Due to specific historic setting of the second half of the 20th century, France as well as other European countries needed to fill the World War caused demographic deficit. The ius soli i.e. citizenship based on birth within the national territory became law at the end of the 19th century because ius sanguinis i.e. citizenship through blood relationship was unable to fill the deficit. This led to rapid increase in naturalization among immigrants and brought the racial question into heated political debates in the 1970s. Asylum and
15 In English: French Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination Commission.
16 Such as equal access to housing and discrimination on grounds of residence.
17 Wearing religious garments such as Islamic veil, large Christian crosses etc.
21 family reunification policies have tightened since then and resulted in the increase of undocumented immigrants (Kirszbaum, Thomas et al. 2009: 10-11).
There are two ways to acquire French nationality: firstly, acquisitions by decree and secondly, acquisitions by declaration. The first one consists of acquisitions by naturalization (par naturalisation), by reintegration (par réintégration) and by marriage (par marriage). The second one consist of acquisitions by ius soli (acquisitions de plein droit) without formalities (sans formalités) for 18 years olds and (b) anticipated declaration (déclaration anticipée) for 13 years olds born in France to foreign parents (Immigrés et descendants d’immigrés en France 2012: 110).
In the first category, according to the Civil Code, acquisition through nationalization applies through the following conditions: being over age of 18, providing five years permanent residence in France, not having been convicted or condemned, being in good health, and showing a satisfying degree of assimilation to the ‘French community (French language skills, knowledge of rights and duties of a French citizen and adoption of French customs). Conditions are the same for acquisitions by reintegration for those who have lost their nationality18 (Bertossi & Hajjat 2013: 22). Acquisitions through marriage states that foreign spouse of a French national can claim French nationality after four years of ‘common and affective’ life after the date of marriage if the couple lived in France for at least three years. In addition, the spouse has to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the French language, culture, history and right and duties of a French citizen (Historique du droit de la nationalité française, Ministère de l’intérieur).
In the second category, acquisitions by ius soli (acquisitions de plein droit) are divided into two: automatic nationality without formalities (sans formalités) for age of 18 and anticipated declaration (déclaration anticipée) for age of 13 born in France to foreign parents. The former applies to all foreigners born19 in France to foreign parents at the
18 Under certain circumstances, French nationality can be lost by declaration or by decree i.e. for example when the following strict conditions are met: being a French national ius sanguinis but having a permanent residence abroad or born to parents who have not lived in France for at least 50 years. This applies also for those who acquired another nationality after the independence of their country or by a declaration of loss submitted after their marriage to a foreigner (Bertossi & Hajjat 2013: 23).
19 Acquisition de la nationalité française de plein droit.
22 age of 18, if they live in France and can prove their residence (either continuous or not) for 5 years since the age of 11. The latter can be acquired if a young foreign national was born in France and has lived in France since the age of 8, his or her parents can claim French nationality on his or her behalf and with his or her consent after the age of 13 (Bertossi & Hajjat 2013: 19-21).
The request for citizenship starts with submitting naturalisation application and documentation20 to the prefecture office. Next steps include appeal for a language or integration test. Language or integration tests are not free of charge i.e. applicants must pay courses given by authorized language institutions (e.g. Centre international d'études pédagogiques). After the course, applicant must perform in a language assessment. In case of rejection, the applicant has a right for second consideration (Hajjat 2013: 1-6). Applicant must prove his/her level of integration and assimilation to the French community (French language skills, knowledge of rights and duties of a French citizen and adoption of French customs), have to have a stable income and must not have been convicted (Rallu 2011: 45-46). Refugees are exempt from residence requirements and, depending on their age, also from language requirements, but other ordinary naturalization requirements apply (Tjaden 2010: 10).
France has also a long tradition of dual nationality policy. Even though the 1963 Council of Europe Convention to reduce cases of dual citizenship was signed, the country has allowed newly naturalized citizens to retain their previous citizenship (Bertossi & Hajjat 2013: 5). The same holds true for descendants of foreigners born in France. They can choose whether to keep their former nationality or not when they come of age (Simon 2012: 5). The only way to lose it is through explicit request (Bertossi & Hajjat 2013: 13). Nearly half of the immigrants who acquire French nationality have kept their foreign one as well. Even though bi-nationals are seen as fully French, the question of loyalty and dual identities is often raised. Dual belonging is seen as a zero-sum game: commitment to a minority culture or a foreign country detracts from the quality of one’s commitment to French identity (Simon 2012: 1-5).
20 Must prove his/her identity (birth certificate), income, legal residence, health, morality (criminal record), assimilation (at least B1 level of French proficiensy), personal links to the country (either relatives/spouse residing in France or nationality certificate) and proof of children’s education.
23 Because naturalization is the only mean for permanent residence in France, the share of naturalized persons is roughly 40% against 60% of foreigners. Despite the high share of bi-nationals, citizenship laws in France are more inclusive than in most EU countries with the exception of language and integration requirements (language proficiency and tests).