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My father was born in 1956 (French Algeria, 6 years before independence). He never opted for French citizenship.

I was born in New York City to an American mother and have US & Algerian citizenship.

Am I eligible to become a French citizen given my father’s situation?

phoog
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user25468
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    According to https://lawoffice.org.il/en/french-citizenship-for-tunisians-and-algerians/ following Algerian independence, only French nationals could keep their French citizenship. Civil status citizens in Algeria lost their French citizenship automatically, unless they signed a declaration of French citizenship prior to 1967. To obtain the citizenship by descent it’s necessary to prove either:
    • At least one of the parents was a French citizen at the time of independence.
    • At least one of the parents signed the declaration before 1967.
     – Traveller Sep 23 '22 at 15:19

1 Answers1

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The short answer is no. Being born in colonial Algeria is not enough to open any claim to French citizenship unless your ancestors were themselves French citizens, fought on the French side during the War of Independence, or you were yourself born in France (double droit du sol).

See also French citizenship of an ancestor who died in Algeria before Independence

Relaxed
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