Zut!
I wrote the other day about walking my French Nationalité papers across the village to the Mairie to get the citizenship process rolling.
Well, my over-confidence has tripped me up already. I thought my dossier was complete and ready to go.
Nope.
It turns out I need to have fingerprints taken and sent off to the FBI for an official FBI Report to prove that I'm not some crazed criminal in hiding or something. And then have it translated into French. We thought I just needed a police report, which I already have. It appears to be more complicated than that. Why am I not surprised...
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15 comments:
Grrr...it's always something isn't it? Keep that sense of humor!
Do you have any idea of how much it costs? A Columbian friend of mine applied a few years ago and it cost her 250€ because her request had to be sent back in a "valise diplomatique"....but I was just hoping that that's because it was Columbia.
And how much do you think it will cost total? I've heard around 500€, so I'm interested in hearing if you think that's about right or not.
be,
I will.
I hope.
:)
samantha
Oh my god! No, the FBI report only costs $18. The translations add up (€40 a page) but we had about half of them already.
I'll keep track of the costs.
I had to fly to Paris to get one of the papers because the Toulouse embassy said that they wouldnt do it. Then the translations, so I must have paid about €300 or more. Then I was turned down because of the change in the law, short by a few days.
I am seriously thinking about changing all the 6's on the dossier to 8's for the year stamps.
Hopefully this will be the last of the pains in the cul.
riana
Ah, good to know. I was going to call them tomorrow. And the consulate in Marseille.
Crap, I don't want to go run that kind of errand in Paris! And my friends who I usually stay with just had a baby two weeks ago, so I doubt they want guests.
We'll see what happens.
the consulate in Marseilles will do it, but only on wedsnesdays, i think. what a royal hassle.
Riana
that's ok, easier than going to Paris! I can drive to Marseille and back in a day. I've already been to the Consulate there - when my passport was stolen - so know where it is. Or I can take the train over.
I'll try to confirm everything with them tomorrow.
Mesdames, Mesdemoiselles,
As they say, keep your eyes on the prize!
Slowly but surely, if irritatingly, you will all succeed in accomplishing your goal of gaining your French citizenship!
What is really wonderful is your ability to share the experiences, good, bad, and ugly, with one another via your blogs.
I'm even happy to share in them with you from a distance. I applied for my French citizenship in the USA at the French consulate in Los Angeles in 2000. I had to present all my marriage and divorce decrees in the original and in translation and they were later transcribed onto my French "birth certificate" out of Nantes.
The birth certificate came about because I wanted my "Carte Nationale d'Identité" even more than I wanted my EE-whatever passport!
For eight years I have been walking around with Mona Lisa's smile because I am registered with the French Consulate in LA as a "French woman abroad!" That just tickles me pink!
And now, in only a few short months I will be asking for my "Certificate de Changement de Résidence" and getting out of Dodge in order to join you all in l'hexagone. I'm already psyching myself up for the next big bureaucratic hurdle--the infamous permit de conduire!!!
Amitiés,
Pamela
pamela
Luckily you're married to a Frenchman! Makes everything a bit easier.
Good luck with the Certificate de Changement de Résidence. I remember getting that in San Francisco without any problems.
Oy! I really want French citizenship (I'm American) but I have no idea how to go about it. I've heard that you have to enter with a qualifying job, and I'm afraid working with an NGO wouldn't qualify. It's very frustrating - I speak French, I love France, I want to retire to Montpellier one day, and I'm no big fan of the States. Can't someone just hand me a passport? Hehe. I've studied US immigration in law school, but not the other way around.
Ha I had to do that, but it didn't cost much.
Very reassuring, my husband found out that his wife wasn't a secret criminal in hiding.
ps if any of you are going to the consulate in Marseille, let me know, we can meet for coffee, lunch...
Judith
All I can say is good luck! :)
I've no idea how to get one in your situation other than marry a Frenchman then wait four years before asking for your nationalité.
Poppy Fields,
I've booked a train and have an appointment for next Tuesday. Are you far from Marseille?
Ah, well thanks anyway :-) Can't do that one, as I'm a lesbian... maybe I should marry a Belgian woman and try to get EU citzenship that way? Haha, just kidding. Well good luck with yours! I know how the French bureaucracy is. I'm crossing fingers and toes!
Judith,
I just suggested that you marry a Frenchman...that doesn't mean you have to do anything else with him! :)
You could also meet a Frenchwoman and get PACSED.
Thanks for all the good luck wishes. I think I'll need them!
Nothing is ever easy, is it?
When we first moved, to Ireland, it took us 10 minutes and one visit to get a 5 year residency, which would have turned into citizenship had we stayed... What fools we were not to have stayed the 5 years!
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