Since 1 January 2026, foreign nationals applying for a long-term residence permit or for French nationality face stricter integration requirements. The French language level has gone up, and a new civic examination has become a condition for the multi-year residence card, the ten-year resident card and naturalisation. For many families abroad who are French by descent, however, none of this applies. This article explains both sides.
What changed on 1 January 2026
The reform, introduced by the January 2024 immigration law and its implementing decrees, applies to applications filed from 1 January 2026. The required French level now depends on the permit:
- Multi-year residence card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle): level A2.
- Resident card (carte de résident, ten years): level B1, up from A2.
- Naturalisation: level B2, up from B1.
One-year temporary residence cards are not affected by these language thresholds. Holders of a French diploma are generally exempt from proving their level through a test.
The civic examination
The civic examination is a multiple-choice test of around forty questions on the values of the Republic, French institutions, history and everyday life, including practical scenarios. The pass mark is set at 80%. It is now required for the multi-year card, the resident card and naturalisation.
Applicants over 65 are exempt, and people with disabilities can request an exemption or adapted conditions. Some practical details, such as the official question bank and the list of approved test centres, have been released progressively, so it is worth checking the current position with your préfecture before booking.
For naturalisation, the civic test adds to the existing assimilation interview at the préfecture rather than replacing it. The other conditions, such as residence, stable resources and good character, are unchanged.
Who is affected
- Spouses of French nationals moving from a first one-year card to a multi-year card or a resident card.
- Talent card holders and employees applying for a resident card after several years in France.
- Long-term residents preparing a naturalisation file, who now need B2 French and a civic test pass.
For anyone in these situations, the practical advice is simple: plan the language test and the civic exam early, keep the certificates with your file, and check their validity date at the time of filing.
Why citizenship by descent is different
None of these requirements apply to people who are already French by filiation. Under Article 18 of the Civil Code, a child with at least one French parent is French from birth, wherever the child was born. Such a person does not acquire French nationality: they have always had it, and only need to prove it.
That proof is the certificat de nationalité française (CNF), issued by the court service in charge of nationality. A CNF application is examined on the documentary chain of descent: civil status records for each generation, proof that the French ancestor was French, and evidence that the link was not broken along the way. There is no language test, no civic examination and no assimilation interview.
For descendants of French nationals living in Brazil, Latin America, North America or elsewhere, this distinction matters a great deal. A person who would struggle to reach B2 French for naturalisation may well be French already, and simply need the CNF that proves it.
The limit to keep in mind: the fifty-year rule
Citizenship by descent has its own condition. Under Article 30-3 of the Civil Code, if the family has lived abroad for more than fifty years and neither the applicant nor the parent through whom nationality passes has behaved as a French national (a passport, a consular registration, an identity card, for example), the court can refuse to recognise French nationality on the ground of desuetude. This is the main reason CNF applications fail, and it is why the documentary strategy must be built before filing.
Which path is yours?
- If you have a French parent, or a French grandparent whose nationality was passed on, start with a CNF assessment.
- If you have no French ancestry and have lived in France for at least five years, the route is naturalisation, with the new B2 and civic requirements.
- If you are married to a French national, nationality by declaration after four years of marriage has its own conditions, including a language requirement. We check the current rules case by case.
How we help
We assess whether a client is already French by descent before anyone spends time and money on naturalisation. Where they are, we rebuild the documentary chain, obtain the French and foreign civil status records, and prepare the CNF application. Where naturalisation is the right path, we prepare the file and help clients plan the language and civic requirements around their filing date.