Intern caregiver foreigner and au pair
Verified 01 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The trainee family caregiver foreigner is a young european foreigner came to France for study, while the au pair is non-European came to France for deepen your language skills and knowledge of France.
Caregiver Intern
The foreigners family caregiver trainee is a young European foreigner who came to France to study.
It is hosted by a host family. In return, he performs tasks of a family or household nature (childcare, small household work...).
Warning: this arrangement should not be confused with that of the au pair employee who is covered by the individual employer's collective agreement.
To be a foreigner caregiver intern, you must meet all of the following conditions:
- Be between the ages of 17 and 30
- To be European
- Be enrolled in specialized French courses for foreigners
The reception of a foreigner foster trainee shall give rise to an agreement between the trainee and the foster family established by means of a form.
Agreement between the au pair and the host family
This Convention defines the following points:
- Rights and obligations of each party, in particular the conditions of reception of the trainee (single or non-single room for example)
- Benefits due
- Working hours
- Conditions of remuneration
It must be established before that the trainee has left his country of origin.
The reception period is 3 months to 1 year. It can be prolonged up to 2 years maximum.
The working time of the trainee is 5 hours maximum per day.
His working hours are adjusted to allow him to take the courses he is enrolled in as well as possible.
The trainee has one full day of rest per week, including at least one Sunday per month.
It is customary for the foreigner caregiver trainee to be housed and fed. He must benefit from a monthly amount of pocket money generally between €318.75 and €382.50.
The foreigners caregiver trainee is affiliated to the general social security scheme (sickness, maternity, work-related injuries, basic pension). It also comes under the supplementary pension fund for employees of the individual employer (Ircem).
Only the host family is liable for the contributions.
Contributions are calculated on a flat-rate basis:
- That is 13 times the Hourly Minimum Wage (in force on 1er day of the calendar quarter considered) per week (€156.26)
- 56 times the Hourly Minimum Wage per month (€673.12)
A family that hosts a foreigners caregiver intern must declare it by means of a form.
Declaration of employment of a family job
The family must send the form to the Urssaf of their home within 8 days of the reception.
Who shall I contact
If the trainee does not have a social security number, it is up to the host family to apply for registration.
Each quarter, the Urssaf then sends the host family a simplified personal declaration (DNS) to be completed. It is used to calculate contributions. In view of this declaration, the Urssaf sends a notice of expiry of the contributions due.
In the event of a dispute between the trainee and the host family, the matter must be referred to the court.
Who shall I contact
Au pair
The au pair is a young non-European foreigner who came to France to deepen his language skills and his knowledge of France.
He is housed by a foster family for which he performs family or household tasks (childcare, small household tasks for example).
Warning: this arrangement should not be confused with that of the au pair employee who is covered by the individual employer's collective agreement.
To be au pair, all of the following conditions must be met:
- Be between the ages of 18 and 30
- Be a foreign national outside the European Union
- Be of a nationality other than that of the host family (with whom he has no family relationship)
- Prove that he or she has a basic knowledge of the French language, or that he or she has a secondary education or professional qualifications
The reception of an au pair shall give rise to an agreement between the au pair and the host family established by means of a form.
Agreement between the au pair and the host family
This Convention defines the following points:
- Rights and obligations of each party, in particular the conditions of reception of the au pair (single room, single bathroom or not,...)
- Activities and tasks performed by the au pair
- Working hours
- Conditions of remuneration
It must be established before the au pair has left their country of origin. They must send it to the French consulate in support of their long-stay visa application au pair.
The au pair must submit their application for a long-stay visa (VLS) mention au pair (no more than 3 months before the scheduled departure) with the French consular authorities of the country where he lives:
Who shall I contact
This long-stay visa as a residence permit (VLS-TS) exempts him from applying for a residence card in the prefecture upon his arrival in France.
Within 3 months of arriving in France, he will have to validate his VLS-TS and pay a tax that is added to the visa fee.
The validation of the visa allows to be in regular stay and to be able to cross the border of the Schengen area.
Validate a long-stay visa as a residence permit (VLS-TS) and pay the tax
The reception period is 3 months to 1 year. It can be prolonged up to 2 years maximum.
The maximum weekly time spent on family tasks is 25 hours per week.
The au pair must have time to attend classes in the disciplines of their choice.
The au pair must have at least one full day of rest each week.
The au pair must be housed and fed. He must receive a minimum monthly amount of €320 of pocket money.
The au pair is affiliated to the general social security scheme (sickness, maternity, accidents at work, basic pension). It also comes under the supplementary pension fund for employees of the individual employer (Ircem).
Only the host family is liable for the contributions.
Contributions are calculated on a flat-rate basis:
- That is 13 times the Hourly Minimum Wage (in force on 1er day of the calendar quarter considered) per week (€156.26)
- 56 times the Hourly Minimum Wage per month (€673.12)
The family hosting an au pair must declare it by means of a form.
Declaration of employment of a family job
The host family must send the form to the Urssaf of their home within 8 days of the reception.
Who shall I contact
If the au pair does not have a social security number, it is up to the host family to register the trainee for social security.
Each quarter, the Urssaf then sends the host family a simplified personal declaration (DNS) to be completed. It is used to calculate contributions. In view of this declaration, the Urssaf sends a notice of expiry of the contributions due.
In the event of a dispute between the au pair and the host family, the matter must be referred to the court.
Who shall I contact
Simplified arrangements for declaring and collecting social security contributions (L133-5-6, 6°)
Temporary residence card with the mention au pair
order establishing the convention
Service Public
Service Public
Supplementary pension fund - Employees of private employers (Ircem)
Urssaf