father was also born there
  • any minor child recognized by a verifiably French father, after a court order
  • Foundlings etc.
  • With the option ( réclamation ) of giving up French citizenship within one year of reaching the age of majority:
    • all legitimate children born in France to a foreign mother if she was born in France herself
    • All children born in France to foreigners who did not have French citizenship from birth if one of the parents was born in France
  • Any child of a foreigner born and resident in France before their 21st birthday could be naturalized as an option, subject to official approval. Under the age of 16, the custodians had to submit the declaration, between the ages of 16 and 20 they had to agree.
  • Any foreigner born and living in France when they reach the age of majority (21 years), unless objected to this within one year or an expulsion order has been issued
  • (male) foreigners against whom no deportation warrant has been issued, if they join the French army voluntarily

Naturalized ( naturalization could) be at the request ( supplique ) and after verification:

  • People over 18 years of age after three years of continuous residence in France
  • People over 18 years of age after one year of continuous residence in France, if they have earned special merit
  • overseas-born descendants of the French, including those displaced by the Edict of Nantes
  • underage wives and children of a foreigner who becomes French with him; if there was no deportation order, without further preconditions
  • Foreign women who married a French man. Upon request or automatically if your home law provided for the loss of your citizenship.
  • Former French citizens and, on request, women and children of legal age if they lived in France, by decree

Reasons for loss were:

  • voluntary acceptance of foreign citizenship, provided that they are 21 years of age or older (but not within ten years after starting military service or active service)
  • express declaration by a French woman marrying a foreigner that she wishes to take her husband's citizenship
  • for naturalized persons within ten years thereafter, at the request of the Ministry of Justice by revocation by court order, e.g. B. for eviction from military service, damage to national interests, "unworthiness" and the like. Ä.

In the first ten years thereafter, naturalized persons could only become civil servants if they had done military service. They also had no right to vote for five years.

There were special regulations for French people who obtained foreign citizenships by becoming civil servants there, or women whose first marital residence was in their husband's home country, etc.

If declarations had to be made, they were made at the local court, which directed them to the Ministry of Justice. Only after its acceptance and publication in the Journal officiel did they take effect retrospectively from the date of application. The civil court process was open against rejection.

Colonies

France saw its colonial rule since the 19th century as a task to bring the natives ( indigènes or protégés ) enlightenment and civilization closer ( mission civilisatrice ); this was in contrast to British practice, which was aimed at purely economic exploitation.

Article 18 of the Senatus consultum of May 3, 1854, as well as another Senatus consultum of July 14, 1865 regulated the acquisition of French citizenship for native, North African colonial subjects ( sujets français ) differently. With regard to Algerian Muslims, the rule was that although they were French, civil law continued to be treated according to Islamic (family) law. The Jews there became full French citizens by decree of October 24, 1870. Naturalization of foreigners in the Algerian departments was possible after three years.

For white French people living or born in the colonies, the 1927 law was essentially adopted by the decree of November 5, 1928. Certain formal requirements had been modified, and responsibilities lay with the governor, who passed the processes on to the colonial ministry. Applicants for naturalization had to submit an extract from the criminal record ( casier judiciaire ) and, if necessary, an acte de notoriété , as there was no orderly civil register system.

Native protégés could apply for full French citizenship. They were then called Évolués. As a legal consequence, they were fully subject to French law and no longer to the native law still applicable in the respective colony.

A certain level of education (knowledge of French) was required. From 1915 onwards, they were granted full French citizenship automatically if they obtained a university degree, achieved the rank of non-commissioned officer in the army, or were awarded the Legion of Honor or the Médaille militaire . Natives who did not live in their homeland could become French

  • after ten years if they had sufficient language skills, or
  • were married to a French woman for a year.

All colonial subjects or protégés, with the exception of those of the three North African possessions, could only give up their status under the assumption of a foreign nationality with the consent of the government.

Most of the special provisions lost their validity when French citizenship was granted globally to residents of overseas territories in 1946 and 1953.

North africa

The restrictions applied to Muslim Algerians

  • that they had to be at least 25 years old when applying
  • no criminal record
  • had not participated in uprisings against France or preached the uprising
  • had no more than one wife
  • have been resident in the same municipality in the mother country or in a French colony for two years and also met one of the following conditions:
    • knew enough French
    • served (voluntarily) in the army or navy and been honorably discharged
    • had paid taxes on land owned or rented for at least a year
    • were elected to a (municipal) office
    • were in the civil service (also as a pensioner)

The regulations for French Morocco and Tunisia were such that the natives were considered subjects of the nominally still ruling sultans. For whites, the provisions of the mother country ( France métropolitaine ) with a strong ius soli component essentially applied. For Tunisians to acquire full citizenship, similar regulations as in Indochina applied.

French Indochina

Asians of legal age with sufficient written and spoken French , one of the following conditions was required in French Indochina :

  • ten years service as a civil servant or in the army or navy
  • made a name for himself in business in France
  • to have achieved a tertiary educational qualification or professional qualifications according to a positive list of professions / institutes
  • after completing secondary school, having served French interests for five years; these included B. having been an elementary school teacher or having lived as a foster child in a French family for the same period
  • Birth of the first child if you were married to a French woman
  • the Order of the Legion of Honor to have gotten to be in the First World War have been front-line soldiers and to have been at least sergeant or two years militaire Médaille or the Croix de guerre to have received

Responsible for requests that were free of charge was the respective chief official of the provinces. The mayors carried out preliminary checks with regard to integrity, etc. The commented application was sent to the Colonial Ministry via the Governor General.
In 1913-19, the approval only extended to the wife if she joined the application.

By decree of November 4, 1928, mixed race children with an unknown parent also became French. Depending on the circumstances, a court order was required for recognition.

Madagascar

For natives of adulthood in Madagascar, including the Comoros but excluding Réunion, they had to be 21 years old and could speak French. A preliminary decision had to be obtained free of charge from the provincial administrator , then a decision was made in the colonial ministry. The permit extended to the wife and children.

Regarding the recognition of mixed race children as French, regulations similar to those in Indochina applied. After the application and preliminary examination at the local Procureur (public prosecutor), a court order was issued.

Black Africa

For the Central African areas of Afrique-Equatoriale française and the West African colonies, which were combined in the Generalgouvernement Afrique-Occidentale française , the rules in the interwar period differed little from those of Madagascar.

After independence

In 1954, four states were formed from French Indochina. All of Africa's French colonies became independent in 1960. The validity of the 1945 law was extended to the Territoires d'outre-mer, in 1953 . These were colonies that were not mandates, protectorates (Morocco, Tunisia) or associated states (Indochina).

With the law of January 9, 1973, the naturalization of people from the former colonies was made easier.

The law of July 22, 1993 revised these rules with regard to former colonies . Until then, people who were born in France and had at least one parent who was born in a French colony - before its independence - were automatically French citizens; for those born on or after January 1, 1994, this is no longer automatically sufficient to obtain citizenship, apart from the fact that fewer and fewer mothers of newborn babies lived in what was then a French colony during colonial times. The previous automatic naturalization was also converted into naturalization on application. Naturalization can be refused (e.g. in the case of criminal offenses).

International treaties

France has signed a large number of treaties that also regulate citizenship issues when territories are acquired or given up. At the end of the colonial era, special questions or options for dual nationals or mixed race children were often clarified here.

Since 1945

Excerpt from the registry office ( Fiche d'État-civil ) of the Russian exile Gabriel Arout (cheff), in which the sentence “also proof of French citizenship” is deleted in the heading.

The current regulation is essentially based on the Code de la nationalité française (CNF) from 1945. With 151 paragraphs (or 156 since 1960) it was extremely detailed. The local mayor is responsible for the preliminary examination in citizenship matters on behalf of the prefect . The relevant decrees are issued by decree of the minister, which comes into force when it is signed, although it must also be published in the Journal officiel . Disputes are decided in the ordinary courts .

In addition to the metropolis, the law also applies in the "old colonies" (later DOM ) and, since September 1946, in French Guiana.

A far-reaching reform took place through the law of January 9, 1973. Among other things, the restriction on the right to vote for new citizens has been lifted.

The reasons for employment through birth remained essentially unchanged compared to 1927. To prove a claim derived from the ius soli, the grandparents' birth certificates were required until 1961; since then, proof of the birth of one parent in France has been sufficient. New in 1973 was the purchase by birth for children of a French woman living abroad.
Although surrogacy is forbidden in France, a child born in this way abroad is granted French citizenship in case of doubt.

Until 1973, citizenship was acquired directly through the marriage of a foreigner to a French. Here, however, the government retained a right of objection (with a six-month period) that had existed since 1938. To avoid marriages of convenience , a six- month period was introduced in 1984 and a two-year period in 1993, after which French citizenship was granted upon request. For spouses it is extended to three to four years. It can also be withdrawn if the marriage is divorced before the end of the third year of marriage. The gay marriage , including adoption law has been recognized for, 2013.

A naturalization is possible at the request if the Einzubürgernde lived for five years (u. U. shortened to two years) legal in France, earned his own living and no crime committed. This also applies to children of foreign parents born in France: they can apply for French citizenship when they reach the age of majority and will in most cases receive it. Since 1945 language skills had to be proven during a personal interview with the prefecture. Re-naturalization, without waiting period or conditions, is possible if the former Frenchman lives in his home country again.

In France, multiple citizenship has been accepted since 1973. At the same time as the naturalization, the applicant can "Frenchize" his surname. It is possible to revoke a naturalization if it was obtained by fraudulently using false information.
Since July 2000, naturalization can be refused because of a lack of integration (défaut d'assimilation) , for example in the case of a burqa wearer or a person who refuses on principle to shake hands with people of the opposite sex.

As is customary internationally, adoptions and paternity recognition also affect underage children. For children born in France and children of foreigners, simplified option conditions apply, with the right to have a say depending on the age (13-16 and 17-18) when the parents change their nationality.

An application by foreign mercenaries of the Foreign Legion to obtain French citizenship is usually approved after three years of service.

literature

  • Audinet, Eugène [1859-1935]; Nationalité française en Algérie et en Tunisie d'après la législation récente (loi du 26 juin et décret du 13 août 1889, décret du 29 juillet 1887); Alger 1890 (A. Jourdan)
  • Raymond Boulbès; Droit français de la nationalité: les textes, la jurisprudence, les règles administratives; Paris 1958; [Standard work on the 1945 Act.]
  • Ducrocq, Théophile [1829-1913]; De la Nationalité au point de vue du denombrement de la population dans chaque pays et de la loi française sur la nationalité du 26 June 1889 ; Nancy 1890
  • English translation of the 1927 Act in: Flournoy, Richard; A Collection of Nationality Laws of Various Countries, as Contained in Constitutions, Statutes and Treaties; New York 1929 (Oxford University Press), pp. 241-56, Colonies: pp. 257-303
  • Füßlein, Rudolf Werner; France Nationality Law: of 19/10/1945; Frankfurt 1949
  • Hecker, Hellmuth; Tomson, Edgar; French nationality law including overseas territories and former colonies; Frankfurt 1968
  • Tomson, Edgar; French nationality law under the law of January 9, 1973; Frankfurt 1974
  • Lerebours-Pigeonnière, Paul; Précis de droit international privé; Paris 1928 (Delloz); [The standard work on the 1927 Act, up to 1959 seven editions, each adapted to the changed legal situation.]
  • Tomson, Edgar; Citizenship Law of Francophone Black Africa; Frankfurt 1967
  • Urban, Yerri; L'Indigène dans le droit colonial français 1865-1955; 2011 (Fondation Varenne)
  • Because, Patrick; Qu'est-ce qu'un Français ?: histoire de la nationalité française depuis la Révolution; Paris 2005 (Gallimard); ISBN 2070426572

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Historique du droit de la nationalité française on a website of the French Ministry of the Interior , accessed on July 13, 2020.
  2. ^ Permission to be obtained in advance before 1889. From 1927 there was a six-month period, if the government requested it, shortened to 15 days to 2 months in 1961, but generally permitted in international organizations, etc.
  3. ↑ Because, Patrick; Access to citizenship. A comparison of 25 citizenship laws; in: Citizenship in Europe. Historical experiences and current debates. Edited by Christoph Conrad and Jürgen Kocka, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-89684-018-5 , p. 92 ff.
  4. ↑ Automatic loss due to a change in the law with three tightenings in 1915 and 1917.
  5. ↑ Chinese workers toil behind the front
  6. ↑ Changes to the law: July 31, 1920, April 1, June 19 and December 6, 1923.
  7. ↑ French jurisprudence (until the 1960s) is extensive with regard to cases of doubt. Numerous German exception rules and ministerial circulars must also be taken into account, overview in Hecker / Tomson (1968), pp. 258-62.
  8. ↑ The Paris Tribunal ruled in 1959 that the son of a Cameroonian with a German mother, born in 1913, who was raised in Hamburg due to the war and did not return to Cameroon until 1920, but had lived in France for a long time, did not gain status in the run-up to independence Cameroonians could get.
  9. ↑ For Lebanon: Ordinance 15 / S, for Syria 16 / S both of 19 Jan. 1925. In addition, transitional rules for Turks in Ordinance 2825 / 2825bis. English translation of the texts in Flournoy (1929), pp. 298-300.
  10. ↑ Except natives acc. the Senatus consultum of July 14, 1865, i. V. m. the law of Feb. 4, 1919.
  11. ↑ Decree November 12, 1938.
  12. ^ Journal officiel, Aug. 14, 1927 . Implementation ordinance ( Décret ) also of 10 Aug.
  13. ↑ Reg. the adoption of French laws in colonies by ordinance, etc. a.
  14. ↑ Journal officiel , Nov. 15, 1928, p. 12113; on this errata in No. 46 of Feb. 23, 1929, p. 2314.
  15. ↑ Only those of the four Senegalese full communities ( quatre communes ) had already had them since 1848. They were also subject to military service (law of September 29, 1916, Journal officiel RF October 1, 1916). In 1946 it was decided that Tirailleurs sénégalais who had died in the world wars were not citizens.
  16. ↑ Decree November 25, 1913.
  17. ↑ Law No. 940 of May 7th. ( Journal officiel RF May 8, 1946, p. 3888), in force on June 1, 1946.
  18. ↑ Decree on the modalities of application of May 24, 1953. In force AEF May 10, 1953, AOF April 16, 1953, Madagascar March 21, 1953.
  19. ↑ Morocco: Art. 15 of the Madrid Convention , July 3, 1880. In addition, on naturalization, decree April 29, 1920, Dahir and both decree of November 8, 1921. Tunis: decrees of June 19, 1914, November 8, 1921 and the law of December 20, 1923 regarding foreigners who are not subjects of the possessions in North Africa.
  20. ↑ Decree of May 26, 1913, amended by the law of September 4, 1919.
  21. ↑ Service instructions circular of June 8, 1914.
  22. ↑ Decree of March 3, 1909, amended May 31, 1932 ( Journal officiel RF June 7, 1932) and October 31, 1935 ( Journal officiel RF November 6, 1935). Decree April 7, 1938 ( Journal officiel RF April 12, 1938, p. 4355). Status of the residents of Île Sainte-Marie , June 27, 1960 ( Journal officiel RF July 20, 1960).
  23. ↑ Circular from the Governor General of Madagascar, February 24, 1913 ( Journal officiel de Madagascar et dépendances, March 15, 1913); Recognition of illegitimate: Decree November 7th. 1916 ( Journal officiel RF November 7, 1916; decree July 21, 1931 Journal officiel de Madagascar et dépendances, September 19, 1931); Decree Sept. 6, 1933 ( Journal officiel RF Sept. 16, 1933), amended Nov. 12, 1939 ( Journal officiel RF Nov. 17, 1939, p. 13179).
  24. ↑ Regulations (German translation partly in Tomson (1967)): Decree of May 25, 1912 ( Journal officiel RF June 1, 1912; its enactment regulation October 29, 1912); Decree Jan. 14, 1918, amended Aug. 22, 1918 ( Journal officiel RF Jan. 17 or Aug. 26, 1918), revised Decree Aug. 21, 1932 ( Journal officiel RF Aug. 28, 1932, p. 9510 , Errata p. 9718), decree July 23, 1937 ( Journal officiel RF July 27, 1937, p. 8476); Amendment of the Civil Code with regard to illegitimate children valid from 1922-28 ( Journal officiel RF Jan. 2, 1923); Status of half-breeds: Decree Sept. 5, 1930 ( Journal officiel RF Sept. 8/9, 1930, p. 10454)
  25. ↑ For their new nationalities, see Tomson (1967).
  26. ^ Directory in Hecker / Tomson (1968), pp. 263-82.
  27. ↑ Ordonnance 2441 of October 19, 1945. Transitional provisions in Art. 2-14. Journal officiel, October 20, 1945, p. 6760, Errata p. 7206 and 8004.
  28. ↑ Law 752, July 28, 1960.
  29. ↑ Implementation ordinance to the CNF, decree of November 2, 1945 (German translation with amendments: in Hecker / Tomson (1968), pp. 161-8): Refused applications for naturalization are not substantiated. In the case of suspected inadmissibility, such is issued or conditions are imposed.
  30. ↑ So-called Taubira circular of January 25, 2013, confirmed by the Conseil d'État on December 12, 2014.
  31. ↑ Decree of November 12, 1938, adopted 1945 as Art. 39, amended May 24, 1951.
  32. ↑ According to Art. 79 of Law 2006-911 ( Journal officielle, July 27, 2006).
  33. ↑ Amendment to the law of December 22, 1961 allowed this also for people living illegally in the country (now repealed). Since the law was changed on Dec. 28, 1967, a simple declaration is sufficient for people who were automatically expatriated as a child. Restricted by the repeal of Art. 21 by Art. 82 of Law 2006-911.
  34. ↑ 1954-73 this was only possible for men under 50. Further information: Goes, Nina Isabel; Multiple nationality in Germany; 1997, ISBN 3-7890-4724-4 , pp. 119-136
  35. ↑ Circulaire DPM 2000-414 du 20 juillet 2000 relative à la procedure d'acquisition de la nationalité française par declaration à raison du mariage, NOR: MESN0030488C
  36. ↑ France: Moroccan woman with burqa denied naturalization . DiePresse.com, July 12, 2008
  37. ^ Judgment in France: Muslim woman refuses to shake hands - and is not allowed to be naturalized . stern.de, April 20, 2018

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