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My biological father was French - but my mother divorced him when I was three. She remarried and was so angry at my French father that she got rid of every photo of him, and never even told me anything about him

It was not until I was 18 that I was able to locate him. I was still so young and not really aware any laws - plus my adopted father had just passed away so I was really in a state of shock. Thinking about citizenship was the last thing on my mind.

I have lived most of my adult life overseas, and now the way things are going in the United States, I do not feel safe living there - nor do I feel safe for my son anymore.

I believe I have read that if you do not apply before the age of 18 you can not get citizenship - despite having a French parent as I was not born in France but in the US.

However, I did not know my father until after my 18th birthday? Do you think if I provide the details to the French embassy - along with witness statments - that I might still be eligible? This case seems different and I was wondering if an exception might be made.

Gala
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Deedee7111
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  • Very related: Born in USA to French father - how do I prove it? – Gagravarr Jun 17 '16 at 12:43
  • You likely want to read through all our existing French Citizenship questions - you may find your answer there already – Gagravarr Jun 17 '16 at 12:44
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    Possible duplicate of Born in USA to French father - how do I prove it? – Giorgio Aug 17 '17 at 19:16
  • Wikipedia says "Parentage to the parent from whom the French nationality is claimed, must be established while the child is still a minor (under 18)." and I read that as that your claim to nationality can be after your 18th birthday, but it needs to have been clear that he was your father before that day. If he is on your birth certificate, then you should be fine. – mts Aug 17 '17 at 21:06
  • @mts, If you can provide an official link to your statement about acquisition after 18 with just a birth certificate, would you mind providing an answer to this question? Especially since that specific information is not present in the Wikipedia article or the proposed duplicate. – ouflak Aug 18 '17 at 07:00
  • @ouflak I do not think the suggested duplicate answers this question and I do not have any official sources at hand regarding the reading of that passage about establishment of parenthood, but my belief is it refers to a preceding paragraph on adoption on wikipedia, which makes sense, they do not want 60 year olds to be adopted or stuff like that. Regarding the birth certificate, also that of the father is needed (among others), as listed in my answer here. Not sure whether it is good enough as a dupe, your call. – mts Aug 18 '17 at 07:17
  • @mts, I agree. The suggested duplicate does not answer the question with the information that you provide. It would be nice to have a source, even if it's in French. Your interpretation makes perfect sense. – ouflak Aug 18 '17 at 16:11
  • Did you get anywhere with this? I was born in U.K. to French parents and then adopted in U.K. and trying to establish French nationality by birth. Do you have any advice. My U.K. birth certificate shows my mother was born in France – user22780 Jul 07 '21 at 14:29
  • Interesting... he is not on my official birth certificate but he's is on the original one. – Deedee7111 Jul 11 '21 at 13:34
  • p No I didn't get any where with this sadly . I actually get frustrated and just give up. But for all intents and purposes I think the responses are right. Thing is my mother hid me from him. Changed my name. She never wanted me to meet him . So it was out of my control. Which is why I wish there were exceptions to this rule. A child at the age of 4 can not make decisions regarding these matters. In my case a vindictive woman did. – Deedee7111 Jul 11 '21 at 13:33
  • Deedee7111/user22780 Did you ever tried anything? I am in a very, very similar situation want to explore the possibility of claiming my French nationality - I was born in SA, now live in the US
    • I have SA and American citizenships
    • My biological Father was born in France to French parents
    • I did not learn about this truth until I was 18 - Never pursued this because I was told lie after lie -- that he was dead, etc
    • But with the internet and all the genealogy tools I found a lot of information
    • The only two docs to prove my French filiation are my SA birth and baptism certificate - that sh
     – WIP-French Oct 28 '23 at 01:44

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