Married to a French national: from visa to citizenship, step by step
Recognised marriage, shared life, visa: the route is well marked. Here are its dates and what each step costs in tax stamps.
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Spouse of a French national: your next steps
Citizenship by marriage
in 3 year(s)
| Resident card | in 2 year(s) |
| Declaration stamp | €255 |
| Resident card stamps | €350 |
A non-EU national married to a French citizen receives a "vie privée et familiale" (private and family life) residence card, which allows work, provided the marriage is recognised in France (performed by a French registrar or entered in the French civil registers), the couple still lives together and the spouse is still French. In most cases you enter on a long-stay visa that serves as a permit (VLS-TS), to be validated within three months. After a year you apply for a two-year multi-year card; after 3 years of marriage, the ten-year resident card (one year for Tunisians); after 4 years of marriage, citizenship by declaration. For a wedding on 17 May 2025, the resident card becomes possible on 17 May 2028 and citizenship on 17 May 2029. The whole route costs €1,255 in tax stamps, from visa validation to the citizenship declaration.
The conditions for the card
The Service-Public.fr page on foreign spouses of French nationals sets four conditions: no break in your shared life since the wedding, a spouse who was French on the wedding day and still is, a marriage abroad registered in France, and no polygamy. The legal basis is articles L423-1 to L423-6 of the CESEDA (immigration code). The prefecture can refuse if an earlier order to leave France was ignored, documents were forged or serious offences committed, however solid the couple. Employers need no work authorisation: the card allows any job.
The timetable
The usual route starts at the consulate with a long-stay visa that serves as a permit (VLS-TS) marked "vie privée et familiale / conjoint de Français". Arriving on 2 September 2025, you must validate it online by 2 December 2025; without validation your stay becomes irregular and the visa no longer lets you return to the Schengen area. In the second year you apply for the two-year multi-year card as the visa’s renewal, at the earliest 4 months and at the latest 2 months before it ends, so by 2 July 2026 in this example. A first multi-year card needs A2-level French and a pass in the civic exam, unless you are over 65.
The ten-year resident card comes after 3 years of marriage, on 17 May 2028 for a wedding on 17 May 2025; a Tunisian spouse qualifies after one year, on 17 May 2026. The resident-card page adds a republican-integration condition, B1-level French and the civic exam for resident cards. Finally, after 4 years of marriage you can make a declaration of French nationality; if you have lived in France for less than three years since the wedding and your spouse was not on the consular register while you lived abroad, it takes 5 years, so 17 May 2030 instead of 17 May 2029.
| Step | Stamps |
|---|---|
| VLS-TS validation (year 1) | €300 |
| Multi-year VPF card (year 2) | €350 |
| Resident card (after 3 years of marriage) | €350 |
| Citizenship declaration (after 4 years) | €255 |
| Total for the route | €1,255 |
If you entered on a short-stay visa
A spouse who married in France after a lawful entry, on a tourist visa or as a visa-exempt national, does not have to go back for a long-stay visa if they can show more than six months of shared life in France. They receive a one-year temporary card costing €350 instead of the VLS-TS. The private and family life card page describes this case. Someone who entered irregularly is examined differently, and the regularisation fee may be added to the card price.
Special cases
An Algerian spouse follows the Franco-Algerian agreement: a short-stay visa is enough to enter, then a one-year residence certificate, before the ten-year certificate (dedicated page). An EU, EEA or Swiss spouse needs no permit at all. If the French spouse dies or there is domestic violence, the end of the shared life does not block renewal. Citizenship through marriage is covered by the declaration calculator, with the time limit for refusing registration and the conditions on the official declaration page.
Documents for the file
The card application is made on ANEF, the online residence-permit portal, which immediately issues a filing certificate. It brings together your passport with the visa and entry stamp, a recent full copy of the marriage certificate (or its French registration for a wedding abroad), proof that your spouse is French (identity card, passport or nationality certificate), proof of a shared address less than six months old, evidence of living together and the signed commitment to respect the principles of the Republic. The strongest evidence of a shared life carries both names: lease, joint tax notice, joint bank account, bills.
Renewing without losing your rights
Each renewal must be filed in the window from 4 to 2 months before the permit ends. Filed late, it costs €180 more, unless there is force majeure. The receipt (récépissé) or filing certificate keeps your right to live and work in France while the application is examined. A divorce or separation before the resident card means looking for another ground for your stay, except in cases of domestic violence or your spouse’s death.
Many spouses ask whether they can travel during the first year. Once validated online, the VLS-TS lets you cross the Schengen border again, which an unvalidated visa does not. Keep copies of every document you upload, because the same proofs of shared life will be asked for again at the resident-card stage and for the citizenship declaration, where an interview checks the couple’s life together.
What the mini calculator works out
Enter your years of marriage and whether you have lived in France for three years since: it shows how many years remain before citizenship and the resident card, and the price of both stamps. For a date to the day, use the citizenship-declaration calculator. This is information, not legal advice: the prefecture and the ministry check the reality of your shared life document by document.