Taking French Nationality

[Lehaut]

We took French Nationality about three years ago. On the plus side, it did allow us a delightful hours conversation with the Prefect about "Perfidious Albion" and, after 18 years living here, a more complete sense of integration. The main reason was having two offspring who are in the process of education in Uni/GE. Certain positions are only open to them if they are French. We did not want those possibilities closed to them. As far as UK government pensions and exchange rates it has made no difference to us.

No finger prints were needed for an ID card.

[idun]

Lehaut, I am slightly confused. If you wanted to be french, then I understand that. But  you imply it was something for your children, who as students and long term french residents could have done that all on their own, if they had wanted.

And your being 'french' would not have given your children automatic french nationality if they were not born in France, if they were major.

Also, I have in the past, seen the clerks in my old mairie taking finger prints, and so I looked it up and it says this even now.

http://www.senat.fr/lc/lc118/lc1180.html

So I don't understand why they didn't take them.

[Sprogster]

Idun, UK pensioners resident in the USA do not have their UK pensions frozen as they are increased each year exactly in line with UK resident pensioners. The pension situation regards UK pensioners living abroad differs from country to country depending on the agreements in place between individual countries and has no correlation with the EU, as this is not an EU matter.

Sprogster is currently in the USA.

[Lehaut]

Idun, at the time we took double nationality, the children were not majors, so we took the French nationality so that they would get it automatically. It was much easier for us to deal with all the paperwork than condemning them to it some time in the future. Planning ahead is normally the best option. What we did not want was the possible scenario where for some reason they needed French nationality at short notice - it is not a rapid process!!

None of us have recollection of fingerprints being taken, but you article shows that our collective memory must be at fault. Further discussions indicate that it was just the index finger that was taken for the biometric record. No black ink!

[idun]

Sorry to ask again, but were your then children automatically french? Just wondering as mine were born in France and grew up in France, therefore fulfilling the conditions necessary to be french, but they had a choice at 17.5 to chose if they wanted it or not. They had to go along to the Tribunal d'Instance and say 'oui' or 'non'. A mess on whatever, needing proof et al and proof that they had a nationality and could reside in their national country.

And maybe they didn't take finger prints, I remember vaguely some discussion on tv about them when they were brining in the new biometric ID cards as to whether they would or not, but had thought that they had continued with them. I sort of had an interest as it shocked me when I first saw them being taken in my mairie, seemed a very 'bad' thing to do to honest folk.

[Lehaut]

No problem. Yes they became automatically French, (both born in the UK) and like us have dual nationality. We all received a letter from the authorities asking if we wanted to retain British nationality - obviously we all said yes!

The fingerprinting debate could get out of hand very quickly. After your previous post we discussed this. I think (if we remember correctly) the taking of just one single digit each limits considerably the fear of misuse by someone to implicate us in a crime. Personally I am all for a european dna/fingerprint database. As a (reasonably) honest person I have little to fear

[idun]

[:D]I'm not bothered whether they took your finger prints or not.  I would suppose by the time, they may have asked for them, you would have already got your french nationality, so would have been too late to say anything about it anyway.

Different ways of living so this equally this could be like the debate about ID cards, which you will now have, and ofcourse for most of my time in France I had to have a carte d'identité, followed by a titre de sejour.  My feeling always has been that honest people don't need them and dishonest ones get forgeries.

Let's face it the french have a finger print of all their people, (and a photo and ID card), and yet, crime solving never seemed to be something that our local gendarmes or police were interested in or particularly good at. And in some ways they really should have had a head start, as maybe naively, I imagine that at some point even dishonest people were 'honest' and would have been part of the system so the authorities always had these details.

So I never want to give my finger prints or DNA, I don't want them on a huge data base either. I don't want an ID card either, I reckon the governments basically know enough about us all.

Another question please. Were the people at your Tribunal d'Instance pleasant? I mention Tribunal d'Instance as that is where anyone initially asks to become french in my old department. To say they were not at ours, would be an understatement; whereas everyone at the Prefecture was alway helpful.

[Lehaut]

We went to the Prefecture to do all paperwork and interview. He gave us the wrong info for the Timbre Fiscal but otherwise it was no hassle. He was a bit snide when I said I was on the council. He suggested I was one of three, but changed his tune when I said I was one of 15.

Never went near the Tribunal d'Instance. The Prefet himself was delightful.

[idun]

Thanks, I'm just curious about how these things work.

[Lehaut]

No problermo, keeps the helpful feel to the Forum alive.