The public authority’s response to an application to acquire French nationality by naturalisation must be made no later than eighteen months from the submission of all the documents required to constitute a complete file, against which a receipt is issued immediately.
The time limit referred to in the first paragraph is reduced to twelve months when the foreigner awaiting naturalisation can prove that he or she has been habitually resident in France for a period of at least ten years on the day of this handover.
The aforementioned time limits may be extended once, by reasoned decision, for a period of three months.