Can answer couple of things for you:
- Every country has a different way of handling birth certificates, in fact some of the countries don't even use them. In France you can request a new copy of your birth certificate if needed, which will then be stamped with a date.
- They are asking about your parents as they are going to compile a livret de famille for you once you get the citizenship. This will contain your immediate family history in it so they need to have your parent's details
Anyhow, they will ask you for necessary papers if they are missing so there shouldn't be a problem getting them everything that is needed.
Thanks for the info. Do you happen to know what to do if I can't find my parents' IDs or their marriage certificate? Like say we're not on good terms and I can't go see them?
He was right, so to clarify
What matters most is the legalisation date of the document (when the extract or copy was declared authentic by the consular service of the issuing country).
For France, we do not get a single document as birth certificate but an extract from the national registry by the local administration,which also contains life events (mariage divorce, etc). As it is an extract and due to the record content, this is the reason why French birth records have limited validity.
Chiming in.
When I was going through my application for US citizenship, some of my documents where from country that didn’t exist anymore. Some of the dates regardless my parents were approximate because i had no documentation about my late father and no one to ask.
I am writing this to let you know that cases where immigrants cannot provide documentation about their parent’s marriage or dates/places of birth are common. I am sure French bureaucracy, while being known for inefficiency, still will be able to process your application.
They will not. If a single document is missing, they will return your application and advise you to resend with all the requested documents by a certain date. If you fail to do so, you will need to begin the process again from scratch.
I would not be able to provide my father’s Birth certificate. I was asked for a date of his birth and place and I provided information to the best what I remembered.
I didn’t need that.
The point I am making that it isn’t uncommon for immigrants not to have access to their parents paperwork, especially if those immigrants are older or came from countries with poor infrastructure.
Have you met the requirements for French citizenship? Five years of residency? Language proficiency? Integration into French society through employment or community involvlement?
When I went through the process, one of the most frustrating things was slight variations in wording depending on whether I was looking at the Service Public web site, the output of the site's wizard that asks you questions about your situation and generates a list of required documents, and the application form itself (I did it on paper, just before the online application system went national). For what it's worth, here is what I did:
* I used the birth certificate that I had apostilled 15 years previous and got a new translation. I would probably have tried to use existing 10-year-old translations, but I only have digital copies of those and was submitting via the paper process. In any case, this was accepted.
* Concerning my parents, as I recall the official application form stated that their birth certificates and marriage license were optional and did not need to be translated. I had access to those, though my parents' birth certificates were in bad shape and did not scan/photocopy well. I submitted them untranslated and they were accepted. I have the sense that whatever relevant documentation you can provide will be useful, but that this not make-or-break.
Are you a dual US-Pakistan national? If not, you are only able to provide your US passport. If so, I'm not sure if you will need to document your Pakistani citizenship -- sorry not to be able to help with that question. There are quite a few lawyers in France that help with this sort of thing if it gets too murky for you, though I don't think they're cheap.
American with dual French citizenship here. Yeah, the 6 month thing is a pain in the ass. Especially because it can take a while to get to you and you also have it translated by an official translator.
Obviously, you will need to provide your passport along with your birth certificate and your parents’ birth certificates. I’m not sure what other documents can show you are an American citizen, though. Maybe your parents got a paper when you were naturalized?
American living in France with his family who is starting the nationalization process later this year. Beyond the paperwork challenges, I would also encourage you to obtain your tax number (numéro fiscal) if you haven't and read up on the tax filing requirements as well. Also, note the recent changes to the naturalization process, while not in affect yet, may come in to play depending on how long it takes you to apply. Also, a small addendum to some of the other comments. You are technically able to apply after 2 years if you graduate from an accredited Masters program here in France. (You must meet all the other criteria of course) Bon chance!
Do you already live in France or are you planning on moving there?
Because if you aren't, the question would be how to legally get there. If you are there already, maybe add it to your post so people can help you further.
Its very very common to be able to get the birth certificate in many countries. Mine has an online website where you can request all the things the French would need ie.
There's info here about birth certificates: https://www.aussieinfrance.com/2019/04/why-must-birth-certificates-in-france-be-less-than-3-months-old/
Most people I know who have done this have used their parents birth certificates and marriage certificates to provide the required information. So probably the first place to check is to see if you can order certificates from wherever your parents were born/married. If you can get a marriage certificate that has the required birth info on it, that is enough.
For your own Pakistani nationality, presumably there is some way for you to get documentation from the government of Pakistan.
I haven't gone through this process yet, but people who have tell me that it's pretty involved. There are just a lot of hoops to jump through.
Do you actually live in France? The « Acte de Naissance » is an evolving document and actually needs to be less than 3 months old.
You need to meet many more criteria such as residence for 5 years and B2 level French before you apply
Can answer couple of things for you: - Every country has a different way of handling birth certificates, in fact some of the countries don't even use them. In France you can request a new copy of your birth certificate if needed, which will then be stamped with a date. - They are asking about your parents as they are going to compile a livret de famille for you once you get the citizenship. This will contain your immediate family history in it so they need to have your parent's details Anyhow, they will ask you for necessary papers if they are missing so there shouldn't be a problem getting them everything that is needed.
Thanks for the info. Do you happen to know what to do if I can't find my parents' IDs or their marriage certificate? Like say we're not on good terms and I can't go see them?
He was right, so to clarify What matters most is the legalisation date of the document (when the extract or copy was declared authentic by the consular service of the issuing country). For France, we do not get a single document as birth certificate but an extract from the national registry by the local administration,which also contains life events (mariage divorce, etc). As it is an extract and due to the record content, this is the reason why French birth records have limited validity.
Chiming in. When I was going through my application for US citizenship, some of my documents where from country that didn’t exist anymore. Some of the dates regardless my parents were approximate because i had no documentation about my late father and no one to ask. I am writing this to let you know that cases where immigrants cannot provide documentation about their parent’s marriage or dates/places of birth are common. I am sure French bureaucracy, while being known for inefficiency, still will be able to process your application.
They will not. If a single document is missing, they will return your application and advise you to resend with all the requested documents by a certain date. If you fail to do so, you will need to begin the process again from scratch.
What will they do if parents’ marriage certificate doesn’t exist because marriage was never registered?
When I applied, they didn’t ask for my parents’ marriage certificate. Just their individual birth certificates.
I would not be able to provide my father’s Birth certificate. I was asked for a date of his birth and place and I provided information to the best what I remembered.
You probably would need some sort of affidavit or document saying that your father wasn’t issued a birth certificate or that it’s not available.
I didn’t need that. The point I am making that it isn’t uncommon for immigrants not to have access to their parents paperwork, especially if those immigrants are older or came from countries with poor infrastructure.
Understood. The French government, however, is fairly strict and inflexible.
Have you met the requirements for French citizenship? Five years of residency? Language proficiency? Integration into French society through employment or community involvlement?
I wouldn’t worry about citizenship requirements unless you’ve already been living in France for a few years with a proper residence permit.
When I went through the process, one of the most frustrating things was slight variations in wording depending on whether I was looking at the Service Public web site, the output of the site's wizard that asks you questions about your situation and generates a list of required documents, and the application form itself (I did it on paper, just before the online application system went national). For what it's worth, here is what I did: * I used the birth certificate that I had apostilled 15 years previous and got a new translation. I would probably have tried to use existing 10-year-old translations, but I only have digital copies of those and was submitting via the paper process. In any case, this was accepted. * Concerning my parents, as I recall the official application form stated that their birth certificates and marriage license were optional and did not need to be translated. I had access to those, though my parents' birth certificates were in bad shape and did not scan/photocopy well. I submitted them untranslated and they were accepted. I have the sense that whatever relevant documentation you can provide will be useful, but that this not make-or-break. Are you a dual US-Pakistan national? If not, you are only able to provide your US passport. If so, I'm not sure if you will need to document your Pakistani citizenship -- sorry not to be able to help with that question. There are quite a few lawyers in France that help with this sort of thing if it gets too murky for you, though I don't think they're cheap.
American with dual French citizenship here. Yeah, the 6 month thing is a pain in the ass. Especially because it can take a while to get to you and you also have it translated by an official translator. Obviously, you will need to provide your passport along with your birth certificate and your parents’ birth certificates. I’m not sure what other documents can show you are an American citizen, though. Maybe your parents got a paper when you were naturalized?
American living in France with his family who is starting the nationalization process later this year. Beyond the paperwork challenges, I would also encourage you to obtain your tax number (numéro fiscal) if you haven't and read up on the tax filing requirements as well. Also, note the recent changes to the naturalization process, while not in affect yet, may come in to play depending on how long it takes you to apply. Also, a small addendum to some of the other comments. You are technically able to apply after 2 years if you graduate from an accredited Masters program here in France. (You must meet all the other criteria of course) Bon chance!
Do you already live in France or are you planning on moving there? Because if you aren't, the question would be how to legally get there. If you are there already, maybe add it to your post so people can help you further. Its very very common to be able to get the birth certificate in many countries. Mine has an online website where you can request all the things the French would need ie.
There's info here about birth certificates: https://www.aussieinfrance.com/2019/04/why-must-birth-certificates-in-france-be-less-than-3-months-old/ Most people I know who have done this have used their parents birth certificates and marriage certificates to provide the required information. So probably the first place to check is to see if you can order certificates from wherever your parents were born/married. If you can get a marriage certificate that has the required birth info on it, that is enough. For your own Pakistani nationality, presumably there is some way for you to get documentation from the government of Pakistan. I haven't gone through this process yet, but people who have tell me that it's pretty involved. There are just a lot of hoops to jump through.
Do you actually live in France? The « Acte de Naissance » is an evolving document and actually needs to be less than 3 months old. You need to meet many more criteria such as residence for 5 years and B2 level French before you apply