Marriage and nationality

Marriage has no automatic effect on nationality. However, it can give access to it under some conditions:

• If the Non-French person has been married with a French person for at least 4 years
• If he/she is staying legally in France
• If the couple is still sharing each other’s life
• If the Non-French person has a sufficient knowledge of the French language
• If he/she has not been convicted
• If the marriage has been transcribed onto French registers (if it was celebrated abroad)

The statement of nationality costs 55€. It must be handed to the competent prefecture depending on your place of residence (see map below).

To see the list of requested documents (depending on the foreign person’s situation) or for more information on nationality statement, go to service-public.fr (in French only).

Unlike marriage, getting a PACS with a French person doesn’t give access to French nationality.