Intern caregiver foreigner and au pair

Verified 01 June 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The trainee 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 your knowledge of France. We're taking stock of the regulations.

Caregiver Trainee

The foreigners 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 system should not be confused with that of the au pair employee, which is covered by the national collective agreement for individual employers and home employment.

To be a foreigners caregiver intern, you must complete all the following conditions:

  • Be between the ages of 17 and 30
  • To be European
  • Be enrolled in specialist French courses for foreigners.

The reception of a foreigner foster trainee shall give rise to an agreement between the trainee 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 trainee (single room or not 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 so as to enable him to take the courses he is enrolled in as well as possible.

The trainee shall benefit fromone 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 €326.25 and €391.50.

The foreigners caregiver trainee is affiliated to the general social security scheme (sickness, maternity, work-related injuries, basic pension). It is also part of 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:

  • 13 times the Hourly Minimum Wage (in force on 1er day of the calendar quarter in question) per week (€160.03)
  • 56 times the hourly minimum wage per month (€689.36).

A family that welcomes a foreigners caregiver trainee must declare it by means of a form:

Declaration of employment of a family job

The family must send the form to theUrssaf: titleContent from his 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.

Then, every quarter, the Urssaf sends the host family a simplified personal declaration (DNS) to be completed. It is used to calculate contributions. In view of this declaration, Urssaf sends a notice of expiry of the dues due.

In the event of a dispute between the trainee and the host family, the matter must be referred to the court.

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 host family for which he performs family or household tasks (childcare, small household tasks for example).

Warning: this system should not be confused with that of the au pair employee, which is covered by the national collective agreement for individual employers and home employment.

To be au pair, you have to fill in all the following conditions:

  • 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 level of 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, including the conditions of reception of the au pair (single room, bathroom or not,...) individual
  • 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 apply 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:

Applying for a visa

This long-stay visa as a residence permit (VLS-TS) exempts him from applying for a temporary residence card young au pair in the prefecture upon his arrival in France.

Within 3 months of his arrival 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 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 devoted to family tasks is 25 hours a 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 rest period every week.

The au pair must be housed and fed. He must receive a minimum monthly sum of €320 of pocket money.

The au pair is affiliated to the general social security scheme (sickness, maternity, accidents at work, basic pension). It is also part of 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:

  • 13 times the Hourly Minimum Wage (in force on 1er day of the calendar quarter in question) per week (€160.03)
  • 56 times the hourly minimum wage per month (€689.36).

The family that welcomes 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 theUrssaf: titleContent from his 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 with Social Security.

Then, every quarter, the Urssaf sends the host family a simplified personal declaration (DNS) to be completed. It is used to calculate contributions. In view of this declaration, Urssaf sends a notice of expiry of the dues due.

In the event of a dispute between the au pair and the host family, the matter must be referred to the court.

FAQ