How to Become an Au Pair in France as an American (From Someone Who Did It for 2 Years)
I was an au pair in Paris for two years, from 2014 to 2016. I lived in my own apartment, took care of three kids, learned French and fell in love with a city I had only ever visited.
If you're an American thinking about doing the same, this is everything I wish I'd known: how I found my family, how the visa worked, what I was paid, what a normal week looked like and the scams to watch out for.
Quick answers
Can Americans be au pairs in France? Yes. France has a dedicated au pair visa for ages 18 to 30.
How long can you stay? One year, renewable for a second.
How much do au pairs make in France? The legal minimum is about €320 a month in pocket money, plus free room and board.
How many hours? Up to 25 hours a week, with at least one full day off.
Do you need to speak French? You need to take French classes while you're there. They're part of the deal.
Why I decided to become an au pair
In 2014, life in LA was good. My family was filming Braxton Family Values, and I was touring with them. I had already been lucky enough to see so much of the world with my family.
And that's exactly why I wanted to do it on my own.
I wanted to live somewhere new, learn a language and figure out who I was outside of my family. Becoming an au pair turned out to be the door that made it possible.
How I found my host family on AuPairWorld
I found my family on AuPairWorld. When I saw their profile, I almost didn't apply. Around 300 people had already applied to them. Three hundred!
I applied anyway.
Then something lucky happened. They were coming to Los Angeles on vacation, and they asked if I wanted to meet. We spent a whole day together in LA, and at the end of it, they said, "Yes, we would love to have you."
My advice: apply even when the numbers look scary. And meet the family on a video call at the very least before you commit. Meeting them in person was a bonus I'll always be grateful for.
The au pair visa for France
The visa itself was simpler than I expected. Nothing went wrong, and it didn't cost too much. The hardest part was waiting.
You'll need a signed au pair agreement with your host family (the convention d'accueil), proof of enrollment in French classes and a stack of other documents. Check the full, current list on the official France-Visas au pair page, since requirements change.
You also hand over your passport while they process it. My family wanted me in Paris before school started, so I sent my documents off in July and got everything back in August, just in time. If you have a start date, apply early.
How much au pairs make in France
Au pair work doesn't pay a lot. That's the honest truth.
My family gave me around €200 every two weeks in pocket money. They also paid for my metro pass, my French classes and my room and board. I even had my own apartment separate from their house, which was incredibly lucky. Not everyone gets that.
If you can bring savings or have another way to earn a little money on the side, it helps. That's not possible for everyone, so plan your budget before you go.
What a normal week looked like
Most of my work was in the afternoons and evenings. I picked the kids up from school around 4pm and stayed until about 8pm, sometimes 9pm, until the parents got home.
Some families ask you to work weekends. Mine mostly didn't, and when they did, I honestly didn't mind. I had a really great family.
During school holidays, I often traveled with them, and we went to some really cool places. I never really complained. I was very blessed.
My first day (and the carpaccio)
My first day with the family was comical.
I decided to make dinner, and I cooked the carpaccio. If you don't know, carpaccio is supposed to be served raw.
The kids called their parents right away. Their reaction was basically: "Oh my gosh, she's even more American than we thought."
I still cringe about it.
The kids
The kids were six, eight and 10 when I started, and they're the best. So kind, so nice, so funny. The two older ones already spoke English, which made everything really fun.
My favorite moment came from the youngest. One day, his psychologist told me that he processed his emotions in English. That meant we had gone through his emotions together, in my language. I'll never forget how that felt.
Learning French (the kids were better teachers)
French classes are required as an au pair in France. I went to a few schools in the 14th arrondissement in Paris.
But honestly, I learned faster from the kids than in class. They taught me the slang and the way people really talk in real time. Classes give you the structure, and the kids give you the real thing.
The hardest part: learning to be alone
My best memories are making new friends, learning the culture and getting to know the language and the city. Paris is so different from the US, and I loved discovering all of it.
The hardest part was learning how to be alone.
Before Paris, I was with my family 24/7. Then suddenly I was in a new country, in a new city, completely on my own. That got hard at times. It also taught me more about myself than almost anything else.
Au pair scams and red flags
There are a lot of scams in the au pair world, and I almost fell for one.
Before France, I was looking at families in the UK. A few people I talked to asked for all my documents, my passport details and my bank information. At some point, you realize: uh oh, this is a scam.
I also learned that the UK wasn't really an option for me anyway. Au pairing is meant to be a cultural and language exchange, and as an American who speaks English, that exchange doesn't work in an English speaking country. On top of that, the UK has no au pair visa, and Americans aren't eligible for its Youth Mobility Scheme (AuPairWorld).
Here are the red flags I'd watch for:
They only want to email or text. A real family will video chat with you. This is red flag number one.
They ask for bank details early. A host family has no reason to need your bank account before you arrive.
They want your passport or documents before you've spoken properly. Get to know them first.
They rush you. Real families take time to choose.
Always get on a call and make sure they're real.
Renewing for a second year
Renewing was pretty easy. My family helped me, and you basically show all your documents and go through the process again.
When I finished my two years and wanted to keep working in France, that was a different story. To stay, I needed a company to sponsor me for a work visa.
Who should become an au pair in France?
I think being an au pair is perfect for you if you:
Want to learn a new language for real
Want to actually live in a city and explore it
Want a nice balance of work and play
Like the security of having a family around to help you settle in
That last point is a big one. Having a family to help you with everything from paperwork to where to buy groceries makes moving abroad so much easier.
What I'd tell you if you're starting today
Start earlier rather than later.
I would totally do it again. Part of me wishes I'd done it younger, but I'm glad I did it at 24. I was a little more mature, and I think that helped me make the most of it.
If you're thinking about it, go for it. It changed my life.
Want more stories like this? Join my newsletter [link] and follow along on Instagram at @ashleebraxton. And if you want to know how this all started, read my story of moving abroad.
