French citizenship by marriage, applied for from the UK

Citizenship by marriage
A foreign spouse of a French national can declare French nationality after four years of marriage (five in some cases), with French at B2 level. From the UK, the file goes to the consulate’s nationality service and costs £213.21 (€255).

The declaration by marriage (article 21-2 of the French civil code) is the route for the foreign spouse of a French national, British spouses included. It is not automatic: you file a declaration, attend an interview with your French spouse, and the nationality department in France registers it or opposes it.

The general picture is in French citizenship from the UK.

The conditions

The consulate's nationality page lists three. The marriage must be valid and not dissolved, and a marriage celebrated abroad must already be transcribed in the French registers (see marrying in the UK). The couple must have lived together throughout.

The waiting period is four years from the wedding, extended to five if you cannot show three years of uninterrupted residence in France after the marriage, or if your French spouse cannot show uninterrupted registration on the Registre of French citizens abroad for the whole marriage.

Living in the UK, that registration is what keeps you at four years: see the Registre.

You must also prove French at B2 level, in understanding and in written and oral expression, with a diploma or a certificate. The page warns that the information leaflet still mentions B1: B2 is what counts.

Condition Requirement
Marriage length 4 years, or 5 (see above)
Life together unbroken since the wedding
Marriage record transcribed in French registers
Language B2, by diploma or certificate
Fee £213.21 (€255)
Decision within one year of the declaration

How the file runs

You prepare the CERFA form and the documents in the information leaflet, then contact the consulate for how to send or hand in the file. Since February 2026 the file must also include the list of addresses where the couple lived in France.

Citizenship by marriage, from the UK: Check the conditions; Transcribe the marriage; Send the file; Interview; Decision
1. The file
CERFA form, completed and signed, the documents in the leaflet and the chancery fee of £213.21 (€255).
2. The interview
You are called in with your French spouse for an interview at the consulate.
3. Registration
The nationality department in France has up to one year to register the declaration or oppose it.
4. The ceremony
In London, the declaration is handed over at a welcome ceremony held about once a month.

If you have lived in France

The five-year rule has two triggers, and living in the UK touches both. Three years of uninterrupted residence in France after the wedding keep the waiting period at four years; so does your French spouse's unbroken registration on the Registre for the whole marriage. A couple with neither waits five years.

Have ready
  • The CERFA declaration form
  • The transcribed marriage certificate
  • A B2 French diploma or certificate
  • The documents in the consulate’s April 2026 information leaflet
  • The list of your addresses in France, if any
 Transcribe the marriage first: a UK marriage not yet in the French registers stops the declaration. 

Official sources: Nationalité française; Tarifs et paiement des droits de chancellerie.

All consular procedures
How to book an appointment

Details checked against the official pages on 10 November 2026.

Independent information, not an official service: frenchconsulates.co.uk has no link with the French authorities.

We read the official pages, date what we use and report disagreements between them. Always check with the consulate before you go.

Go up