Does France Give Citizenship by Birth? Jus Soli, Age 18, Mayotte

Does France give citizenship by birth? Partly. Being born on French soil is not by itself enough. A child is French from birth only if at least one parent is French, or if a foreign parent was also born in France. A child born in France to two foreign parents who were born abroad is not French at birth, but can become French automatically at 18, or earlier by declaration, if they grow up in France.

Born to a French Parent

The clearest route runs through the parents. Article 18 of the French Civil Code states that a child with at least one French parent is French from birth.¹ The birth can happen anywhere in the world. The parents do not have to be married. Citizenship passes equally through the mother or the father. What matters is that a legal parent-child relationship with the French parent is established.

When the birth happens abroad, the French parent should register it with the nearest French consulate so the child appears in the French civil registry. Without that registration, proving French nationality later is much harder. Expect to produce the child’s birth certificate, the French parent’s own birth certificate, and proof of that parent’s French nationality.

Born in France to a Foreign Parent Who Was Also Born in France

This is the rule people most often miss. Under Article 19-3 of the Civil Code, a child born in France is French at birth if at least one parent, even a foreign one, was also born in France.¹ It is called double jus soli because it looks at birthplace across two generations.

Official government guidance puts it plainly: “if one of your parents is a foreigner but was born in France and you were born in France, you are native French.”² There is no declaration to file, no residency period to complete, and no waiting until adulthood. The child is French from day one. To get identity documents, though, you still need a Certificate of French Nationality to prove the status.

Born in France to Two Foreign Parents: Citizenship at 18

When neither parent is French and neither was born in France, a child born on French soil is not French at birth. Citizenship comes later. Under Article 21-7 of the Civil Code, it happens automatically on the eighteenth birthday if three conditions are met:²¹

The person was born on French territory.
They live in France on their eighteenth birthday.
They have lived in France for at least five years, continuously or not, since the age of 11.

No application is required. But “automatic” does not mean the state ships you a passport. To get a French ID card or passport, you still have to request a Certificate of French Nationality from the judicial court nearest your home and use it to prove your status.

One group is excluded from this pathway: children of diplomatic agents or career consuls posted to France.²

A person who becomes French this way can also decline it, between the ages of 17 and a half and 19. To refuse, they must not already be French through another route and must hold another nationality, so that refusing would not leave them stateless.

Earlier Options: Declaring Nationality as a Minor

A child born in France to foreign parents does not have to wait until 18. French law allows an earlier declaration in two windows, each with its own residency rule:²

Between 13 and 15, the parents or legal representatives can declare nationality on the child’s behalf, with the child’s own consent. The child must have lived in France continuously since age 8 and reside in France at the time of the declaration.
Between 16 and 17, the minor can make the declaration alone, without parental involvement. They must have lived in France for at least five years since age 11 and reside in France when they declare.

Article 21-11 of the Civil Code covers both.¹ The younger window has the stricter residency test: unbroken presence from age 8, rather than five accumulated years.

Children Who Would Otherwise Be Stateless

France closes the gap for children born on its soil who would otherwise have no nationality. The Civil Code grants citizenship at birth in three situations:

A child born in France to unknown parents is French from birth under Article 19. If parentage is later established and the child gains a foreign nationality through that parent, the French nationality can be retroactively removed during their minority.¹
A child born in France to stateless parents is French from birth under Article 19-1.¹
A child born in France is French from birth if the laws of both parents’ countries prevent the child from inheriting their nationality.

Mayotte Is Different

Mayotte, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean, applies stricter rules. Since 2018, a child born there to non-French parents can only acquire French nationality through jus soli if at least one parent had been legally and continuously resident in France for a minimum period before the birth. A 2025 reform tightened this further, requiring that both parents have legally resided in Mayotte for at least one year at the time of the birth. These restrictions apply only in Mayotte, not on mainland France or in other overseas territories.

Proving You Are French: The Certificate of Nationality

However you became French, the Certificate of French Nationality (CNF) is the document that proves it. The certificate names the specific legal basis for your nationality, whether parentage, birth on French soil, or a declaration. You need it to get a French passport or national ID card for the first time.

The application is free, using cerfa form no. 16237. If you live in France, you file at the judicial court nearest your home. If you live abroad but were born in France, you file at the court nearest your birthplace. If you live abroad and were born abroad, the application goes to the tribunal in Paris. The court has six months from issuing a receipt to decide, extendable twice by six months. If no decision comes after all extensions, the request is treated as rejected, and you can appeal to the judicial court with a lawyer.³

Dual Nationality Is Allowed

France permits dual nationality. Acquiring French citizenship does not require giving up your existing one, and a French citizen who takes another country’s nationality does not lose their French one. This has been the position since reforms in 1973. A child born in France who becomes French at 18 can keep whatever nationality they inherited from their parents. The other country’s rules still apply, though, so if that country does not recognize dual nationality on its end, check its laws before assuming both passports are safe.

1
GLOBALCIT. French Civil Code – Consolidated English Version
2
Service Public. French Nationality of a Child Born in France to Foreigners Parents
3
Service Public. Certificate of French Nationality (CNF)