🇫🇷 French nationality guide
To be French, or not to be French.
How I prepared for my naturalisation: the documents, the interview, the civic exam, and the study method that got me 39/40. No fluff, just what worked for me.
How I aced the 2026 civic exam: 39/40.
2026 updateThe rules changed in January 2026: a multiple-choice civic exam, B2 French and new fees. The method below still works; the civic exam video above covers what's new.
Two ways in
There are two ways to become French.
💍
By declaration
Your spouse or parent is French.
🗂️
By naturalisation
You've lived in France for 5 years (2 after a French master's). Doing it on your own? This is you, and this guide is for it.
The 2-year route after a master's →- Run the official simulatorOn service-public.fr. It gives you your personal list of documents.
- Collect the documentsExpect a few months at least. Don't wait for this to finish before step 3.
- Start studying in parallelOoooh yes, there IS an interview, and it's hard if you haven't prepared.
Prerequisites
The classics.
- Read the Livret du CitoyenThe official guide. Download it, or search the name for the latest version.
- Read the Charte des droits et devoirsYou'll sign it at the interview and may not have time to read it there. Read it now.
- Prepare your introduction in FrenchSounds easy. It isn't. Under stress you ramble and make mistakes. Write it down and practise it.
Balata plus
What gave me the edge.
- Build an Anki deckEvery fact from the documents in one deck, so you can revise the whole syllabus in an hour before the exam.
- Listen to Quid DroitPause before each answer and try it yourself. His channel gave me a lot of confidence.
- Write, if it calms youI study on screens, but I still write a bit before the interview. Irrational? Maybe. You do you.
- Record yourselfYou have no idea what you sound like stressed. Hearing myself back showed me exactly what to fix.
Study material
Skip the typing: get my deck.
Every fact I knew I wouldn't remember, already in Anki and ready to drill on your phone. It's the deck I used.
Buy my Anki deck →
How to actually get the French nationality.
Study method
What worked for me.
- Read everything onceJust to feel the volume of facts.
- Accept it's too much for light readingA few sessions won't do it.
- Put what you'll forget into AnkiOnly the facts you're sure won't stick.
- Drill with the appMost of your time goes here, checking your answers against the deck.
- Ask friends to quiz youAfter a few days, out loud, without notes.
The most effective thing I didMy friend Rita interviewed me like the real thing and gave me feedback. Feedback like that seems obvious afterwards, but you won't find it online, because it's about your answers. And recording it fixes that "I should have revised this fuzzy part" feeling before the real interview.
Watch the full mock interview →
The whole road, from student card to passport.
Chapter 10 of Fit-in in France walks through it with the 2026 rules.