Guidance

France: Knowledge Base profile

Updated 9 April 2024

About: France

This document contains useful information about France which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 4.0

• published for Home Office staff on 9 April 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

France: names

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about names in France.

When a birth is registered in France the parents decide the child’s surname, this can be:

• the surname of the parent who registers the birth if they are the only parent named on the registration
• the father’s surname if he recognises the child
• a double barrelled surname combining both parents’ surnames names

It is not possible for siblings to have different surnames if they share the same parents.

Change of name

Once a birth is registered in France the surname of the child can only be changed if the other parent:

• recognises their child and has their details added to the registration at a later date (deferred); and
• the parents choose to change the child’s surname

An application to change the child’s surname to the other parent’s name can only be made when the other parent recognises the child and meets certain conditions. If the child is considered illegitimate under France law, a judge will decide a name change if there is a disagreement between the parents.

Both parents must complete the change of name before the officer of civil status if the child is under 13 years. If the child is over 13 years, they must also give their consent to the change of name to the officer of civil status.

Name alignment

Each forename on a France passport will be separated by a comma, instead of a space and these cannot be removed from the passport.

France documents always address a person by their birth name, as this name is considered their only legal name throughout life. A customer can choose to add a usage name to their France passport, including the surname of their husband or wife. For example, in addition to the birth name, France passports may contain a:

• usage name, showing as a ‘nom d’usage’
• spouse of name, showing as ‘ep’
• widow of name, showing as ‘vve’

Where the customer has a ‘usage’, ‘spouse of’ or ‘widow of’ name, HM Passport Office will:

• tell the customer to apply for their British passport in their:
  • usage name; or
  • married name
• not ask the customer to align their France passport

HM Passport Office will ask the customer to align their France passport if:

• they apply for a British passport in a name that does not appear in their foreign passport
• the foreign passport shows a usage name, but the customer does not use it

France: nationality

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about nationality in France.

Dual nationality is recognised in France.

France: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about legitimacy in France.

Legitimacy

Since 1 July 2006 France no longer recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. All births are considered legitimate whether the parents are married or not.

For children born prior to 1 July 2006, a child will be considered:

• legitimate:
  • if their parents were married at the time of the birth
  • from the time of the marriage if their parents married after the birth (but before 1 July 2006 for British nationality purposes)
  • if the child’s mother marries a man who is not the biological father, and he recognised the child before the marriage took place
  • the father of the child marries a woman who was not the child’s biological mother, but she had already adopted the child under the age of 15 years old and before the marriage took place
• illegitimate if their parents never marry

For British nationality purposes legitimacy by ‘operation of law’ does not allow a claim to British nationality. Anyone considered illegitimate by the French authorities on 1 July 2006 will not have an automatic claim to British nationality.

Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility is shared equally between both parents in France. A parent may hold parental responsibility without exercising it.

Where a father was not named on the child’s birth certificate for more than a year after their birth, a joint declaration must be made to the courts for parental responsibility to be decided by the judge. In these cases, the mother may hold parental responsibility on her own, until the judge decides whether the parental responsibility can be shared equally.

If the parents are temporarily unable to care for their children, a third party may take care of the children. The parents can also apply to a court for the parental responsibility to be delegated to the third parties voluntarily.

If the parents separate, this does not affect the rules on parental responsibility.

Parental agreements

Parental agreements may be created, in the interests of the child, by the parents:

• themselves
• with the help of a mediator
• with the help of a lawyer

The parental agreement sets out the arrangements for exercising parental responsibility of the child.

In a divorce by mutual consent, the parents may decide the arrangements for parental responsibility as part of their divorce agreement. A divorce agreement must be signed by both parents and their lawyers after a 15 day cooling off period. The original divorce agreement will be filed with a notary from the lawyer, making it legally enforceable.

Therefore, a parental agreement will not be legally enforceable, unless it has either been:

• formally approved by a family court judge
• filed with a notary in a deed by a lawyer

France: adoption

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about adoption in France.

Adoption is legal in France.

France: surrogacy

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about legitimacy in France.

Surrogacy is not legal in France.

France: gender recognition

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about gender recognition in France.

Transgender citizens are recognised in French law following an operation. Documents can be obtained in the new gender.

France: civil partnerships and marriage

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about civil partnerships and marriage in France.

Civil partnerships are called ‘pacte civil de solidarité’ or civil solidarity pact. Since 2013 same sex civil partnerships and marriage are legal in France.

France: documents

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about documents in France.

Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, HM Passport Office cannot accept Multilingual Standard Forms (MSFs) issued by member states. An MSF will:

• contain a reference to the convention signed at Vienna on September 8 1976, this may be on the reverse of the document
• be marked as a Formul A (birth certificate), normally in the top right corner on the front of the document in the language of the country where the document was issued
  • there will also be marriage certificates and death certificates that will have a different Formul version that is also not acceptable

These documents are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and not a full, original certificate.

Birth certificates

Births must be registered within 5 days and late registrations are not allowed.

France issue both full and short birth certificates and make entries in a family book to evidence a birth registration. A:

• full birth certificate is known as an ‘Une copie intégrale’ and shows information about:
  • the child and their parents
  • adoption
  • marriage
  • divorce
  • death
  • the date it was issued
• short birth certificate is known as an ‘Un extrait d’acte de l’état civil’ shows:
  • where and when the child was born
• family book called a ‘Liveret de famille’ is updated and stamped by the local Town Hall. Family books contain:
  • extracts of both parents’ birth certificates
  • an extract of the child’s birth certificate
  • information on family law

For HM Passport Office purposes, we can:

• accept a:
  • full birth certificate (Une copie intégrale)
  • family book (Liveret de famille)
• not accept a:
  • short birth certificate (Un extrait d’acte de l’état civil)
  • multilingual standard form birth certificate

Marriage certificates

Civil marriages are legal in France and are recorded locally in the townhall. There is no central register.

When a marriage is recorded, the town hall will issue and stamp a marriage certificate and a marriage book. Either document can be accepted for British passport purposes, provided it has been produced by the town hall.

Death certificates

Deaths are registered within 3 days at the town hall where the person died. Late registration will depend on the circumstances of death. The town hall will issue a death certificate following the registration.