Nationality
The cost of French naturalisation: a full budget
Enter the number of applicants and the prices quoted by your centres: the tool adds the official stamp to the variable costs.
Independent site, not linked to the French Interior Ministry, the préfectures or the exam centres.
Estimated total cost
€255
| Tax stamp (stamp duty) | €255 |
| Civic exam | €0 |
| French test | €0 |
| Official fees | €255 |
| Costs you typed in | €0 |
The tax stamp is set by law; the civic exam and the French test have no national price.
The cost of French naturalisation is one fixed administrative fee plus a handful of costs that depend on your situation. The fixed fee is the tax stamp of €255 per application, reduced to €127.50 in French Guiana; filing online is free. Everything else has no national price list. The civic exam, compulsory for naturalisation, is charged by the approved centre where you sit it, at a price that varies from centre to centre, and every new attempt is paid again. A French test, TCF or TEF, is only needed if you hold no French diploma proving level B2. Certified translations of foreign certificates complete the budget. By way of comparison, nationality through marriage costs the same €255 stamp with no civic exam. The tool above adds the official stamp to the prices you look up yourself, for one or more applicants, and never makes up a fee. Use it to see how much of your budget is set by law and how much depends on your own preparation and choices.
Naturalisation tax stamp
Stamps to buy
€510
| Per applicant | €255 |
| Rate in French Guiana | €127.50 |
| Civic exam | paid separately to the centre |
Answers, dates and costs by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Cost lines
| Item | Amount | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Tax stamp | €255 | set by law |
| Tax stamp, French Guiana | €127.50 | set by law |
| Online filing | €0 | free |
| Civic exam | centre’s price | varies, per sitting |
| French test (TCF or TEF) | centre’s price | only without a French diploma |
| Certified translations | translator’s price | for foreign certificates |
Only the first line is certain. The rest depend on your route: a French diploma removes the test, passing the civic exam first time saves a second fee, and certificates already in French need no translation. For many expats, translations are the line that surprises: birth and marriage certificates for each applicant can add up quickly.
How the tool works it out
It starts from the official stamp in our parameters and multiplies it by the number of applicants. It then adds, if you enter them, the civic exam price times the sittings you plan, the language test price and your translation total. Official fees and the costs you typed are shown apart, so you can see what the law sets and what depends on you. To budget cautiously, plan for two exam sittings until your mock scores sit well above 32 out of 40.
Keeping the bill down
- Prepare for free. The official lists, the ministry’s revision sheets and our civic exam mock test cost nothing. A failed exam means paying again, so this is where preparation pays most.
- Compare centres. Our civic exam price page explains where to find the prices of the two authorised bodies.
- Check your diplomas. A French diploma on the official list replaces the French test.
- Skip intermediaries. Filing online is free; a private site charging to send your file adds nothing the official service does not already do.
A worked budget to build yourself
Take a couple where only one partner holds a French diploma. The budget includes two stamps of €255, so €510, two civic exam bookings at their centre’s price, one French test for the partner without a diploma, and translations of the birth and marriage certificates issued abroad. Enter those in the tool: it shows the total, the share per person and the split between official and variable costs. Then run it again with one extra exam sitting to see what a fail would cost.
When each cost falls due
The spending is spread out. The French test and the civic exam are paid when you book, often months before filing; translations are ordered while you build the file; the stamp is bought just before you send it. The official naturalisation page lists no other administrative fee after filing, neither for the interview nor for the decree. If you are budgeting a move to citizenship alongside a job change or a house purchase, that timeline helps you plan cash flow.
How it compares
| Application | Official fees | Civic exam |
|---|---|---|
| Naturalisation | €255 | yes, centre’s price |
| Nationality through marriage | €255 | no |
| First resident card | €350 | yes, centre’s price |
| With regularisation visa fee | €650 | yes, centre’s price |
A resident card costs more in official fees, €50 in stamp duty plus €300 in tax, and more again if you entered without a long-stay visa. In fee terms naturalisation is one of the cheaper applications, provided you pass the exam without repeated sittings. Details of the stamp are on the service-public.gouv.fr tax stamp page.