Readers react to French citizenship changes

After the French government clarified that retirees living off foreign pensions would no longer be eligible for French citizenship, The Local has been hearing from pensioners in France who are angry and upset at the changes.

One retiree called it “devastating news”, while another described the change as “illogical, bizarre and ageist”.

Dozens of readers of The Local have expressed their frustration and hurt at the French Interior Ministry’s recent announcement that retirees applying for French nationality on the basis of residency would also be subject to strict income requirements.

The clarification came last week, when the head of communications for the office of the director general of foreigners in France confirmed to The Local that eligibility standards have changed.

The ministry spokesperson said that applicants, including retirees, with “income primarily coming from abroad” no longer qualify for French nationality based on residency (décret), as a result of the May 2025 circulaire, which offered instructions for how préfectures ought to process citizenship applications.

The new information has come as a major blow for retirees living on foreign pensions in France, as well as those who had plans to retire here.

Dozens of readers got in touch to share their feelings, with some already beginning to reconsider future plans.

Max in Isère told The Local: “I find it very sad and disconcerting.

“My husband and I retired and moved to France a year ago from the United States with hopes of making France our new home and becoming citizens.

“We love the French people, the culture and living in the Alps. We were not deterred by the new language requirements; we feel that we should be able to speak French fluently if we hope to become citizens.

“Our plan was to buy a home here, invest savings, and spend our resources locally. However, given that our income sources are all from US retirement accounts, that is no longer a reality.

“Now, we are seriously talking about looking at mountain regions in Italy where we at least have a chance at a long-term future.”

Jen Woodside in Tarn et Garonne, told The Local: “This is hugely upsetting. We have bought a second home in France and had hoped to move there and, eventually, to become French citizens.

“We are nearing the end of our careers, so we don’t have any hope/chance to amass enough of a French income to qualify.”

Several other readers expressed bewilderment with the change, noting that their foreign pensions are spent here in France, propping up the local economy.

In some cases, foreign pensions are also taxed in France.

One British reader, who wished to remain anonymous due to concerns about their ongoing citizenship application, said: “They are happy to tax this income from foreign pensions! I know, I pay a lot.

“If this gets difficult, I shall simply go back to the UK and pay all my taxes there, which will be France’s loss. I cannot understand this rule.”

Marion Fitzpatrick echoed this sentiment, saying: “If we all had French pensions, we would be costing the French state a huge amount of money.

“Heaven knows, like all the other European countries, they can’t afford their current pension burden, let alone adding to it! Especially as the populace won’t allow an increase in pension age…. It comes from the UK, we spend it and pay tax on it here – they should be welcoming us with open arms, not rejecting us!”

Four readers called the change ‘short-sighted’ on similar grounds. One of them was Catherine Vetere, who lives in Cannes.

She said: “I think it is very short-sighted by the French Government. We pay our income tax here, and we spend our money here. The fact that we made our money elsewhere is not relevant.”

One American reader, Ingram P, who became a naturalised French citizen in 1999, commented, saying: “It simplified my life, so I understand why retirees want citizenship: security, EU rights, and recognition of their lives here.

“Refusing them because pensions come from abroad is absurd – those funds flow into France, support local economies, often rural ones, and show integration. This feels more political than practical.”

Meanwhile, many readers expressed frustration that the source of one’s income should not be an important indicator of one’s level of integration in the local community.

Donald Hanson, who will be moving to Annecy, told The Local: “The question should be, how does keeping retirees from gaining citizenship benefit France? Why does income location matter so much, as one person with foreign source income could be more integrated than someone with local source income?”

For a few readers, it was helpful to finally receive clarification that there has been a change in how préfectures have been instructed to approach applications from retirees with a majority of foreign-sourced income.

“The only positive from this clarification is that it will save potential applicants a great deal of time and money in going through the process. It does, however, seem very short-sighted, as it will deny France guaranteed contributions to the economy from overseas. It is clearly a political, rather than an economic, decision,” said Tony Allen in Le Bourdeix.

Despite being comforted in the knowledge that the 10-year carte de résident would still be available, others worried the contents of the May circulaire could be just the beginning of more immigration-related changes.

An anonymous reader said: “This is clearly a political move and possibly will be reversed should the person in charge change. It does leave me concerned about wider rules in residency should a right-leaning government be elected, especially with what we are seeing in the US with people with residency being detained and deported.”

Andrew Drysch in the Var said: “From a practical perspective, to me the important thing is the right to live here, and despite a denial of citizenship, I assume that in general retirees should be able to rely on a permanent carte de sejour to maintain such a right.

“As a point of principle, though, it seems to me that a person’s application should be viewed holistically and not determined on the basis of a single factor such as this.

“Someone who regards France as their home, contributes significantly to their local community, but whose entire income arises from outside France, should not be denied citizenship.”

Readers react to French citizenship changes

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