Your baby has just been born in a French hospital. The midwife hands you a medical certificate, the ward talks about the mairie (the town hall) and someone mentions a five-day deadline. You assumed that a child born on French soil would be French, or at least that the French birth certificate would automatically produce a British passport. After Brexit neither assumption is safe. A child of two British parents is not French by the mere fact of being born in France. The child is a third-country national. The French acte de naissance (birth record) is the foundation of everything that follows — the UK passport application, the child’s travel document, family benefits — but it only exists if the birth is declared in time, by the right person, with the right papers. Miss the deadline and the registrar cannot repair the file on the spot: a court judgment is required, and the Criminal Code still punishes a person who attended the birth and failed to declare it.

This guide is written for British parents in France, whether you hold a Withdrawal Agreement residence card, a visitor card, or a family card as the spouse of a French citizen. It explains the five-day declaration, what happens if you are late, how unmarried fathers establish parentage, how the child’s surname is chosen, why French nationality is not automatic, how the French birth certificate is used for a UK passport, which residence document the child actually needs, and how to challenge a refusal. The property purchase process and company formation are outside the scope of this article; the subject here is the child as a person — civil status, nationality, residence and daily legal life after Brexit.

I. How do I register my British baby’s birth in France, and what if I miss the five-day deadline?

A. The five-day declaration, the acte de naissance and the court judgment if you are late

French law does not treat the hospital’s medical certificate as a birth record. The legal act is the declaration made to the officier de l’état civil (the registrar of civil status) of the place of birth. Article 55 of the Civil Code provides: “Les déclarations de naissance sont faites dans les cinq jours de l’accouchement, à l’officier de l’état civil du lieu.” In English: birth declarations are made within five days of the delivery, to the registrar of the place. The same article adds a longer period of eight days where distance from the registrar justifies it, in communes listed by decree. Service-public, the official government guidance updated on 18 June 2026, is more precise on the counting of days: the day of the delivery is not counted, and if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the period runs to the next working day. A child born on Monday 3 June 2026 must, on that official counting, be declared by Monday 10 June. Do not wait until day five if the registrar’s office will be closed.

Who must declare? Article 56 of the Civil Code answers: “La naissance de l’enfant sera déclarée par le père, ou, à défaut du père, par les docteurs en médecine ou en chirurgie, sages-femmes, officiers de santé ou autres personnes qui auront assisté à l’accouchement ; et lorsque la mère sera accouchée hors de son domicile, par la personne chez qui elle sera accouchée.” The father declares; failing the father, the doctor, midwife or any other person who attended the birth; and if the mother gave birth away from her home, the person in whose home she gave birth. In practice, many French maternity wards lodge the declaration themselves with the hospital’s civil-status office, using the medical certificate of delivery and the parents’ identity documents. That convenience is not a legal exemption. If the hospital does not do it, the duty remains. The official Service-public guidance, Déclaration de naissance, states that the declaration is compulsory for every child born in France and must be made by a person who attended the delivery.

What the registrar writes is set out in Article 57 of the Civil Code: “L’acte de naissance énoncera le jour, l’heure et le lieu de la naissance, le sexe de l’enfant, les prénoms qui lui seront donnés, le nom de famille, suivi le cas échéant de la mention de la déclaration conjointe de ses parents quant au choix effectué, ainsi que les prénoms, noms, âges, professions et domiciles des père et mère et, s’il y a lieu, ceux du déclarant.” The record states the day, hour and place of birth, the child’s sex, the given names, the family name (with any joint choice of name), and the parents’ names, ages, occupations and addresses. Forenames are chosen by the father and mother. If a forename appears to the registrar to be contrary to the child’s interest or to a third party’s right to protection of a family name, the registrar notifies the public prosecutor, who may seise the family-affairs judge. Ask at once for several copies of the copie intégrale (full copy) of the birth record. UK passport applications and French administrations want the full copy, not a short extract. If a parent later needs a UK birth certificate apostille for a residence card of their own, that is a different document and a different procedure, explained in our guide on whether a UK birth certificate must be apostilled for a French residence permit.

In Paris and the inner Île-de-France, births in the large public hospitals are often declared at the hospital’s own civil-status office rather than at the mairie of the arrondissement. A home birth, or a birth in a clinic without a registrar, is declared at the town hall of the place of birth. Keep the midwife’s certificate, both parents’ passports or residence cards, and the livret de famille (family record book) if you already have one from a previous French marriage or civil status event. Unmarried British parents will not have a French family record book until the birth is recorded. The registrar issues one with the child’s details once parentage is established.

If the five days pass without a declaration, the registrar’s hands are tied. Article 55 of the Civil Code continues: “Lorsqu’une naissance n’a pas été déclarée dans le délai légal, l’officier de l’état civil ne peut la relater sur ses registres qu’en vertu d’un jugement rendu par le tribunal de l’arrondissement dans lequel est né l’enfant, et mention sommaire en est faite en marge à la date de la naissance. Si le lieu de la naissance est inconnu, le tribunal compétent est celui du domicile du requérant.” If a birth has not been declared in time, the registrar may record it only pursuant to a judgment of the court of the district where the child was born; a short note is then entered in the margin at the date of birth. The same Service-public guidance is blunt: a late file requires a déclaration judiciaire (judicial declaration) of birth; the registrar cannot regularise the file himself, and you must instruct an avocat before the tribunal judiciaire (ordinary court) of the place of birth. In Paris that is the Tribunal judiciaire de Paris. The public prosecutor, once informed by the registrar, may also apply for the judgment. The judgment records the birth and orders its transcription onto the registers of the commune of birth.

The Criminal Code still bites the person who attended the delivery and stayed silent. Article 433-18-1 of the Criminal Code provides: “Le fait, pour une personne ayant assisté à un accouchement, de ne pas faire la déclaration prescrite par l’article 56 du code civil dans les délais fixés par l’article 55 du même code est puni de six mois d’emprisonnement et de 3 750 euros d’amende.” Failure by a person who attended a birth to make the declaration required by Article 56 within the time in Article 55 is punishable by six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 3,750 euros. Service-public repeats those figures and adds civil liability towards the child for the harm caused by the non-declaration. The penalty is aimed at the person who attended the birth, not at a parent who was elsewhere; but a father who was present and did nothing is inside the text.

Where the registers themselves are missing, a different tool exists. Article 46 of the Civil Code provides: “Lorsqu’il n’aura pas existé de registres, ou qu’ils seront perdus, la preuve en sera reçue tant par titres que par témoins ; et, dans ces cas, les mariages, naissances et décès pourront être prouvés tant par les registres et papiers émanés des pères et mères décédés, que par témoins.” If registers never existed or have been lost, proof is received by documents and by witnesses. The Cour de cassation, France’s highest ordinary court, sitting in the first civil chamber on 15 May 2019, appeal no. 18-18.111, published in the Bulletin, applied that article to a request for a jugement supplétif (a substitute judgment reconstituting a birth record). In Cour de cassation, 1re civ., 15 May 2019, no. 18-18.111, the Court recorded that the court of appeal, which had analysed the evidence before it, “a souverainement déduit que M. L… ne rapportait pas la preuve de sa date de naissance et de son identité exacte, de sorte qu’il ne remplissait pas les conditions pour obtenir un jugement supplétif d’acte de naissance”. In English: the court of appeal had sovereignly inferred that Mr L. had not proved his date of birth and his exact identity, so that he did not meet the conditions for a substitute birth judgment. The assessment of proof on such a claim belongs to the trial judges. The lesson for a British parent is practical: a late French declaration is not a friendly counter visit. It is a court file. Assemble the hospital certificate, the passports, any antenatal records and witnesses before you issue the claim, and do not expect the registrar to sort it out without a judgment.

B. Unmarried fathers, recognition, the child’s surname and who holds parental authority

Marriage changes the proof of fatherhood. Article 312 of the Civil Code is a single sentence: “L’enfant conçu ou né pendant le mariage a pour père le mari.” A child conceived or born during the marriage has the husband as father. The mother’s parentage does not depend on marriage. Article 311-25 of the Civil Code provides: “La filiation est établie, à l’égard de la mère, par la désignation de celle-ci dans l’acte de naissance de l’enfant.” Parentage is established in respect of the mother by her being named in the child’s birth record. A married British couple whose marriage is proven to the registrar — typically by a UK marriage certificate with an apostille and a translation — will usually see both parents on the French birth record, the husband by the presumption of Article 312 and the wife by Article 311-25.

Unmarried parents cannot rely on that presumption. If parentage is not established under those rules, Article 316 of the Civil Code opens a different path: “Lorsque la filiation n’est pas établie dans les conditions prévues à la section I du présent chapitre, elle peut l’être par une reconnaissance de paternité ou de maternité, faite avant ou après la naissance. La reconnaissance n’établit la filiation qu’à l’égard de son auteur. Elle est faite dans l’acte de naissance, par acte reçu par l’officier de l’état civil ou par tout autre acte authentique.” Parentage may then be established by a recognition of paternity or maternity, made before or after the birth. Recognition establishes parentage only in respect of the person who makes it. It is made in the birth record, by an instrument received by the registrar, or by any other authentic instrument. The author must prove identity with an official photograph document and prove address with a document less than three months old. A British father who is not married to the mother should recognise the child, ideally before the birth at the mairie, so that his name is on the birth record from day one. A recognition after the birth is still valid, but it is a second trip and it has consequences for parental authority, examined below. The recognition instrument itself is described by Article 62 of the Civil Code, which requires the author’s names, date and place of birth and address, and the child’s date and place of birth, sex and forenames. When the instrument is drawn up, the registrar must read Articles 371-1 and 371-2 to the author — the definition of parental authority and the duty to maintain the child.

The child’s surname is not a matter of taste for the registrar. Article 311-21 of the Civil Code provides: “Lorsque la filiation d’un enfant est établie à l’égard de ses deux parents au plus tard le jour de la déclaration de sa naissance ou par la suite mais simultanément, ces derniers choisissent le nom de famille qui lui est dévolu : soit le nom du père, soit le nom de la mère, soit leurs deux noms accolés dans l’ordre choisi par eux dans la limite d’un nom de famille pour chacun d’eux.” When parentage is established in respect of both parents no later than the day of the birth declaration, or later but simultaneously, the parents choose the family name: the father’s name, the mother’s name, or both names joined in the order they choose, limited to one family name from each. If there is no joint declaration, the child takes the name of the parent in respect of whom parentage is established first, and the father’s name if parentage is established simultaneously in respect of both. If the parents disagree, and one of them notifies the registrar no later than the day of the declaration, the child takes both names, limited to the first family name of each, joined in alphabetical order. A name already chosen for one common child binds the later common children. Parents who themselves bear a double family name may, by a joint written declaration, transmit only one of those names. Bring a written joint choice of name to the declaration if you want anything other than the default. Service-public points to the same joint declaration of choice of name. A British couple used to the English habit of giving the father’s surname without paperwork will be surprised: silence is itself a choice, and it is not always the choice they thought they were making.

Parental authority is a separate question from the name on the certificate. Article 371-1 of the Civil Code defines it: “L’autorité parentale est un ensemble de droits et de devoirs ayant pour finalité l’intérêt de l’enfant. Elle appartient aux parents jusqu’à la majorité ou l’émancipation de l’enfant pour le protéger dans sa sécurité, sa santé, sa vie privée et sa moralité, pour assurer son éducation et permettre son développement, dans le respect dû à sa personne.” Parental authority is a set of rights and duties for the child’s interest. It belongs to the parents until majority or emancipation, to protect the child’s safety, health, private life and morals, and to ensure education and development. Article 372 of the Civil Code then states the principle: “Les père et mère exercent en commun l’autorité parentale.” The father and mother exercise parental authority jointly. There is a trap for unmarried British fathers who recognise the child late. Article 372 continues: “Toutefois, lorsque la filiation est établie à l’égard de l’un d’entre eux plus d’un an après la naissance d’un enfant dont la filiation est déjà établie à l’égard de l’autre, celui-ci reste seul investi de l’exercice de l’autorité parentale.” If parentage is established in respect of one parent more than a year after the birth of a child whose parentage is already established in respect of the other, that other parent remains solely vested with the exercise of parental authority. Joint exercise can then be restored only by a joint declaration to the director of the court registry or by a decision of the family-affairs judge.

The Cour de cassation was asked, sitting as a request for an opinion, whether a later marriage of the parents could by itself restore joint exercise. In its opinion of 23 September 2020, no. 20-70.002, it answered no. It first recalled: “Aux termes de l’article 372, alinéa 1er, du code civil, les père et mère exercent en commun l’autorité parentale.” It then held: “Ces dispositions font dépendre l’exercice de l’autorité parentale du seul établissement du lien de filiation, sans distinguer entre les enfants nés pendant le mariage et ceux nés hors mariage.” Those provisions make the exercise of parental authority depend solely on the establishment of the parentage link, without distinguishing children born in marriage from children born outside marriage. After analysing the one-year exception, it concluded: “Il en résulte qu’en présence d’une filiation établie à l’égard de l’un des parents plus d’un an après la naissance de l’enfant alors que la filiation est déjà établie à l’égard de l’autre, l’exercice en commun de l’autorité parentale par les deux parents ne peut résulter que d’une déclaration conjointe adressée au directeur des services de greffe judiciaires ou d’une décision du juge aux affaires familiales, sans que le mariage des parents, après la naissance de l’enfant, puisse emporter de plein droit un exercice en commun de l’autorité parentale.” Joint exercise cannot result from the parents’ later marriage alone. The opinion is at Cour de cassation, opinion, 23 September 2020, no. 20-70.002. For an unmarried British father the practical rule is therefore simple: recognise the child before birth or, at the latest, within the year, if you want joint parental authority without a further court or registry filing. Couples who prefer a property arrangement between themselves rather than a status for the child will find a different set of tools in our article on tontine and indivision for unmarried partners; that article does not replace recognition of the child.

II. Is my child French or British, and how does the child stay in France after Brexit?

A. Why French nationality is not automatic, how British citizenship is checked and how to use the French birth certificate for a UK passport

Jus soli, the idea that soil confers nationality, is not the French starting point. Article 18 of the Civil Code is the rule of blood: “Est français l’enfant dont l’un des parents au moins est français.” A child is French if at least one parent is French. Service-public, in its fiche of 19 August 2025 on when a child is French, says the same: a child is French by descent if at least one parent is French, whether the child is born in France or abroad, and whether or not the parents are married, provided parentage is legally established in respect of the French parent. Two British parents, neither of them French, do not pass French nationality at birth. The hospital, the mairie and the passport office will all treat the newborn as a foreign child. The exception of double jus soli is narrow. Article 19-3 of the Civil Code provides: “Est français l’enfant né en France lorsque l’un de ses parents au moins y est lui-même né.” A child born in France is French if at least one parent was also born in France. That helps a British parent who was themselves born in France. It does not help a parent born in Manchester, Edinburgh or Cardiff.

French nationality can come later, by residence, but it is not a gift of the maternity ward. Article 21-7 of the Civil Code provides: “Tout enfant né en France de parents étrangers acquiert la nationalité française à sa majorité si, à cette date, il a en France sa résidence et s’il a eu sa résidence habituelle en France pendant une période continue ou discontinue d’au moins cinq ans, depuis l’âge de onze ans.” Every child born in France of foreign parents acquires French nationality at majority if, on that date, the child has residence in France and has had habitual residence in France for a continuous or discontinuous period of at least five years since the age of eleven. That is an acquisition at eighteen, not at birth, and it depends on a French childhood. Earlier, the child may claim French nationality by declaration. Article 21-11 of the Civil Code provides: “L’enfant mineur né en France de parents étrangers peut à partir de l’âge de seize ans réclamer la nationalité française par déclaration, dans les conditions prévues aux articles 26 et suivants si, au moment de sa déclaration, il a en France sa résidence et s’il a eu sa résidence habituelle en France pendant une période continue ou discontinue d’au moins cinq ans, depuis l’âge de onze ans. Dans les mêmes conditions, la nationalité française peut être réclamée, au nom de l’enfant mineur né en France de parents étrangers, à partir de l’âge de treize ans, la condition de résidence habituelle en France devant alors être remplie à partir de l’âge de huit ans. Le consentement du mineur est requis, sauf s’il est empêché d’exprimer sa volonté par une altération de ses facultés mentales ou corporelles constatée selon les modalités prévues au troisième alinéa de l’article 17-3 .” The minor born in France of foreign parents may from the age of sixteen claim French nationality by declaration if, at the time of the declaration, the child resides in France and has had habitual residence in France for at least five years since the age of eleven. In the same conditions, French nationality may be claimed in the name of the child from the age of thirteen, the habitual-residence condition then having to be fulfilled from the age of eight. The minor’s consent is required, unless the child is prevented from expressing their will by an impairment of mental or bodily faculties recorded as provided in Article 17-3. Service-public’s fiche F295, verified on 19 August 2025, walks through the same three ages — 13 to 15, 16 to 17, and 18 — and lists the documents: the French birth record, proof of residence, the parents’ residence cards or foreign identity documents, and proof of parental authority. A British family that stays in France through the child’s schooling can therefore plan a declaration in the teenage years. A family that returns to the United Kingdom before those residence periods are completed cannot.

British citizenship is a question of United Kingdom law, not of the French Civil Code. GOV.UK’s page on types of British nationality states that you might be a British citizen depending on where and when you were born and on your parents’ circumstances when you were born. It adds that you do not necessarily get British citizenship if you were born in the UK. The same logic, inverted, applies to a birth in France: birth in France does not decide British citizenship; the parents’ circumstances at the birth do. GOV.UK invites anyone who is unsure to use its check if you are a British citizen service. This article does not replace that check. A parent who is British “otherwise than by descent” will usually pass citizenship to a child born abroad; a parent who is British only by descent may not. The only safe course is to run the official checker and, if needed, take advice on registration as a British citizen, which GOV.UK distinguishes from naturalisation.

The French birth record is, however, the document the United Kingdom expects you to use. GOV.UK’s page Register a birth abroad states that you must register your child’s birth according to the regulations in the country where the child was born, and that you will be given a local birth certificate. That local certificate should be accepted in the UK, for example when you apply for a passport or register with a school or doctor. If it is not in English, you will need to have it translated by an approved translator. You may also register the birth with the UK authorities, if the child was born on or after 1 January 1983. GOV.UK is explicit that this second registration is optional: you do not need to do it, but if you do, the birth is recorded with the General Register Office or National Records of Scotland and you can order a consular birth registration certificate. The fee quoted on that page is £150 to register and £50 per consular certificate. You can still apply for a UK passport even if you do not register the birth in the UK. For most British parents in France, the efficient path is therefore: obtain several full copies of the French acte de naissance, commission an approved translation if the passport unit asks for one, and apply for the child’s first UK passport on GOV.UK. Consular registration is a useful extra proof; it is not a condition of the passport. Do not wait for a UK consular certificate before applying if the French record is already in your hands.

None of this makes the child French. Dual nationality is possible later if the child acquires French nationality under Articles 21-7 or 21-11, or if a parent is or becomes French while the child is a minor and the child’s name is included in the parent’s naturalisation decree — a separate mechanism described by Service-public on the effect of a parent’s naturalisation. A British parent who later applies for French naturalisation should therefore have the child’s name put on the decree while the child is still a minor. Spouses of French citizens who are themselves applying for a family residence card will find the adult procedure in our guide on the vie privée et familiale card for a British spouse of a French citizen. That card does not confer French nationality on the baby.

B. The child’s DCEM, Withdrawal Agreement rights, family benefits and how to challenge a refusal

A newborn does not hold a French residence card, and in most cases does not need one yet. Article L. 411-1 of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right of Asylum (CESEDA) provides: “Sous réserve des engagements internationaux de la France ou du livre II, tout étranger âgé de plus de dix-huit ans qui souhaite séjourner en France pour une durée supérieure à trois mois doit être titulaire de l’un des documents de séjour suivants :” then a list beginning with a long-stay visa and residence cards. Subject to international commitments and Book II, every foreigner aged over eighteen who wishes to stay in France for more than three months must hold one of those documents. The age threshold is eighteen. A baby is not required to hold a carte de séjour (residence card) under that article. That is not a right to remain in a vacuum. The child’s position follows the parents’ lawful stay, and travel in and out of France is another matter.

The travel document for a foreign child who lives in France is the document de circulation pour étranger mineur, the DCEM (travel document for a foreign minor). Article L. 414-4 of CESEDA provides: “Un document de circulation pour étranger mineur est délivré à l’étranger mineur résidant en France : 1° Dont au moins l’un des parents est titulaire d’une carte de séjour temporaire, d’une carte de séjour pluriannuelle ou d’une carte de résident ;” A DCEM is issued to a foreign minor residing in France of whom at least one parent holds a temporary residence card, a multi-year card or a resident’s card. Other limbs of the same article cover the foreign child of a French national, certain EU-family cases, a parent who has acquired French nationality, refugee children and several visa-based entries. The official Service-public fiche on the DCEM, verified on 30 July 2024, explains the use of the document: it allows the minor to return to France, or to the external borders of the Schengen area, and it must be presented in addition to the passport. It is issued for a maximum of five years. The application is made by a parent who holds a valid residence card, with the child’s passport, the parent’s card, and the family record book or a full copy of the birth record. A British child who flies to see grandparents in the United Kingdom without a DCEM can be refused re-entry even if the French birth record and the UK passport are in the cabin bag. Apply for the DCEM as soon as the birth record and the child’s passport exist, not the week before the school-holiday flight.

Parents who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement have a specific channel. The French government’s official Brexit portal on the right to stay states that the dedicated website for Withdrawal Agreement cards closed on 4 October 2021 and that, since 5 October 2021, persons still eligible must apply at the prefecture. Among those still concerned it lists the children of a British national (or of that person’s spouse) who holds a Withdrawal Agreement card: on reaching majority, the application must be presented within the year following the eighteenth birthday; adopted children of a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary are also concerned; and, on the parent’s request, a DCEM may be issued to them free of charge during their minority. Children of a British national (or of that person’s spouse) who holds a Withdrawal Agreement card, on reaching majority, must apply within the year following the eighteenth birthday; during minority a DCEM may be issued to them free of charge on the parent’s request. The same page deals with family members who entered France after 1 January 2021 where the family link predated that date, including a direct descendant under 21 or dependent. A child born in France after 1 January 2021 to parents who already held Withdrawal Agreement status did not “enter” France; the child was born here. The portal’s express mention of a free DCEM during minority, and of a Withdrawal Agreement application at eighteen, is the official roadmap for that child. Do not assume that the closed 2021 website can still be used. File at the prefecture, keep the deposit receipt, and diary the eighteenth birthday a year in advance.

Parents who arrived after the end of the transition period, with a long-stay visitor visa and then a visitor card, or with a family card as the spouse of a French citizen, are not in the Withdrawal Agreement scheme. Their child still falls under Article L. 414-4, 1°, if at least one parent holds a temporary, multi-year or resident card — a visitor card and a vie privée et familiale card are residence cards for that purpose. The DCEM application is then the immediate protection for travel. At eighteen the young adult will need their own residence document under Article L. 411-1, on the basis of family life, studies, work or another ground then available. A parent who is only in France on visa-free short stays of 90 days in any 180, without a residence card, is in a weaker position: Article L. 414-4, 1°, requires a parent who holds a card. Birth in France does not, by itself, regularise a parent who has no right to be here. Second-home owners who overstay should read our separate guide on the 90/180-day count and how to challenge a refusal of entry before they plan a birth around visits. Retirees on a visitor card should keep that card valid; the renewal file is described in our article on renewing a British retiree’s visitor card.

Family benefits are a third, money-bearing consequence of a correctly recorded birth. Article L. 512-1 of the Social Security Code provides that any person, French or foreign, residing in France, who has one or more children residing in France in their charge, receives family benefits for those children, subject to the child being dependent and actually in the claimant’s charge. After Brexit, British nationals are no longer EU nationals. Article L. 512-2 of the Social Security Code therefore matters. After dealing with EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, it provides that non-EU foreigners who hold a title required of them to reside regularly in France also receive family benefits, “sous réserve qu’il soit justifié, pour les enfants qui sont à leur charge et au titre desquels les prestations familiales sont demandées, de l’une des situations suivantes : -leur naissance en France ;” then a list of other situations (family reunification, refugee family members, and several specified cards). For the children in their charge, one of the listed situations must be shown, and the first item on that list is “leur naissance en France” — their birth in France. A British parent who resides regularly in France and whose child was born in France is inside that limb, provided the parent’s own stay is evidenced by the title the article requires. Service-public tells parents to declare the birth to the CAF (the family-allowance fund) as soon as the child is born, on caf.fr. A CAF refusal that ignores a French birth record is a decision you challenge with the birth record, the parent’s residence card and Article L. 512-2 in hand, first before the CAF’s amicable appeals board and then, if needed, before the judicial court sitting in social-security formation.

When a prefecture refuses a DCEM, or later refuses the young adult’s first residence card, the remedy is an administrative-law challenge, not a second informal visit without a record. Ask for the refusal in writing. Check that the file contained the full birth record, the parent’s card, the child’s passport and, for Withdrawal Agreement children, the parent’s Withdrawal Agreement title. A refusal that demands a document the statute does not require, or that treats a child born in France as if the child had entered without a visa, is vulnerable. Time limits in foreigners’ law are short. An avocat can file an administrative appeal and, where the statute so provides, a claim before the administrative court, including an urgent application if travel is imminent. The same discipline applies to a registrar who refuses to record a joint choice of name that Article 311-21 allows, or who refuses a father’s recognition that meets Article 316. Those civil-status refusals are taken to the public prosecutor and, where needed, to the judicial court. None of this is improved by waiting until the school-holiday check-in desk.

Conclusion

A British baby born in France after Brexit is not French by the fact of birth, unless a parent is French or was themselves born in France. The child is a foreign minor. The French birth record, declared within five days to the registrar of the place of birth, is the document on which the UK passport, the DCEM, family benefits and, much later, a claim to French nationality all rest. Unmarried fathers should recognise the child before birth or within the year if they want joint parental authority without a further filing. Parents who hold a residence card should apply for the DCEM as soon as the birth record and the child’s passport exist; Withdrawal Agreement families should diary the application at eighteen, within the following year, as the government portal requires. GOV.UK accepts the local birth certificate for a UK passport and treats consular registration as optional. If the five-day deadline is missed, only a court judgment will open the registers, and Article 433-18-1 of the Criminal Code still punishes the person who attended the birth and stayed silent. The steps are mechanical if they are taken in order. They become a dispute the moment a registrar, a prefecture or a CAF office treats the child as if the birth had never been recorded, or as if Brexit had erased the parents’ lawful stay. That is the moment to take advice, with the birth record on the table, before a deadline expires.

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Talk it through with an avocat before a registrar’s deadline expires or a prefecture closes the file. Our firm offers a telephone consultation within 48 hours with an avocat of the firm. Call +33 6 46 60 58 22 (Maître Reda Kohen), or reach us through our contact page. We assist British families in Paris and across the Paris region as well as throughout France.