France
Citizenship guide · FR
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted.
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Eligibility is often wider than people expect a free check takes under a minute.
Who can visit France?
93 of 199 passports can enter France visa-free, visa on arrival, by ETA, or with an e-visa.
Visa-free 93
- Albania
- Andorra
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Dominica
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Finland
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
105 passports require a visa to visit France.
Am I eligible for France citizenship?
Tap the option closest to your situation for an instant steer.
Why France?
The France passport offers visa-free, visa-on-arrival, ETA, or e-visa access to 184 destinations, ranking it #23 globally.
Citizenship by descent
France applies jus sanguinis citizenship can be acquired by descent from a citizen parent.
Naturalisation
Naturalisation typically requires 5 years of residence (reduced to 4 years for spouses).
France typically requires B1 language proficiency for naturalisation.
Dual citizenship
France generally permits dual citizenship.
Fees & timeline
The application fee is around €55 (approximate).
Tax considerations
- Top personal income tax rate: 45%
- Corporate income tax rate: 25%
- Standard VAT/GST rate: 20%
- Taxation basis: worldwide (residents are generally taxed on worldwide income)
- A recurring wealth tax applies
Compiled from the Citizenship Hub law dataset (approximate). Verify with official government sources before relying on this information.
Documents checklist
The documents you'll typically need for each citizenship route in France. Tick items off as you gather them your progress is saved on this device.
Citizenship by descent
Proving your lineage to a citizen parent or ancestor.
Naturalisation
The standard route via continuous lawful residence.
Naturalisation via marriage
A reduced residency route for spouses of citizens.
Country data
Overview, citizenship routes, economy, freedom, and tax at a glance.
Overview
- Capital
- Paris
- Region
- Europe
- Area
- 551,695 km²
- Population
- 67,059,887
- Demonym
- French
- Languages
- French
- Currency
- Euro (€)
Citizenship routes
- Citizenship by descent
- Yes
- Descent depth
- Parents only
- Naturalisation period
- 5 years
- Marriage route
- 4 years
- Language level
- B1
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
- Official application fee
- €55
Economics & development
- GDP per capita
- $48,986 2025
- Total GDP
- $2.7T 2019
- Inflation
- 0.9% 2025
- Life expectancy
- 83.0 years 2024
- GDP growth
- 0.8% 2025
- Human Development Index
- 0.910 #28
- Income group
- High income: OECD
- Development status
- Developed region: G7
Freedom & quality of life
- Corruption Perceptions Index
- 67 / 100 2024 · #22
- Freedom in the World
- 89 / 100 Free · 2024
- Human Rights Index
- 0.92 / 1 2025 · #22
- Liberal Democracy Index
- 0.80 / 1 2025 · #9
- Life satisfaction
- 6.59 / 10 2025 · #34
Tax considerations
- Personal income tax
- 45% top rate
- Corporate tax
- 25%
- VAT / GST
- 20%
- Tax basis
- Worldwide
- Wealth tax
- Applies
Relocation & living
- Internet penetration
- 88.7% 2024
- Driving side
- Right-hand
- Healthcare system
- Social insurance
- Climate
- Temperate / Mediterranean
- Time zone
- Europe/Paris
Where the France passport can travel
Each dot is a destination colours show what you need to enter.
- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
Europe
42 visa-free · 1 ETA · 1 e-visaAmericas
30 visa-free · 4 ETA · 1 e-visaAsia
24 visa-free · 15 on arrival · 1 ETA · 7 e-visa · 4 requiredAfrica
17 visa-free · 11 on arrival · 2 ETA · 15 e-visa · 9 requiredOceania
10 visa-free · 3 ETA · 1 required- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
- No admission
Alternative paths to France citizenship
Beyond standard naturalisation, these routes may apply to you.
Residency → naturalisation
Most applicants naturalise through 5 years of lawful residence (reduced to 4 years by marriage). An advisor can confirm your fastest route.
More citizenship guides
Monaco
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 10 years; dual citizenship is generally not permitted; a golden visa (residency by investment) is available.
- Capital
- Monaco
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 10 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Luxembourg
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted; a golden visa (residency by investment) is available.
- Capital
- Luxembourg
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Netherlands
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is generally not permitted; a golden visa (residency by investment) is available.
- Capital
- Amsterdam
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Switzerland
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 10 years; dual citizenship is permitted; a golden visa (residency by investment) is available.
- Capital
- Bern
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 10 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Latest France immigration news
Recent headlines on France immigration and citizenship, auto-fetched from Google News.
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France immigration & citizenship sources
Official government portals and reference pages for France citizenship and immigration rules.
Law
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Overview of citizenship-by-descent, naturalisation and dual-citizenship rules.
Government
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Official government source for immigration and citizenship.
Jobs
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International job board with local listings.
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International job board with local listings.
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Leading local job board.
Housing
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Property listings and rentals.
Healthcare
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Public health system portal.
Banking
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Central bank / banking information.
Education
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Study and education information.
General data sources & licenses
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Visa-requirement matrix and passport mobility scores.
Visa data derived from passportindex.org, via imorte/passport-index-data (MIT License).
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Country metadata: names, capitals, regions, flags, currencies, languages, calling codes, borders, tld, lat/lng, UN/independence status.
Country metadata from mledoze/countries (MIT License).
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Country polygon geometry plus population, GDP (total), income group, economy, and continent classifications.
Made with Natural Earth (public domain) naturalearthdata.com.
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Raster basemap tiles for the interactive visa-access maps.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0).
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GDP per capita (current US$) and inflation (CPI annual %).
GDP per capita and inflation from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) data.worldbank.org.
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Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks.
Human Development Index from the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
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Intermediate distribution of the Corruption Perceptions Index, V-Dem Human Rights Index, and V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index.
Indices sourced via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0).
Our World in Data states that third-party datasets remain subject to the original publisher’s license see the individual sources below.
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Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores.
Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, Transparency International (CC BY-ND 4.0).
Restrictions: No derivatives
CPI scores are reproduced as factual data points, unmodified.
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Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index.
Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index from V-Dem (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Restrictions: Non-commercial · Share-alike
⚠ Non-commercial license: confirm commercial use is permitted before monetising the site.
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Freedom in the World scores and status.
Freedom in the World 2024, © Freedom House (used with attribution for informational purposes).
Review Freedom House republication terms before commercial use.
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Reference for personal income and corporate tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the Tax Foundation.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and VAT/GST rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the OECD Tax Database.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and indirect tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against KPMG Tax Rates Online.
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Reference for citizenship-law rules (descent, naturalisation, dual citizenship, fees).
Citizenship-law facts compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Law facts are human-curated approximations; always verify with official government sources.
Citizenship Hub is an independent resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the organisations above. Informational only not legal, immigration, tax, investment, or travel advice. Requirements, scores, fees, and tax rates change frequently; always verify with the relevant official government source before acting.