Le-Dolly
Member
La Souterraine (23) depuis '05.
Posts: 566
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Post by Le-Dolly on Apr 10, 2023 10:30:29 GMT 1
Just as an aside, an observation, the presentation ceremony was a real eye-opener. You could spot the Brits from afar...we were the ones togged out as though for a Buckingham palace garden party, suits, ties, posh dresses and hats (and that was just the chaps ). Also in many cases discreetly dabbing at our eyes with a tissue. The Portugese, Russians, Spaniards, South Americans et al were smart casual. The erstwhile colonists (mostly under 60) slouched in in torn jeans, battered trainers, tattered T shirts, unshaven and frankly, surly. Before anyone jumps on me with cries of 'racist' and 'the Brits can afford posh clothes', it doesn't cost much to shave, does it? Even less to be polite and pleasant? When I presented myself at the presentation ceremony in '18, I too went completely unshaven, but then I have worn a full beard since 1970.
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Post by jardiniere on Apr 10, 2023 10:52:20 GMT 1
The process put me in mind of a mix of doing 'O' levels, taking my driving test, my first job interview and getting married OMG! I was reconsidering but I couldn't take all that stress and emotion! No doubt the obstacles carefully placed along the route contribute to the sense of achievement and even emotion Yes, it is a major achievement.
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Post by jardiniere on Apr 10, 2023 11:08:58 GMT 1
No-one has mentioned the expense of naturalisation. Costs versus benefits! It is an issue especially as you could make quite an investment in terms of money, time and stress and still have an unexplained negative outcome. At first sight the 55€ fee seems more than reasonable but when you start to calculate the cost of official translations of all the necessary documents at about 60€ each ... in my case getting towards a total of 1000€!
I would like to have the vote and I would like the satisfaction of having successfully jumped through all the hoops. Other than that I don't think I would feel any different. As for being accepted by the French, being able to speak their language seems to me far more of an issue. The only person in 20 years who ever asked me if I had French citizenship was English.
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Post by pcpa on Apr 10, 2023 11:27:11 GMT 1
I would be more indifferent than you, I was dragged along to watch an England France final game while at language school in Ecuador, I could not eben tell you what the tournamentw as, all the students were face painted, I had one cheek tricolour and the other a poor imitation of the unioun standard?
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Post by houpla on Apr 10, 2023 11:58:55 GMT 1
The question you must ask if you get a french passport is who will you support when France plays England, or what ever country you come from. I will always support England - just have to! Are you talking about sport or war? Whichever, it always was and always will be France.
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Post by houpla on Apr 10, 2023 12:21:33 GMT 1
No-one has mentioned the expense of naturalisation. Costs versus benefits! It is an issue especially as you could make quite an investment in terms of money, time and stress and still have an unexplained negative outcome. At first sight the 55€ fee seems more than reasonable but when you start to calculate the cost of official translations of all the necessary documents at about 60€ each ... in my case getting towards a total of 1000€! I would like to have the vote and I would like the satisfaction of having successfully jumped through all the hoops. Other than that I don't think I would feel any different. As for being accepted by the French, being able to speak their language seems to me far more of an issue. The only person in 20 years who ever asked me if I had French citizenship was English. You forgot to mention the postage! LRAR obligatory, special envelope size and shape to cope with nearly a kilo of papers, SAEs also LRAR. To top it all off, every single person I've spoken to on the subject had their dossier returned on a pretext, despite everything being present and correct according to the Préfecture's own list. Usually something that could have been requested via phone, e-mail or simple letter, but no, the whole package was returned in the SAE. Meaning that the requested document joined all the others and had to be sent off again. The classic one in our case was translations of bank statements. Not conversions, mind you, but translations After the second such incident, I sent a stiff letter. That seemed to do the trick. The one and only occasion I've ever known a French person apologise A big factor in how much it all costs is whether you've got a big, complicated UK family or you've been divorced and remarried. Also whether you're the sort that hoards paperwork like birth certificates etc. Don't let all this put you off, though. It took place at the height of the Brexit panic, some Préfectures were inundated with requests and they were all trying to get clear guidelines from the Gov about procedure. I'll bet that it's much calmer now!
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Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
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Post by Aardvark on Apr 10, 2023 14:26:27 GMT 1
That might be a logical conclusion but...........................
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Post by lapourtaider on Apr 10, 2023 16:32:16 GMT 1
You forgot to mention the postage! LRAR obligatory, special envelope size and shape to cope with nearly a kilo of papers, SAEs also LRAR. To top it all off, every single person I've spoken to on the subject had their dossier returned on a pretext, despite everything being present and correct according to the Préfecture's own list. Usually something that could have been requested via phone, e-mail or simple letter, but no, the whole package was returned in the SAE. Meaning that the requested document joined all the others and had to be sent off again. The classic one in our case was translations of bank statements. Not conversions, mind you, but translations After the second such incident, I sent a stiff letter. That seemed to do the trick. The one and only occasion I've ever known a French person apologise A big factor in how much it all costs is whether you've got a big, complicated UK family or you've been divorced and remarried. Also whether you're the sort that hoards paperwork like birth certificates etc. Don't let all this put you off, though. It took place at the height of the Brexit panic, some Préfectures were inundated with requests and they were all trying to get clear guidelines from the Gov about procedure. I'll bet that it's much calmer now! As of this year it's all done on-line now so only the bother of scanning documents. We have decided to bite the bullet and start the process. 1st step is to get the DELF B1 sorted, but I don't see that as a problem. I really want to be able to vote in the country I have served as a pompier for the last 15 years. My biggest upset with Brexit was finding out I could no longer vote for the person who if there was a big incident in our commune would be the COZ (ie the Maire). I will always be English but I want to be able to say if asked that I am also French and proud of it. Everyone assumes I'm French now anyway so it would be fantastic to live up to that. The benefit of having unlimited freedom of movement restored is a bonus.
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Post by tim17 on Apr 10, 2023 16:56:12 GMT 1
I have served as a pompier for the last 15 years Are you a full time pompier?
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Post by lapourtaider on Apr 10, 2023 17:42:36 GMT 1
I have served as a pompier for the last 15 years Are you a full time pompier? No, volunteer.
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Post by houpla on Apr 10, 2023 18:26:42 GMT 1
What a difference that will make to the process! Good luck, LPA!
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Post by tim17 on Apr 10, 2023 18:26:59 GMT 1
Are you a full time pompier? No, volunteer. That makes sense, our youngest son has been a volunteer for 10 years and is now going through the citizenship process so he can work full time. It's kind of bonkers because at times he does more shifts per week than his full time colleagues and is also more senior than many of them.
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Post by lapourtaider on Apr 10, 2023 18:33:55 GMT 1
Personally I think after say 10 or 15 years as a volunteer pompier citizenship should be automatic but that'll never happen 🤣
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Post by lindalovely on Apr 14, 2023 15:50:56 GMT 1
OH and I are French. It took two years from application to it being granted, but we only got invited to the official ceremony and few months ago. We had thought about it before Brexit and thought we might do it some time. Brexit just focussed the mind. I guess everyone has different reasons, but whatever they are you will be asked at your interview why you want to be French and you will need to answer convincingly.
It doesn't mean you have to give up being British. France accepts dual Nationality and understands that. When I am asked I say that my roots are British and the culture of my birth and youth was British, but after living in France for XX years I also feel that my life us now influenced by French culture. I will never again be fully British and will also never be fully French. I guess people born to British parents but raised in France would also have a similar dual identity.
My reasons for wanting to be French were to be able to vote and participate fully in the country of my home, to basically have the same rights and responsibilities of any other citizen. This has felt more important the longer I have lived here, and as my ties with the UK have weakened. The difference Brexit made was that to me, being a citizen of the EU was very important and something I felt I had been deprived of. (I appreciate that not everyone feels like that, bit I did. ) I also did not like the fact that as the negotiations progressed, both sides were bargaining with our lives and our futures so I decided that I was going to take some control over the situation myself. Whilst there are/were many people who trust governments to do the right thing, I am not one of those people, and I prefer to leave as little to chance as possible. I explained this at my interview and I got the impression this was not the first time she had heard those comments.
I am really glad we did it and and I can't see any downsides to it personally.
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Post by cernunnos on Apr 14, 2023 16:04:17 GMT 1
Thank you lindalovely, you have explained it better and more eloquant than I could ever do.
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