Applying for French Passport

[Mumofyellows]

Looking for some advice, I can't seem to work it out from the advice online!
My Mum is French, I have British passport but it's due to expire and I would like to apply for a French one as I travel over frequently to visit my family in France and it would make things a lot easier post brexit.
Can anyone talk me though this? It seems
Very complicated and longwinded from what I can find.
Thank you!

When you were born, did your mum register your birth at the embassy!
Its just that’s it’s making things a bit easier.

Otherwise, you just need regular info and an appointment at the embassy un London (you’ll have to book online)
How is your french? (Again just because it makes things easier!)

Here all the info you need
https://uk.ambafrance.org/Passeport-pour-majeur-Liste-des-pieces-justificatives

The most difficult part is to get your birth certificate translated - but if your mum has declared your birth at the embassy, it should have been done then. You might want to ask her fur either the trans,action of a little (blue) booklet called livret de famille.

You should still renew your British passport. I have more than one, and you usually have to send in your other passports to apply for/renew one of them.
Also, you’d still need your British passport to come back to U.K. from France.
the3million.org.uk/faq/dual-which-passport-enter-uk

Thanks for this, I didn't actually realise I could have both!

They’ll also ask for your french passport when you renew the British one so you’ll still have a time wo any passport.

And when you travel as @SugarandSpiceandAllThingsNaice said, you need both. You wouldn’t be able to enter the U.K. wo it. (They would treat you as a tourist, asking fir a return ticket etc etc)

I have a French passport and a British one.
My mum is also French and I can't remember how I got one as a kid but I let it expire for ten years until 2023 when I renewed it.

Once I got mine I applied for one for my daughter too which is almost complete.

You have to go on the French embassy website

uk.ambafrance.org/-Passeport-et-carte-nationale-d-identite-1968-

As I was renewing I had to book an appointment and in the meantime send off info they need (should be listed online).
On the day you go to your appointment with some extra documents like proof of address, birth certificate that is not older then 3 months or something, recent passport photos, etc) and then once you've been seen you pay for it, wait a few weeks and then you'll get a message saying ready to collect.

My daughter was harder as she's never had a French passport so I had to provide my passport, and all the above mentioned items. They can be a bit strict and they do prefer speaking (testing?) French but can speak English too.

The key is to thoroughly check all documents you need and deadlines and you should be fine

I second the PP who said you need both.

We leave the UK on our UK passport, enter any EU country on our German ones, leave them again on the German passports and enter the UK on the UK passports.

You get used to carrying all around but that's the only way to avoid issues or not being able to move around/stya as long as you need/want.

Hi again @MyNewLife2025

Sorry this is a bit down the line but life took over and I've not had a chance to think about this.

My Mum did register my birth with the consulate when I was born, however the only evidence I have of this is a paper photocopy by the looks of things, can they check this out or do I need to obtain a copy of the entry from France?

What else do I need to take for an appointment? My British passport is in my maiden name but presumably I can use my marriage certificate so that my French passport can be issued in my married name...I have plenty of proof of address which is all in my married name.

The postage process seems complicated too! What is a laminated envelope?!
Thank you for any more advice you can offer 🙏🏻

I'm just about to renew my expired French passport too. You'll need to order up a current copy (less than 3 months old) of your French birth certificate for a new passport. This is free if your birth is on the register of overseas births, but takes 3 weeks. Then you need an appointment with the embassy. Where I live it's very hard to obtain the appointments, they open the booking calendar at 6pm each day for a date a month later and they are all booked by 6:02!
I don't think you can change from your maiden name to married name unless you have registered your marriage with the French authorities. I can't quite remember (and it may have been complicated by also registering 2 DC born in the UK) but registering our marriage and the DC also required obtaining an up to date birth certificate and sending a lot of paper work! It took a long time, almost 6 months.

@ducktape there very helpful thank you!
I have just this moment requested the copy of my birth certificate as it was definitely registered.
I guess it doesn't hugely matter if it's in my maiden name, if I just book my travel in that name - I have been doing this anyway as I've not got round to changing my UK passport!
I would go London for my appointment- hopefully it's not too busy there...crazy system! Do I need anything else?! My Mum has her, my grandparents and great grandparents birth certificates as she was convinced I'd need all that!

I have a daughter - she's 21. I never registered anything to do with her in France, should I have/can I now this late?!

Renew your British passport. Getting a French one will depend on actual French laws regarding adult children of nationals right now. Laws in every EU country have changed - they are making it tougher for adult children to obtain.

Check the French Consulate website or call them if they accept calls. Many European Consulates no longer accept calls because the sheer volume makes it imposible for them.

@Alondra I will also renew my British one, I would like both though.
My Birth was registered in France which makes the process much more straightforward thank goodness! I have checked the information on the consulate website and with some additional help from fellow MNetters I think I know what to do now 😊

You can’t be serious! Of course you can have both. Only a few countries in the world refuse dual citizenship

You can apply for a carte nationale d'identité (CNI) and it's free. You probably still want a French passport for ease of travel within the EU, but as you'll have to go to the embassy for that, you might as well get both.

In my family, 3 out of 4 of us have dual nationality, and we only have the French CNI and British passports, which has been fine so far, although we probably should get French passports too.

Just to point out that when renewing a UK passport, the option is to send off a second passport, or a photocopy of every page of the second passport.

My son has just renewed his UK passport and checked it out - he is on the foreign births register for Ireland but not yet bothered to get a passport.

From Gov.uk renewal site:

• any valid passports you have from a different country - send either a colour photocopy of every page (including blank ones) or the physical passport

You can enter on expired id document once you have a right to the passport (proof of being a citizen) but would have to prove that you citizenship (not the passport) was still valid.

https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control/before-you-leave-for-the-uk

https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1341?lang=en

Don't ever trust posters on MN for this information, The only people who can give you the information how to obtain a French passport is the French consulate.

@Alondra yep, I have checked the consulate for advice as I said, I just was interested in some real life experiences of the process.