French Level for Citizenship: B2 Since 2026

French citizenship requires CEFR level B2 in French for any application filed on or after 1 January 2026. The previous threshold was B1, and most English-language guides still say B1, which means a lot of people are preparing for the wrong exam.

The change comes from law no. 2024-42 of 26 January 2024 and décret no. 2025-648 of 15 July 2025, which amended the 1993 nationality decree. It raised the naturalisation bar to B2, raised the resident card bar to B1, created a language condition where there previously was none for the first multi-year permit, and added a civic exam. This article covers what each threshold now is, what proof is accepted, and how much study each level actually represents.

What are the 2026 French language thresholds?

Three separate procedures, three separate levels. Confusing them is the single most common mistake.

Each row moved up one full CEFR step. The multi-year permit previously had no formal certification requirement at all - applicants signed a republican integration contract and, at most, agreed to attend free classes. The resident card moved from A2 to B1. Naturalisation moved from B1 to B2.

The rules apply to the filing date, not the decision date. A complete file received by the administration on or before 31 December 2025 is still assessed under the old thresholds. Anything filed afterwards faces the new ones.

Immigration rules change, and préfectures apply them with some local variation. Treat this article as a starting point and confirm the current requirement with your préfecture or consulate before you book an exam.

What does B2 French actually mean?

B2 is the fourth of the six levels on the Council of Europe’s CEFR scale, and it is the point where French stops being a subject you study and becomes a language you use.

At B2 you can follow an argument you disagree with and answer it in real time. You can read a newspaper article on an unfamiliar topic without a dictionary. You can write a structured letter of complaint. Grammatically, it is the level where the subjonctif (subjunctive) stops being a curiosity and becomes something you produce without planning it:

• Il faut que vous fournissiez un justificatif de domicile. - You need to provide proof of address.
• Bien qu’elle soit née en France, elle doit faire la demande. - Although she was born in France, she still has to apply.

That second sentence is a fair test of the threshold. If bien que + subjonctif comes out automatically, you are around B2. If you have to stop and assemble it, you are not there yet - what actually triggers the subjunctive is the single structure that most clearly separates B1 from B2. The full list of structures the level assumes is in French grammar by CEFR level.

For the naturalisation file, B2 is required across all four skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing - not as an average. A strong oral score does not compensate for a weak written one. We publish the full grammar breakdown of what sits inside each level on the B2 curriculum page, unit by unit.

Which proof of French is accepted?

Two families of proof, and the difference between them matters more than most people realise.

Diplomas - permanent. DELF B2 is a diploma issued by France Éducation international on behalf of the French Ministry of Education. Once obtained, it never expires. DALF C1 and DALF C2 certify a higher level and therefore also satisfy a B2 requirement. What the B2 session involves, and why its eliminatory mark of 5 out of 25 fails more borderline profiles than the total does, is set out in the DELF B2 guide.

Tests - two years. The TCF IRN (Intégration, Résidence et Nationalité) and the equivalent TEF version produce an attestation, not a diploma. It must be less than two years old when you file.

That two-year clock is the trap. Naturalisation files are frequently under review for eighteen months or more, and some préfectures ask for an up-to-date document when a file drags. A DELF B2 diploma removes the risk permanently for roughly the same amount of preparation. If you have a choice and no deadline pressure, take the diploma - the full comparison, including the scoring rules that decide which one you are likely to pass, is in DELF, DALF, TCF or TEF: which one do you need.

One more change that received almost no coverage in English: the 2025 decree removed the option of proving your level with a comparability attestation for a foreign diploma obtained through studies conducted in French. Applicants who planned to use a degree earned in a francophone country outside France should verify their situation directly rather than assume it still works.

What is the civic exam, and who has to take it?

The same decree introduced a mandatory civic examination covering French history, culture, institutions and the values of the Republic. It applies to naturalisation applications and to first applications for the ten-year resident card filed from 1 January 2026.

Two practical points. First, it is a separate requirement: your DELF B2 diploma does not exempt you from it, and passing the civic exam does not exempt you from the language proof. Second, it is administered in French, so the effective language demand is slightly above the certificate itself. Preparing only to the exact wording of a B2 exam paper is a thin margin.

Note one asymmetry that catches people out: the exemption for applicants over 65 covers residence permits, not naturalisation. Do not assume age exempts you from the citizenship requirements.

How long does it take to reach B2 from where you are?

The Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of State classifies French as a Category I language - its easiest tier, alongside Spanish and Italian - and estimates 600 to 750 class hours to reach professional working proficiency for an English speaker. Japanese, at the other end, is 2,200.

In the European convention used by most schools, the cumulative guided hours usually quoted from absolute beginner are:

These are teaching conventions and classroom averages, not measurements of you. Living in France, having studied another Romance language, or reading in French daily all shift the number - how long it takes to learn French works the arithmetic through by study pace.

The realistic gap worth planning around is B1 to B2. It is the longest single step on the scale, and it is exactly the step the 2026 reform added to the citizenship path. People stall there for a specific reason: B1 rewards getting the message across, while B2 rewards precision - tense choice, register, connectors, the subjunctive. Conversation practice alone tends to plateau, because you can hold a conversation indefinitely while avoiding every structure you find hard. What actually separates the two levels is a short, specific list - worth auditing before you book an exam.

The fastest way through that gap is volume of comprehensible input slightly above your current level: French written for adults, in quantity, at a difficulty you can actually follow - the method is set out in how to learn French by reading. That is also the design principle behind Gallus: graded stories with native audio and tap-to-translate, sequenced across all 61 levels of the A1 to C1 curriculum.

What should you do next?

If you are filing for citizenship, work backwards from your filing date. Book the DELF B2 rather than a TCF attestation if your timeline allows it, since sessions are less frequent but the diploma never expires. Budget separately for the civic exam. And check the accepted-proof list with your préfecture, because the removal of the comparability route means some documents that worked in 2025 no longer do.

If you are earlier in the process, the useful question is not “what level do I need” but “which level is my next administrative milestone” - A2 for the multi-year permit, B1 for the resident card, B2 for the passport. The two residence rungs are covered in detail in the guide to French levels for a visa or residence permit. Each one has a concrete grammar syllabus behind it, and you can read ours level by level starting from the CEFR levels hub.