Becoming a French citizen or resident: stricter rules in 2026

"To obtain a multi-year residency permit, a residency card or French naturalisation, foreigners will have to have passed a civic exam from 1st January 2026." These words appear at the top of the French Government's service-public.fr platform on the page detailing the change of rules. A test which, the government says, aims "to assess [applicants'] knowledge of the principles and values ​​of the Republic, as well as the rights and duties of people residing in France."

So, how have these new changes affected Visa and naturalisation requests?

A 42% drop in acceptance rates since 2025

Even before the introduction of these recent changes, the acceptance rates for renewals have visibly dropped.

A memorandum by former interior minister Bruno Retailleau had already attempted to tighten requirements; though not legally binding, his recommendations for what to look for when rejecting applications have been followed by prefects across France. In the first nine months of 2025, this memorandum is believed to have accounted for a 42% drop in renewal acceptances.

This new civics test and heightening of the language requirement were also introduced by Bruno Retailleau, only a few days before he left office.

A new civics test

Previously, French citizenship applicants were required to submit to an interview at the prefecture. These tests ranged in complexity and were less strictly controlled, resulting in more difficult questions for some people than others, in part at the discretion of the interviewer.

This has changed to a multiple-choice test of 40 questions covering five themes. Some are relatively simple, whilst others would even prove challenging to natively born French citizens. To pass, applicants must answer at least 80% of the questions correctly.

If failed, the test can be retaken, although it will cost the applicant between 70€ and 200€. This depends on the prefecture as the price has not been set at the national level.

A higher language requirement

A French diploma used to be sufficient. Now, with the new policy also comes a more stringent language requirement for citizenship and long-term visa applicants.

For citizenship, applicants now need to have a B2 level in both written and oral French. This equates to an upper-intermediate level.

Applicants need to have a B1 level for residency permits and an A2 level for applicants to a first multi-year visa.

A perceived double standard

These new requirements come shortly after George Clooney, his wife and his children all received French citizenship late last year; a decision which was criticised by the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne. She was quoted as saying that the decision doesn't send "the right message" and sees the situations as proof of a "double standard".

A sentiment shared by many rights groups and other centrist or left-leaning politicians who, for some, have called the new requirements a "machine à sans-papiers". Rather than a reasonable set of requirements, some worry that these new standards are a way of creating illegal immigrants as a way of expelling people from France, including some foreign nationals who may have lived in the country for a long time.

Regarding the Clooney family, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has argued that the naturalisation procedure was entirely legal and did not showcase a double-standard, instead citing Article 21-21 of the Civil Code, which states that:

"French nationality may be conferred by naturalisation on the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to any French-speaking foreigner who applies for it and who contributes by his distinguished action to the influence of France and to the prosperity of its international economic relations."

Some critics have been quick to point out that George Clooney and his family do not entirely meet the definition of "French-speaking foreigner".

As in many countries around the world, immigration and citizenship have become highly divisive topics in France over recent years.