An article in Le Monde looks at the practice, widespread among some African diaspora families, of sending children back to their country of origin when they reach adolescence. This ‘educational return’ aims to immerse them in cultural, linguistic and traditional values, while instilling in them a discipline considered to be stricter than in the West. However, this practice can have unexpected legal consequences, particularly when it comes to acquiring French nationality.
“More and more Togolese born and raised in Europe or the United States are returning to their country of origin to educate their children differently. How many parents in the diaspora are considering returning to their country of origin to pursue an education that is considered more rigorous than in Europe or North America? There are no statistics”. Naomi, a Togolese mother living in France, says: ‘In Grenoble, I lived in an area that wasn’t very safe and I saw these young people rebelling against their parents. I was afraid that my son would go wrong. I wanted him to have the rigour of Togo, the strict education I had as a child. And I wanted him to know where he came from”.
Dogbe Foli, a specialist in developmental psychology, analyses this trend: “The problem is not so much that the new environment gives the child too much freedom, but that the parents are left alone to set the educational framework without the support of the family and society.
The tradition of sending teenagers back to their country of origin can have the virtuous aim of sometimes straightening out an unruly child, who is sent for a time to an uncle in the country to be put back on the right track, ensuring a stricter education and even some physical correction “if deserved”.
However, prolonged stays abroad during this crucial period of adolescence can be an obstacle to acquiring French nationality. Contrary to popular belief, French nationality law is not based on jus soli but on a dual jus soli. This dual jus soli, introduced by the law of 7 February 1851 under the Second Republic, is formalised by the provisions of Article 18 of the Civil Code.
A child is French if at least one of its parents is French.
Article 18 du code civil – De la nationalité française d’origine
You can become French by birth to foreign parents if you were born on French soil, but also if you resided on French soil for a certain period from the age of 11, under the law of 26 June 1889 on deferred right from the soil. “The French legislature has always refused to grant automatic French nationality to a child born in transit. Nor does it accept that a child born in the country should disappear immediately, only to reappear when he or she reaches the age of majority. The child must be brought up locally. What counts is continuity, which presupposes minimum conditions of attachment to the country and a sufficient period of socialisation” (François Héran, Avec l’immigration, 2017).
Any child born in France to foreign parents acquires French nationality when they reach the age of majority, provided they are resident in France at that time and have had their habitual residence in France for a continuous or interrupted period of at least five years since the age of eleven.
Article 21-7 du code civil – Acquisition de la nationalité française à raison de la naissance et de la résidence en France
You may find that the provisions of article 21-7 of the French Civil Code are rather restrictive. To prove residence, 5 years between the ages of 11 and 18 are required. A period of 2 years is therefore an obstacle to acquiring the nationality.
As a lawyer, I had to deal with the case of a young man of Malian origin, born in France, with all his family in the country, but sent to his Malian uncle at the age of 13 to be educated. When he returned to France at the age of 15, he was arrested at the age of 19 for possession of a joint of cannabis and forced to leave French territory. His application for citizenship was rejected.
This obligation to leave the country was avoided by invoking Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which requires French law to respect the right to family life. This does not prevent the State from taking action to expel a foreign offender, but any measure must be proportionate. Given the length of time he had lived in France and the presence of his father, mother and 8 brothers and sisters, all of whom were French, he could not be deported simply because he was in possession of an illegal substance.
Unfortunately, he will then have to go through the normal naturalisation process, like any foreigner who has arrived in France without having been born here.
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