Au Pair in France: The Complete 2026 Guide

France is one of the classic au pair destinations: you live with a French family, look after their children for part of the day, and spend the rest of your time learning French, exploring and making friends from all over the world. It is also a country where the rules are a little more technical than people expect. There are two different au pair statuses depending on your nationality, the host family has to declare you to URSSAF, and the minimum pocket money moves with official indexes. This guide explains all of it in plain English, for au pairs and for French host families alike.

Who can be an au pair in France

French law separates au pairs into two groups, and the difference matters for your paperwork.

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: the "stagiaire aide familial étranger". This is the status for European au pairs who come to France to study and improve their French. Service-Public lists an age range of 17 to 30 (URSSAF says 18 to 30), and you must be enrolled in French classes designed for foreigners. You sign a written au pair placement agreement with your family, ideally before you leave home.
• Non-EU citizens: the "jeune au pair". Since 2021, French immigration law (article L426-22 of the CESEDA) has a dedicated au pair status. You must be 18 to 30, have a different nationality from your host family, have no family ties with them, and show either a basic knowledge of French, a secondary school education, or professional qualifications.

Both groups follow very similar day-to-day rules: a maximum of 25 hours a week, at least one full day off, room and board, pocket money, and time for classes. One thing to keep apart is the "salarié au pair" (employee au pair). That is a different legal setup: a regular employment contract under the collective agreement for home employees, paid in kind (room and food worth at least the minimum wage for the hours worked), with payslips. If an ad says "au pair" but the family talks about a work contract and payslips, ask which status they mean.

No agency is legally required for either status. Families and au pairs can find each other directly, as long as the agreement, the declaration and (for non-EU au pairs) the visa are done properly.

Arriving as an EU au pair, step by step

If you hold an EU, EEA or Swiss passport, the move is simple. You do not need a visa, and a residence card is not compulsory for Europeans living in France, though you can request one if it helps with admin.

1. Sign the placement agreement before you travel. It sets out your room, tasks, hours, days off and pocket money. Keep a signed copy on your phone.
2. Enrol in a French course. This is a condition of the EU au pair status, so sort it out early: many schools and universities fill up before September.
3. Your family declares you to URSSAF within 8 days of your arrival and, if you have no French social security number yet, asks for you to be registered. Ask them to confirm it has been done.
4. Get your health cover working. Bring your European Health Insurance Card for the first weeks. Once you are registered with the CPAM (the local health insurance office), create your account on ameli.fr and ask for your carte Vitale.
5. Open a bank account if you want your pocket money paid by transfer. French banks and online banks will ask for your passport or ID card and proof of address; your host family can give you a letter confirming you live with them.
6. Sort out transport. In most cities a monthly pass is the cheapest option; agree with your family who pays for it.

Coming from Spain, Italy, Poland or Romania? Our pages for Spanish au pairs in France, Italian au pairs, Polish au pairs and Romanian au pairs cover the specifics. For why European placements are so much easier, read why intra-Europe au pair placements are the easiest.

The jeune au pair visa for non-EU au pairs

If you are not a European citizen, you need a long-stay visa (VLS) marked "jeune au pair". Being an au pair on a tourist visa or visa-free entry is not allowed, whatever a family tells you. Here is the official route:

1. Find a family and sign the convention. The official form is the "Convention conclue entre le jeune au pair et la famille d'accueil" (cerfa 15973*01). It must be signed before you leave your country and covers your room, tasks, weekly hours (25 maximum), weekly rest, pocket money, insurance in case of accident and how you will attend classes. An annex explains the French criminal law against trafficking and exploitation and lists victim support organisations.
2. Apply for the visa on France-Visas and at the French consulate or visa centre where you live, no more than 3 months before departure. You submit the signed convention plus proof of basic French, secondary education or professional qualifications. The standard long-stay visa fee is €99 for most applicants; check France-Visas for your country.
3. Arrive and validate your visa online within 3 months. The jeune au pair visa is a VLS-TS (a long-stay visa that works as a residence permit). You validate it on the official foreigners' portal (ANEF) and pay a €100 tax in fiscal stamps. Until it is validated you are not in a regular situation and cannot leave and re-enter Schengen. You may also be invited to an OFII appointment.
4. Want a second year? Sign a new convention of up to 1 year and apply for a "jeune au pair" temporary residence card at your préfecture in the 2 months before your visa expires. The first card costs €150 in stamps. The total stay cannot go beyond 2 years.

For a country-by-country comparison of au pair visas, see our au pair visa guide.

Pocket money and the real value of the placement

French au pair pocket money ("argent de poche") is tied to an official index called the minimum garanti. For EU au pairs, URSSAF sets the minimum monthly amount at 75 to 90 times the minimum garanti, which gives:

• Since 1 June 2026: between €326.25 and €391.50 a month
• 1 January to 31 May 2026: between €318.75 and €382.50 a month

For non-EU au pairs, Service-Public and the convention state a minimum of €320 a month. URSSAF says the rates and minimum for the jeune au pair are identical to those of EU au pairs, so a family that pays at least €326.25 is safe under both readings. The amount goes up when the minimum garanti is revalued, so check URSSAF when you sign.

The pocket money is only part of the deal. On top of it, the family provides:

• A private room (for non-EU au pairs, at least 9 m² with a window) and all your meals, including on days off when you eat at home
• Social security coverage, paid entirely by the family
• Often a monthly transport pass, and sometimes a contribution to your French course (both to be agreed, not automatic)

You pay no social contributions and no CSG or CRDS on your pocket money. To see how France compares with other countries, read au pair salary by country.

Hours, days off and holidays

The core rule is simple: no more than 25 hours a week of help with family tasks, which means childcare plus light housework linked to the children (tidying their rooms, preparing their meals, school runs). For EU au pairs, Service-Public adds a maximum of 5 hours a day.

• Babysitting evenings count. There is no separate allowance of "free" evenings on top of the 25 hours. If you babysit on Friday night, those hours are part of your weekly total.
• Days off: at least one full day off every week, and URSSAF adds that at least one of those days must be a Sunday each month.
• Class time is protected: your schedule has to leave time to attend your French classes.
• Paid holiday: the official au pair pages do not fix a number of holiday days. Agree it in writing. For a 12-month placement, we recommend at least two weeks of holiday with pocket money paid, ideally aligned with the French school holidays.
• Public holidays: France has 11 national public holidays (Alsace and Moselle have two more). Agree in advance whether you work on them; many families give them off.
• Sick days: if you are ill, you rest. You are covered by French health insurance for medical costs, and a fair family keeps paying the pocket money and providing room and board while you recover.

Curious what a normal week looks like? Read a day in the life of an au pair in France.

Social security and insurance

France does not ask au pairs to buy private health insurance as a condition of the status. Instead, both EU and non-EU au pairs are affiliated with the French general social security system (illness, maternity, work accidents and basic pension) and with Ircem, the supplementary pension fund for home employees. Only the host family pays the contributions.

• Health: once registered with the CPAM you get reimbursements like any resident. Many French residents add a top-up "mutuelle"; ask your family whether they help with one, especially if you need regular care.
• Accidents: accidents while caring for the children fall under the work accident branch. The convention for non-EU au pairs must also say how insurance in case of an accident is handled.
• Liability: if you break something or cause damage, the family's home insurance may or may not cover you. Families should check their "multirisque habitation" policy and add the au pair if needed.
• Before registration: EU au pairs should carry their EHIC for the first weeks; non-EU au pairs should consider travel insurance until their French cover is active.

Language course and studying

Learning French is the legal purpose of an au pair stay. EU au pairs must be enrolled in French language or civilisation courses for foreigners, and URSSAF's rules for both statuses say the au pair is obliged to be enrolled in such classes and must have enough time to attend them. The only exception: enrolment is no longer compulsory during university holidays if you have already completed at least one year of higher education in France.

Common options are university French programmes for foreigners, Alliance Française schools, private language schools and courses run by city associations. The rules do not say who pays for the course, so put it in your agreement: some families pay all or part, others leave it to the au pair. Choose a course whose timetable fits school hours, when the children are busy.

For host families: obligations and costs

Hosting an au pair in France is not complicated, but there are a few legal steps you cannot skip.

1. Sign the right document. An au pair placement agreement for an EU au pair, or the cerfa 15973*01 convention for a non-EU au pair, signed before the au pair leaves home.
2. Declare the au pair to URSSAF within 8 days of arrival, using the form "Déclaration d'embauche d'un emploi familial", sent to the URSSAF of your home address. If the au pair has no social security number, you request the registration.
3. Fill in the quarterly declaration. Every quarter URSSAF sends you a simplified declaration (DNS). You return it, URSSAF calculates the contributions and sends you a payment notice. Au pairs are not declared through CESU or Pajemploi.
4. Pay the contributions. They are calculated on a fixed base of 56 times the hourly minimum wage per month (or 13 times per week), whatever pocket money you actually pay. Since 1 June 2026 the base is €689.36 a month, and the employer contributions are €216.25 (social security) + €43.25 (Ircem pension) = €259.50 a month. No reductions or exemptions apply.

Here is a realistic monthly budget for a family hosting an EU au pair from June 2026:

Use our au pair cost calculator to model your own numbers, and see the full au pair cost breakdown to compare France with other countries.

How to be a great host family: give your au pair a proper private room, a written weekly schedule, and a real welcome. Explain house rules early, include them in some family meals and outings, and protect their class time. Au pairs talk to each other, and families with a good reputation find their next au pair faster. Our host family first-month handbook and the host family guide go into detail.

Agreement, trial period and ending early

Whatever your status, the written agreement is your protection. It should list the tasks, the weekly schedule, days off, pocket money and payment date, room conditions, holidays, who pays the course and transport, and how either side can end the placement. A placement must last at least 3 months and at most 1 year per agreement.

French au pair rules do not define a formal trial period. Many families and au pairs agree on a first few weeks to settle in, followed by an honest review. If you want a trial period or a notice period (for example, two weeks), write it into the agreement so nobody is surprised. You can start from our host family contract template or the printable contract template, and adapt it to the French rules above.

If the placement ends early, the family should declare the end to URSSAF and pay pocket money up to the last day. A non-EU au pair's status is tied to the convention, so talk to the préfecture before changing family. If a dispute cannot be solved by talking, the competent court is the tribunal judiciaire or tribunal de proximité.

Where au pairs live in France

• Paris and Île-de-France: the largest number of host families, many of them in the inner and western suburbs. Life is expensive, so a family that pays the Navigo transport pass makes a real difference. The metro, RER and trains make it easy to meet other au pairs and get to class.
• Lyon: France's gastronomic capital, a big student city with an efficient metro and tram network, and the Alps within easy reach for weekends.
• Bordeaux: a walkable centre, a good tram network and the Atlantic beaches nearby. A relaxed pace for a first year abroad.
• Toulouse: a lively university city in the southwest with a metro and lots of young people, close to the Pyrenees.
• Nice and the Côte d'Azur: sea, sun and an international atmosphere, with trains along the coast to Monaco and Italy. Housing is expensive, but as an au pair you live with your host family.
• Nantes, Montpellier, Lille, Strasbourg and Rennes: large student populations, good public transport and often a calmer, more affordable life than Paris.

Families outside big cities often ask for a driving licence. If you do not drive, say so early, or look for families close to a train or tram line.

Common problems and red flags

• Hours creeping over 25 a week, often through "just one more" babysitting evening. Keep a simple log of your hours.
• No URSSAF declaration. If you have no social security number after a few weeks, ask your family. An undeclared au pair has no protection, and undeclared work is an offence for the family.
• A non-EU au pair asked to come on a tourist visa or to "sort the papers out later". Say no.
• Full-time housekeeping: cleaning the whole house, cooking for adults or looking after the family business is not au pair work.
• No private room, no window, or no key. You need a private, decent space.
• Pocket money below the minimum, late or "deducted". Food and housing come on top and cannot be taken out of it.
• No time for classes, or a schedule that makes your course impossible.

If things go wrong, talk calmly to your family first with your agreement in hand. If that does not work, you can end the placement and look for another family. In any situation of abuse or exploitation, call 17 (police) or 112. Read our safety guide and the red flags before saying yes.

Finding a family or an au pair on DearAuPair

DearAuPair connects au pairs and host families directly, without agency fees.

• Au pairs create a profile for free, with no credit card. Add good photos, a short video and your availability, then browse French families and tell them you are interested. Our au pair guide helps you prepare.
• Families verify a card (no charge) and choose a membership: €9.99 for one month, €19.99 for three months or €29.99 for six months, paid once, with no auto-renewal. European au pairs are shown first, which makes the paperwork simpler.
• Chat in the app and do a video call before you agree on anything. Then sign the placement agreement and handle the URSSAF steps.

Ready to start? Create your free profile. Still comparing destinations? Have a look at Germany, Belgium, Switzerland or Spain, and read how to be an au pair in Europe without an agency.