Job Discussion Forums

[mistael]

I am new to this site and notice that the question of citizenship to France has come up a time or two. I have wanted to attain french nationality because my grandmother was born in France. I can not get her birth certificate, so I have researched alternate ways. Americans can own a business in France. There is a treaty between the U.S. and France that gives the mutual right of establishing a business. I do not know much about this but I know you have to pay a huge tax fee for having a business there.

Also there is a law that if you go to school for two years in France (in light of getting your degree) then you can apply for citizenship if you know French and about France. This is not guaranteed, but it gives some light to this very dark tunnel.

The French LAW is on:
http://195.83.177.9/code/liste.phtml?lang=uk&c=22&r=227#art2766 (It is art. 21-18.)

Here is a website about studying in France: (probably the best one!)
http://www.edufrance.fr/en/index.htm
Others:
http://www.egide.asso.fr/uk/guide/
http://www.cnous.fr/ (You can order a free copy of je vais en France from here. It is a practical book in English or French about living in France.)

For Australians and in general: (citizenship)
http://www.southern-cross-group.org/anothercitizenship/france.html

I have many other links and other information about living in France, PM me if you want. I have all the info, now all I need to do is go!

[rogan]

Bouse de taureau !

[fancynan]

[mistael]

Yeah, why BS? That is an official french government website. I think it is kind of rude to say that after I put that together. I am just trying to help.. It's not like I said it is guaranteed. It is clearly a valid law. That is not to say they follow their laws 100%. I think they can reject your citizen application for any reason. It was just an idea and some resources for schooling. My research sure got squashed quick. I think people should be more positive on this forum instead of cursing their posts in a different anguage. I was hoping for something along the lines of "bonne chance!" If you don't tell us why you think its total BS, then your wasting peoples time!

[spiral78]

Well, I can say bonne chance, but the truth is that the information on the websites you've gathered is almost all applicable only to those who are eligible for residency for one reason or another.
Legal residency is usually the first step for citizenship. I have been married to a Czech national for six years, obtained permanent residency in the CR three years ago, and am still waiting for paperwork for citizenship. I know that laws vary from country to country, and the CR is not France, but this is pretty standard procedure across the board.

If you read the fine print, the amount of investment required for the business entry is in the millions. You must be eligible to live legally in France for five years to apply on the basis of having been there for five years - obviously you can't live under the table and then try to prove anything.

I am not trying to say that it is 100% impossible to somehow make things work out. There are a few lucky souls who find love and get married, get hooked up with a North American company doing business in the EU, get employed at one of the rare openings in an international school, or are eligible to work on a military base, for example.

But, quite honestly, there are almost no loopholes, and there are none that apply to large numbers of hopefuls. It's unfortunate that we can't all live and work where we want to - but at the moment, it's a global issue.

[michellem]

just this minute while watching TF1 news there was a story about a romanian woman who has been living in france for at least 7 years( I missed how long exactly), went to school here, has a child born in france (the child does not speak romanian) the child is about 6 years old. here application for citizenship had just been refused because she failed to prove a strong enough link to France. This is only one case among thousands.

[txtraveler]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know of anyone who has taken advantage of the shorter waiting time for graduates of French unis and applied for citizenship and actually been awarded it? I'm applying to graduate schools and one of the schools I'm applying to is in France, so I'm just curious about finding out more about the process and whether it's actually feasible from someone that's done it or knows someone that's done it.

[rogan]

The (Am) guy who has just won the Prix Goncourt - the highest literary prize in France has had his application for French citizenship turned down TWICE.

My kids, educated in France from age 2 1/2 to 18, have had their applications for citizenship turned down.

There are legions of others who have long term residence who also have had applications rejected.

That's not B*llsh*t

[Spunkycatt]

Is getting an EU passport as hard as obtaining an EU citizenship?


is there a difference between those two??

[spiral78]

Honey, you get passports only from countries where you have legal citizenship.

You're from the US, so I assume you must have heard of all those illegal mexican and other workers who are the targets of the INS? If you try to go to work in France, that's YOU.

Sorry to be snide. It's just that it's been asked so many times.

People from the US very RARELY find some legal loophole to work in France - or Spain, or Italy, and almost never the Netherlands or Germany or Austria or Portugal or Greece.

If you marry a citizen of an EU member country. Or work for an international company. Or go on a one-year study exchange thru your university. That's the way.

Sorry for the bad news. Your dream's unlikely to become a reality - it's not based on how hard you try, or work at it, or your qualifications. It's simply the law.

I'm from the US too. I am married to a Czech. Some European countries I can work in , some not. I honestly relate to your situation. But the reality is the reality - you're not eligible for legal work under 99% of circumstances.

[Old_Liz]