French for a Residence Permit and Citizenship, 2026

Since 1 January 2026, French for a residence permit and for citizenship has been checked on three steps: A2 for the first multi-year card, B1 for the first resident card and B2 for citizenship. We at “Vibe South of France” went through the primary sources to see who is affected, how the level is proven, how the civic exam works and what it costs. Checked on 19 October 2026. If you have a question about your own prefecture, or about where to take the tests in your city, you can ask it in the “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram.

In short, as of October 2026

• Multi-year card. As a general rule the first issue requires A2 and the civic exam.
• Resident card. As a general rule the first issue requires B1 and the civic exam, but not for every category (list below).
• Citizenship. B2, spoken and written; naturalisation by decree also requires the civic exam, citizenship by marriage does not.
• Proof. A TCF or TEF test no older than 2 years, a diploma at the required level, a French brevet or a vocational diploma of level 3 or above.
• The exam. 40 questions, 45 minutes, pass mark 32 out of 40; €60-80, unlimited retakes.
• Free. OFII civic training (24 hours) and, if your level at the OFII meeting is below A2, a language course.

Permit, level, exam: the summary table

Not for everyone. Exempt, for example, are people who have turned 65 and people who cannot take the test because of illness or disability; for the multi-year card the language is also not required of holders of subsidiary protection, stateless people and permits outside the CIR. Details below.

The one-year temporary card (carte de séjour temporaire) is not named in the new rules. For more on the permits themselves, see our guide to the Titre de séjour.

A2 for the multi-year card and B1 for the resident card

The rule (service-public, F34501, checked 10 February 2026): since 1 January 2026 a non-EU national who asks for a first multi-year card proves A2, and one who asks for a first resident card proves B1. The requirement applies to people under 65.

Not everyone needs B1 for the resident card. The requirement applies to these cards:

• the resident card for the spouse or parent of a French citizen;
• the card issued on family reunification;
• the EU long-term resident card: after 5 years with a passeport talent or an EU Blue Card, for refugees and holders of subsidiary protection and their families, after 5 years of continuous lawful residence with sufficient income;
• the permanent resident card.

For the multi-year card, holders of subsidiary protection (protection subsidiaire), stateless people and their families are exempt from the language, and so are permits that fall outside the CIR.

If you are going for a resident card, look at which category the prefecture will place you in. We do not sort this out case by case: the decision depends on the file.

B2 for citizenship

Both naturalisation by decree and the marriage declaration require French at B2 or above, spoken and written (F11926, checked 1 January 2026). Under the order of 22 December 2025 the test must cover all four skills (speaking, writing, listening, reading), be taken in person at an exam centre and on a single day. The language certificate is valid for 2 years.

What is accepted:

• the French diplôme national du brevet;
• a state diploma of level 3 or above (for example CAP, BEP and above);
• a vocational certificate of level 3 or above from the RNCP register;
• a French-language diploma of B2 or above;
• a TCF or TEF result issued less than 2 years ago.

A DELF B2 and a DALF fit “a diploma of B2 or above” by their meaning, but sheet F11926 does not name them. If you hold one of these diplomas, it is better to check with the prefecture in advance.

Who is exempt. If illness or disability makes it impossible to assess the level, an exemption is granted on a doctor’s certificate. Refugees and stateless people over 70 who have lived in France for at least 15 years are exempt from the language in naturalisation by decree. There is no age concession for citizenship on service-public, unlike for the cards. How naturalisation itself works is in our guide to French citizenship.

If you applied before 1 January 2026. Article 5 of the order of 22 December 2025 says that naturalisation applications and marriage declarations filed before that date stay under the 2020 orders on proof of language. This is a transitional rule about documents, and it should not be stretched to cover the whole file.

The civic exam: format, price, where to take it

Since 1 January 2026 the exam is compulsory for the first multi-year card, the first resident card and naturalisation by decree (service-public: F39530, F39426, article A18713). It does not affect renewal of the cards. The exam-pass certificate does not need renewing: it has no expiry date (unlike the TCF and TEF, which are valid for 2 years). You take the exam before you file the application.

• Format. A computer test, 40 questions in French: 28 on knowledge and 12 on everyday situations, 4 answer options, one correct. Up to 45 minutes. You need 32 correct answers.
• Topics for the cards. The principles and values of the Republic, rights and duties, history, geography and culture, the state’s institutions, life in French society.
• Topics for naturalisation. The main milestones of French history, the principles, symbols and institutions of the Republic, civic rights and duties, France’s place in Europe and the world. According to the Interior Ministry, the difficulty of the exam is adapted to each permit.
• Price. According to the Interior Minister’s reply to a member of parliament (question no. 11488, Journal officiel of 11 August 2026), the centre sets the price, and it is €60 to €80. The service-public pages give no price.
• Retakes. Per the same reply, unlimited. Cheating at the exam means a 2-year ban from sitting it.
• Where. At a centre accredited by the Interior Ministry. You can search for a centre on the CCI Paris Île-de-France and France Éducation international websites. According to the Interior Ministry’s reply to question no. 11488, as of 26 May 2026, 444 centres were operating in all the departments; 71,125 people had taken the exam, and on average 81% passed (all types of exam together).
• Preparation. Free OFII civic training (4 days) and the official site formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr with 222 topic cards.

Who the exam does not concern. For the cards: people over 65, and people who cannot take it according to a doctor’s certificate. For the language service-public writes “under 65”, for the exam “over 65”, so on the day you turn 65 check with the prefecture. For naturalisation by decree: the exam is required and there is no age concession; for citizenship by marriage (declaration) the exam is not taken at all.

TCF and TEF: what these tests are

For the cards the Interior Ministry accepts only two tests: the TCF from France Éducation international and the TEF from CCI Paris Île-de-France. They are taken in person, four parts on one day, and the result is valid for 2 years. The test you do at the OFII meeting is not on this list: it exists to decide whether you are offered a course.

For a residence permit and citizenship both operators issue IRN versions. The TCF IRN has four parts and takes about 1 hour 35 minutes; you can retake it without limit, but no more than once every 20 days. The TEF IRN scores three parts, and the thresholds on the operator’s page are these:

These are the operators’ figures and not service-public sheets, so before you book, check the names and scores on their websites.

Foreign diplomas are not accepted for the cards (F34501): only the tests and diplomas from the list above will do.

The CIR: what OFII gives for free

The republican integration contract (CIR) is signed at a meeting at OFII, and it is described in detail in the guide OFII: visa validation and the CIR. For the language topic this is what matters (service-public, F17048, checked 26 June 2026; the Interior Ministry portal, 12 November 2025):

• civic training is compulsory and free: 4 days of 6 hours, 24 hours in all;
• if you showed a level below A2 at the meeting, you are offered a language course: in person up to 600 hours, or free online on the Frello platform. If your level is above A2, no course is assigned;
• the course aims at A2, which is exactly the threshold for the multi-year card. The official texts we read mention no free OFII courses for B1 or B2; to go further you can study at other schools;
• exempt from the CIR are those who spent at least 3 years in a French secondary school or at least a year at a university in France, and teenagers of 16-18 who can obtain a 10-year resident card. Students, visiteur and talent holders do not sign it; for more on studying, see the guide Studying in France.

What to do, in order

1. Find out which permit you hold and whether this is your first application. Renewal of a multi-year card affects neither the exam nor the language, according to the sheets we read.
2. Check whether you are exempt: age, health, category of card.
3. Decide how you will prove the language: a TCF or TEF test (valid for 2 years, so do not take it too early) or a diploma.
4. Book the civic exam at an accredited centre and take it before you file the application. The centres work in all the departments; for life and paperwork locally, see the guides Hérault département and Alpes-Maritimes département.
5. Assemble the file with the proofs and file the application. For the overall picture of moving, see the section Moving to France and the guide How to move to France. If you also need a salary above a threshold for the card (talent, Blue Card), the figures are collected in the guide Salaries in France.

We have no data from our chat on the language tests yet, and we do not publish a list of centres. What you can do in the chat is ask how others booked and sat them.

If you are preparing for the exam or the test in the south of France, you can ask in our chat about centres, the nearest dates and the experience of people who have already been through it.

The “Vibe South of France” community chat on Telegram - relocation and life in the South of France

See Also

• Moving to the South of France: paperwork step by step
• Titre de séjour: residence permit in France
• OFII: visa validation and the CIR
• French citizenship: naturalisation and marriage
• How to move to France
• Studying in France
• Working in France
• Salaries in France: SMIC, thresholds for talent cards
• Hérault département
• Alpes-Maritimes département
• Family reunification in France: conditions, income, housing, procedure