VisaSpouses seeking French citizenship in Mayotte should check the B2 language requirement
Current-rule guide comparing national language evidence with an older Mayotte notice and separating postal filing, the tax and the civic-exam exemption.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
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Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Use the current language evidence rather than an older B1 notice
Foreign spouses applying for French citizenship by marriage in Mayotte should prepare evidence of B2 French, both spoken and written, under Service Public's current nationality guidance. Its accepted evidence includes specified French diplomas or professional certifications, a diploma demonstrating at least B2, or qualifying TCF or TEF results issued less than two years earlier. Select the evidence category before booking a test: not every applicant needs a fresh test if an accepted diploma already meets the requirement.
The guidance provides medical adjustments where disability or health requires them, and an evidence exemption where assessment is impossible, supported by the prescribed medical certificate. The Mayotte marriage-information notice still describes B1. That older statement should not be used to reduce the current national B2 requirement. Ask the nationality platform how to document an unusual diploma or medical situation before posting the application.
Confirm the marriage category and assemble the civil documents
The national marriage-declaration procedure requires the spouse to have been French on the wedding day and to have retained that nationality. The ordinary minimum marriage period is four years, but five years can apply depending on residence in France and the French spouse's consular registration during time abroad. A foreign marriage must be transcribed into the French civil register. Continuous material and emotional community of life is also required, so a marriage certificate alone does not establish all conditions.
The official document list calls for two signed copies of Cerfa 15277, recent identity photographs, identity and address evidence, civil-status documents, proof of the spouse's French nationality and evidence of the couple's continuing life together. Someone applying in France normally needs a valid residence permit unless exempt by European or Swiss nationality. Use the national marriage-specific document list for the family's circumstances, including children and previous marriages where relevant. Citizenship by marriage is a declaration procedure; the mere fact of marriage does not automatically confer nationality or waive the required evidence.
Send the Mayotte file by the published postal route
Mayotte's dedicated marriage page directs applicants to send the file exclusively by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt. It names the receiving service as Préfecture de Mayotte, Direction de l'Immigration, de l'Intégration et de la Citoyenneté, Plateforme Naturalisation, BP 676, 97600 Mamoudzou. This is the published receiving address, not an individually confirmed appointment or a guarantee that an incomplete package will be accepted.
The page links the marriage declaration form and information notice. Keep a copy of the assembled file and postal evidence so any later request can be matched to the submitted documents. The local notice says the conditions must be met when the complete declaration is received; sending an incomplete package early should not be treated as securing eligibility before the required marriage period has elapsed. Where the local downloaded notice and current national language guidance differ, identify the B1-versus-B2 issue clearly when seeking the platform's instructions. Do not substitute the online naturalisation-by-decree process simply because the local heading uses the broad word naturalisation.
Budget for the nationality stamp and distinguish the civic examination
The current nationality-stamp guidance sets the marriage-declaration tax at EUR255, paid by electronic fiscal stamp for an application made in France. The stamp can be bought through the official tax service or an equipped authorised tobacconist. It is valid for one year after purchase; an unused stamp can be requested for refund within eighteen months. Those periods concern the stamp, not a deadline by which the nationality decision is promised.
The separate civic-examination guidance expressly says marriage declarations are outside that examination requirement, which concerns citizenship by decree. A spouse should therefore distinguish proving French proficiency from passing the naturalisation civic exam. This examination exemption does not remove language evidence or the couple's interview and document assessment. Keep any test-provider charge separate from the EUR255 tax; no universal language-test price or local appointment time was established in the reviewed material. A pending citizenship declaration also does not itself renew an expiring residence permit or provide a passport for travel.
