Naturalisation in France: from when you can apply
Enter the start of your lawful residence and your situation: the calculator gives the earliest filing date and the date by which you must get an answer.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Application possible from
1 September 2026
| Residence condition met on | 1 September 2026 |
| Answer due by (18 months) | 2 May 2028 |
| With the 3-month extension | 2 August 2028 |
| Tax stamp | €255 |
| French level required | B2 |
Legal deadline counted from the complete-file receipt; no official per-prefecture waiting time is published.
Rules and sourcesNaturalisation by decree requires 5 years of residence in France on the day you apply, counted date to date from the start of your lawful stay. If you arrived on 1 September 2021, you can apply from 1 September 2026. The period drops to 2 years if you earned a degree from a French higher-education institution after two years of study there, or have rendered or can render important services to France; it disappears for refugees and for people from a French-speaking country whose mother tongue is French. You must be 18 to be naturalised, but the file can be sent from age 17. Once you receive the receipt (récépissé) confirming a complete file, the administration has 18 months to answer, or 12 months if you have lived in France for at least ten years, with a single reasoned extension of 3 months. The tax stamp costs €255, €127.50 in French Guiana. The decision remains discretionary: meeting the residence period gives you the right to ask, not the right to obtain.
What the calculator works out
It takes the date your lawful residence began, meaning your first residence permit or long-stay visa, and adds the period that applies to your case. It compares that date with your 17th birthday and keeps the later one: the first day a file can be sent. If you enter the receipt date, it adds the legal response deadline (18 months, or 12 months with ten years of residence on that date) and the latest date including the reasoned 3-month extension. These rules come from the official naturalisation-by-decree page and articles 21-14-1 to 21-25-1 of the Civil Code.
| Situation | Residence began | Period | Can apply from |
|---|---|---|---|
| General case | 1 September 2021 | 5 years | 1 September 2026 |
| French higher-education degree | 1 October 2024 | 2 years | 1 October 2026 |
| Refugee | 10 March 2025 | none | 10 March 2025 |
The other conditions a date cannot replace
The residence period is only one condition. You need a valid residence permit when you apply (EU and Swiss nationals excepted), B2-level French, spoken and written, a pass in the civic exam (32 correct answers out of 40) and an assimilation interview at the prefecture. Professional integration matters: stable income sufficient for your tax household. A sentence of six months or more in prison without suspension, unless rehabilitated, rules you out. See the French level required and the civic exam.
Limits
The calculator does not check whether your residence was continuous or where your life is centred: a spouse and children still living abroad can justify a refusal. Nor does it know the actual processing times of the naturalisation platforms, which no official source publishes. This is information, not legal advice.