French citizenship by marriage from the US

A foreign spouse of a French citizen can become French by declaration, without naturalization, once the marriage has lasted long enough.

From the United States the file goes by mail to a consulate, followed by an interview with both spouses, and the decision comes from the sub-directorate for access to French nationality.

The conditions

The marriage must be valid, still in force and transcribed in the French civil registers.

The declaration is possible after four years of marriage with an unbroken community of life, or five years if you cannot show three years of continuous residence in France after the wedding, or if your French spouse was not on the Registre for the whole marriage.

You must also prove French at level B2 at least, in comprehension and in written and oral expression, with a diploma or a certificate.

The file

The file is the completed and signed CERFA form, the documents listed in the information notice, and the chancery fee, set at 255 euros. It is sent in two copies by mail, and the network's page adds two things the official notice does not say yet.

The nationality page tells you to mail the file “to the consulate of your place of residence”; the “who to contact” page says nationality files are handled only by Los Angeles and Washington, and splits the country between the two. Mail it to the one that covers your district. (sources: 1, 2)

The official information notice for the marriage declaration still says B1; the consulates' page warns that it has not been updated and that you must prove at least B2.

Since February 2026 the file also needs the list of the couple's addresses in France, which the notice does not mention either. (source: 1)

After filing

You are called for an interview with your French spouse. The sub-directorate has up to one year to register the declaration or oppose it. Abroad, the registered declaration is handed over by the consulate in person, or at a ceremony where one is held.

Naturalization is the other route, and from abroad it is an exception: it needs five years of work for the French State or a body of particular interest to France, French at B2 and, since January 1, 2026, a civic exam.

Official sources: Nationalité française; Démarches administratives : à qui m’adresser ?; Tarifs des droits de chancellerie.

Details checked against the official pages on October 6, 2026.