Bureaucratic Battle Faced by Francophone Belgian Couple Fighting to Prove Their French Proficiency
A Francophone Belgian couple faces a bureaucratic ordeal in their quest for French citizenship, as they struggle to prove their fluency in French, their native language
A couple from the French-speaking region of Belgium sought to become naturalized as French citizens, but encountered a quintessentially French problem - a bureaucratic battle to prove their proficiency in their native language. The paperwork they submitted to their local prefecture was deemed inadequate to establish their fluency in French.
"I am a commercial director for a French company, and my wife has written a book in French," Vincent Lenoir informed BFMTV, a CNN affiliate, during a Friday interview in French. After residing in the southern French department of Drôme for 24 years, and his wife for nine, they decided it was time to become French citizens."
Their journey to naturalization hit an unexpected roadblock - their inability to demonstrate proficiency in speaking French. Even though they presented their credentials from French-speaking universities, they were informed that this was insufficient evidence of their B1-level French proficiency, as required by the current European Union standards.
"You can tell that I'm addressing you [in French] appropriately, but unfortunately, it seems that alone is not sufficient for our administration," Lenoir remarked.
However, the local prefecture also has a compelling argument - they were merely upholding the law.
The Drôme government office stated in a published statement on Thursday that the Lenoirs' naturalization application was not denied due to a lack of French language proficiency. Instead, they were unsuccessful in obtaining French citizenship because the documents they provided did not meet the requirements outlined by French law.
In contrast to the United States and Canada, France does not accept university degrees from other French-speaking countries as proof of language proficiency. According to current French nationality law, proficiency in French can be proven by earning a middle school degree or higher in France, or by passing a language exam, such as the official TCF/TEF exam, administered by other European countries.
Applicants must provide a valid exam result no older than two years for their applications to be considered, as stated by the local government.
Vincent Lenoir faces a more complex reality than just retaking an exam. "We can only take the exam in January and receive the result in March, but our appeal to the government is only valid for two months. So by the time we receive the result, it will be too late," he explained to BFMTV, indicating that they would have to start the entire process from the beginning.
It is ironic that a French person can become Belgian with their university degree from France serving as sufficient proof of French language proficiency, one of Belgium's three national languages.
Those who have lived in France can relate to the frustrating experience of being told they did not bring the right document when attempting to complete a simple administrative task at the local government.
