[Odette]

Hello,

Could anyone please let me know how long I can expect to wait for my French Citizenship to come through.

Im a South African with a French father (unfortunately now deceased), living in Ireland.

I have applied for my Certificate de la Nationalite and completed all the forms and submitted reams of documents. How long could I expect it to take for my final approval to come through, as I am 'technically French'. Unfortunately Im living in Ireland so all my documents have to be submitted through the Paris Office and I dont have the luxury of meeting with the Regional Prefect.

I have also heard that 'new citizens' have to undergo an interview, could anyone shed some light on this?

Looking forward to your replies, many thanks

Odette

 

[Bevdeforges]

Since we're talking about France, these things take as long as they take. Assuming they do some sort of "enquete" regarding your dossier, it can take up to a year, though if everything goes smoothly it may only be a few months.

If you are going for naturalization, there are at least two interviews - mainly to check out the details of your dossier and to see how well you speak French. I'm not sure you'll need to go through the interview process - and in fact, I don't think you'll be invited to one of the "new citizen" swearing in ceremonies, either, as in theory you have always been French since birth.
Cheers,
Bev