Can anyone help with French ID card application?!

[franglais123]

Does anyone know of anyone who can talk me through simply how to apply for my French identity card? I was born in France to a French mother and had an ID card as a child and now want to reapply to have one again but my French (although half decent) is not good enough to cope with the consulate website. I would be eternally grateful to anyone who could recommend an agent (?) or someone I could pay to help me - or are you an expert?! I find this kind of admin overwhelming!

Are you in the UK? I looked at the information on the London consulate website and it seems fairly straightforward but you need to go in person with all your documents. I presume your last identity card expired more than 5 years ago? Has your name (or any other detail) changed since your last card? Do you have a French passport?

Thanks for your reply @phd123 Yes in the UK. I has an ID card as a child but it expired in 1992! Does that mean I apply to renew it or as a brand new applicant, as that affects what documents I need. I don’t have a French passport and I’m now married (in UK) so do I need my marriage certificate transcribed? I now I need to get a copy of my birth certificate from the mairie I was born in.

Thanks for your help - I’m really not finding it that straightforward!

You should be able to apply for a renewal if you've had one before, even if it's expired. There is a list of what to provide here: uk.ambafrance.org/Carte-d-identite-d-un-majeur-renouvellement-suite-a-expiration-25601 (you'll need to select the option that you don't have a passport).

It seems you'll only need a copy of your birth certificate if the mairie of the town you were born in is not signed up to COMEDEC, which you can check here: www.convention.comedec.ants.gouv.fr/ (you'll need the INSEE number of the town, just google the town name and INSEE).

Changing it to your married name is probably going to be the most difficult part, as I'm guessing you probably haven't registered your marriage in France? See the 'after the marriage section' here: uk.ambafrance.org/Se-marier-au-Royaume-Uni . I think you will probably have to go through this process first (for which it seems you will need your birth certificate!) but might be worth contacting the consulate in London to ask.

Should just be a renewal. Your card will still be in your maiden name but with épouse "married name" included.

@phd123 I applied to get the marriage recognised but my file got sent back because my expired French ID card wasn’t proof of my French nationality.
So I need to get new ID card first but it’ll be in my maiden name if I can’t get the marriage recognised! And my British passport doesn’t include my maiden name so will that even be accepted as my form of ID they ask for.

I don’t find it as straightforward as you all do. I speak French but I find the language so hard to wade through. I really wish there was a representative I could speak to in person to check before I spend a lot of money on a trip to London for the appointment.

@Frenchfancy but to get my married name I need to get the marriage (which was in the UK) recognised and to do that I need proof of French ID. I have my birth certificate (which will be valid for 3 months) but that’s not enough.

It does seem to be a bit of a Catch 22 situation with the registration of your marriage. I agree, the fact that your British passport is in your married name means it likely won't be accepted as a form of ID for a French ID card in your maiden name, which is why I suggested registering the marriage first. You'd obviously need to find another way to prove your French nationality and, indeed, French bureaucracy being what it is there is a form for that too: www.justice.fr/formulaire/demande-cnf

Your situation is quite unusual so I do get why you need help sorting out exactly what you need to do. Have you tried to contacting the consulate to ask if they can confirm the procedure for your specific situation?

Do you live near a consulate? I’d book an appointment and talk to them if so. I ended up doing that for DS as he had a niche birth certificate they wouldn’t accept it.

You should be able to order a copy of your French birth certificate? I use google translate if I’m struggling.

Do register your marriage though when you get a chance.

No I don’t live near one so it’ll cost quite a bit to get there. I know how to get my birth certificate - I’ve got one currently but they only last 3 months at a time. And yes, I’ve tried to register my marriage - that’s the point - but they need proof of French ID and my expired card wasn’t enough. It’s so frustrating!

@phd123 have you had experience calling them and getting answers? I will try on Monday - it would be great to get a definitive answer! I’ve emailed in the past but not had much luck. The whole point of me doing this is for my kids to be able to have French nationality - I don’t really need an ID card!

I did similar. It was a passport not an ID card, but I think the principle is the same.
If I remember correctly UK passport in married name + UK birth certificate + French birth certificate was accepted as identity. I had no problems at all except for the French passport being issued in my maiden name only as my marriage wasn't registered with the French authorities. That's a bit of a pain as I have to decide which surname/passport to use before I book plane tickets etc.
I have since gone on to register my marriage, which means my next one will have both surnames on it.

Long process mind, they took 6 months to register my marriage and children and issue the Livret de famille. Then it was another trip to London to get the kids passports. I don't live anywhere near there either.

@Gdrykkliijnbxsd but I don’t have a UK birth certificate as I was born in France.

@franglais123 sorry I meant the UK marriage certificate, which is the document linking my married and maiden surnames. You don't need UK birth certificate!

@Gdrykkliijnbxsd Oh ok - but you didn’t need the marriage certificate translated? Thanks for your reply - really useful.

Sorry no experience of speaking to them on the phone but if you can get them to confirm what PP said about using your UK passport and marriage certificate to get an ID card in your maiden name then that seems like by far the easiest option. Once you have the ID card, you can prove your French nationality then getting the marriage registered and the kids nationality confirmed will be much easier.

No, I didn't get any documents translated and had no issues. I just assumed anything written in English would be OK as I applying at the London consulate. The situation may well have been different had I applied in a Mairie somewhere in France.

I didn’t get my marriage certificate translated, I sent the English one. It takes at least six months to get the livret issued and then you can apply for French nationality for your children. That part was quicker.

I’m in no rush to get any of it. Thanks for all your help! I’ll update if I make any progress!

Could you apply for a Certificat de nationalite francaise? uk.ambafrance.org/Vous-etes-francais-et-souhaitez-effectuer-une-demarche-liee-a-la-nationalite

Then use that to get issued with your marriage certificate uk.ambafrance.org/Se-marier-au-Royaume-Uni Section 3, and 'Si vous n’avez pas respecté la procédure de publication des bans, cliquez ici.' (I'm assuming you didn't anyway and that you got married in the UK?)

Then once you've done that you should be issued with your livret de famille.

You could then register your children's births which will make it easier for them in the future - uk.ambafrance.org/Naissance-22334

After that, assuming it takes more than 3 months, get another birth certificate for you if it's more than 3 months old at the point.

Then you could all apply for passports/carte d'identite?

@Icedblondelatte yes I’ve looked into that but it seems just as simple/complicated to get the ID card which I suppose is more useful in the long run. For example I’d have to supply my parents marriage certificate which is slightly complicated for reasons I won’t bore you with.

Ah sorry, I did spend a while looking but if they didn't accept your expired card to register your marriage I couldn't see a better way. Good luck and hope you manage to get it sorted.

Ah don’t apologise @Icedblondelatte - I appreciate you trying to help! I’d vowed to get my children French passports by the end of the year but I’m now going to make it a two year project. 🤣

Next challenge is getting an appointment at the Consulate! 🤣 Have been trying every day this week. I’m on the list to get an email whenever appointments are released but even if I get on the site a minute later, there are no appointments left. Any tips?!

You need to figure out what time appointments are released. I'm sure it used to be 8am but I'm no longer in the UK so not sure. Log in at that time and hope for the best!