Update on French citizenship question

Sarah. I was actually born in France but gave up my french citizenship when I turned 18. Now of course I want it back, ,lol anyways. what is holding me back is my french is not very good and I know that all the forms will be in french and will be expected to be filled out in french.. plus for me I would have to travel to nearest french conusulate which is in Vancouver( a two hour drive and one and half ferry ride away) .. not just once but possibily twice. My dad who still has his citizenship had to go over to renew his passport( think they now do a retina scan) and it was a bit of a hassle for him. and he is of course fluent in french. So my only advice is , unless fluent in french, you should find a friend who is fluent to help you.
Good luck.

Each country likely has its own procedures. But here's my experience.

Earlier this year, we tried to get Italian citizenship for my husband Tom. His grandfather Cornelius came to the US in 1903 and married in 1909. In 1910 he had a son (my husband's father) and in 1911 Cornelius became a naturalized American citizen.

Because Tom's father was born before Cornelius was naturalized, Tom would have been eligible for Italian citizenship ... but he would have had to apply within 100 years of his father's birth. So we missed it by 3 years!

In addition to an application, we would have needed to submit some paperwork (birth certificates for father and grandfather, naturalization papers for grandfather, etc.) so we may still have run into difficulties even had we been within the time period.

Before you do a lot of work, you might call the French consulate in Chicago, and hopefully you will find a helpful person who can quickly tell you if you even qualify. That's what I did; I was running into difficulties with the Italian birth certificate and called to ask a question, which is when I found out about the 100 year time limit. I did, of course, call back and verify that fact with another person, just in case.

At least for the Italians, the key information was when your grandparent was naturalized, and when your parent was born. If your grandparent became a naturalized American citizen before your parent was born, you would be out of luck.

I found Ancestry.com to be invaluable when doing my research, and ended up with a lot of really interesting family history, albeit no dual citizenship.

Good luck!

A friend of mine who was born in the US and whose grandparents emigrated from Poland just before WWII was able to get Polish citizenship. It took over a year and required the services of a lawyer in Poland who specializes in this (found on the Internet). My friend wouldn't even tell me what it cost, but he dropped hints that it was several thousand dollars. Many documents were required; some were in Poland, some in the US, and some had to be obtained from various agencies (for example, he had to get statements from various US armed forces branches that they had no record of his grandfather serving in the US military). Then there was the problem of changed names, since his grandmother's name was Polish on some documents, Yiddish on others, maiden name on some, and married name on others.

His first application was rejected, but it was then granted on appeal (apparently common; this is where having a local lawyer who knew how to navigate the process was invaluable).

Again, he was ultimately successful. But do be prepared for (potentially) lots of work, time, and money.

I was just wondering. What advantage would it be to you to be a French citizen?

I read about the ultra-high taxation in France, especially to those that are high income. They're moving to the U.K. in droves.

To reply to the question as to the advantage of French citizenship, Sarah would have an EU passport, allowing her to live or work in any EU country. I also believe she could enroll herself in the French health care system. At the very least she could get in the EU line at passport control when arriving from the USA! I'd be interested to see statistics as to the "droves" of French citizens supposedly moving to the UK to avoid taxation, by the way.

You only pay taxes in France if you earn money in France (or own property there). It is not linked to citizenship.

Charlene,

I'm also a dual citizen, and I never ever read any law provision about a "100 year after parent birth" regulation for recognition of jus sanguinis Italian citizenship. The other factors you mention are all relevant (being born before naturalization etc). The 100-year limit? Never heard of it, never read of it.

Technically, the process if not one of acquiring Italian citizenship but having the whole blood line recognized as such from their births.

I haven't done this myself, but I have a couple of friends who have- one got Italian citizenship, another got a UK passport. They both had to jump through the hoops a bit, but that's as it should be, to gain citizenship anywhere.
Good luck with your application. I know you weren't asking for opinions, but I would say to go for it, because once you have it, it's for life and it gives you a lot of freedom. As previously mentioned. You will be able to live and work anywhere in Europe.

I was just wondering. What advantage would it be to you to be a French citizen?

Unlike the USA, most countries do not tax their citizens living abroad, so the tax rates in France will not matter to the OP unless they decide to live in France.

A big advantage is that being French means that you are automatically an EU citizen, so you are entitled to live, work, set up a business or what ever in any one of the 27 EU countries. Other things include - access to healthcare and social services in all EU countries. Consular support at the embassies of any one of the 27 EU member states and so on.

Andre, I didn't see that regulation in writing either but both of the ladies in the Chicago consulate were very definite about the 100-year restriction. I think I'll try another consulate (I think there's one in Los Angeles). Appreciate the comment.

Thank you all for your advice! I e-mailed my former French teacher (a native French speaker from Lorient) and asked if she could sit down with me and go over the form to make sure I understand it. I can get by in France with my French but of course I'd take steps to become fluent if citizenship looks possible.

Norma and Jim - yes, EU citizenship is a HUGE benefit of being a citizen of an EU country. That would open up a lot of opportunities for me in terms of a career.

Is dual citizenship possible between the U.S. and France? At this point I wouldn't give up my American citizenship just because I'm not familiar enough with the way France works, but I'd be very happy to be a dual citizen. I assumed dual citizenship was possible between the U.S. and almost any country but a Canadian friend told me that she and her husband (and child, who was born in the U.S.) are here on green cards because the U.S. doesn't have a dual citizenship program with Canada.

The US allows dual citizenship as long as you don't run for high office in the other country. It's the other countries that have restrictions.

Hi,

Dual citizenship is allowed betwen France and the US. I know Americans who hold both citizenships passed on by their native French mother. That's another advantage of becoming a French citizen. It can be passed to your kids if you do the paper work within the permitted time frame.

"a Canadian friend told me that she and her husband (and child, who was born in the U.S.) are here on green cards because the U.S. doesn't have a dual citizenship program with Canada."

The U.S. and Canada doesn't allow dual citizenship between the two countries? Never heard that before. Technically their child is a dual citizen, by birth in the U.S. and by the parents being born in Canada. I think the friends are mistaken or just have no desire to become U.S. citizens since they have a green card.

Have a look at the following website - http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html
it has some good information on dual citizenship as well as tips on living abroad.

Hmm, my partner has an American passport and a Canadian one.. He got an American one years ago when he wanted to visit down there and spend some time ..
He was born in Canada but his dad was born in Virginia.

I too have a very close friend whom I have known for years. He has both an US Passport and a Canadian passport. He used both passports within the last six months. Berry could not have said it better,

"The U.S. and Canada doesn't allow dual citizenship between the two countries? Never heard that before. Technically their child is a dual citizen, by birth in the U.S. and by the parents being born in Canada. I think the friends are mistaken or just have no desire to become U.S. citizens since they have a green card."

A close friend was eligible for dual American and Canadian citizenship, but he did have time-restricted documents to fill when he became an adult. He passed on the American citizenship simply because of the obligations that also come with the passport (like potentially being called into service). It sounds like having the green card, in the case of your friends, gave them the ability to make a choice.

France has a decent framework for welcoming new citizens, including mandatory workshops to attend when you first arrive to live there, through the Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration (OFII). Pôle emploi also provides assistance in preparing for the French workforce.

As others mentioned though, your ability to function well in French will be crucially important if you do decide to try living (and working) there. My French-speaking Québecois brother (not "joual", as our parents strictly forbade us to speak it) was enrolled quickly into a French-language course to remedy his lacunes (shortfalls), when he arrived - LOL!

The one HUGELY frustrating thing about dealing with any segment of the French government administration is the grueling bureaucracy and differently-abled system for dealing with paperwork.
Can you say: "paperasse administrative" in triplicate? ;-)

Thank you all for your very helpful advice! I'll copy and paste this entire thread into a folder for future reference. I'll keep you all posted about my progress. Hopefully I can meet with my former French teacher this coming weekend, fill out the form, and mail it to Paris soon.

I just saw on CNN that Malta is considering selling EU citizenship to foreigners for 650,000 euro.