English Podcasts | Could you pass the French Citizenship Test ?

More than 100,000 people are granted French nationality every year. This represents around 2.5% of foreigners living in the country and is well above the number in Germany (1,5 %) and Italy (2 %), but way under the UK (4,2 %) and Spain (5,2 %).

Since the Brexit referendum in 2016 many Brits living in France have applied for French nationality.

Before 2015, 386 British residents in France applied for French nationality. The year after the number rose to 1,363 and in 2018 it was 3173.

Why would they do this ? What are the benefits compared to permanent resident status ?

Well, having voting rights is a very important difference, as is the freedom to travel freely in the European Union. Other people have also mentioned being able to avoid long queues at airports and a greater sense of stability.

But it’s a long road to achieving nationality:

Firstly, getting a slot for the interview is difficult as the interviews are limited. Then you have to wait at least a year for the actual interview. In the meantime you have to gather together many financial and personal documents getting copies and translations.

During the actual interview the documents will be scruperously checked, you’ll be asked questions about your motivation and some questions about France…. some easy, some not so easy.

So how much do you know about France ? Enough to pass the citizenship test ? Try this quiz to find out !

Could you pass the test to gain French nationality?

These 40 questions cover just some of the possible questions in the Gaining French Nationality booklet.

This quiz starts with the most frequently asked questions which most people could answer, and then it gets progressively more difficult with questions which people who have read the citizenship booklet should be able to answer, and then it finishes up with some really tricky questions that will really stump you ..... Bonne chance !!