If you are coming to France with your family (spouse and/or children), you will have to carry out the procedures required to organize childcare and/or schooling for your minor child(ren), as well as traveling abroad with your child(ren), if they are of non-EU nationality.
Depending on your child(ren)’s age, you will find practical information to guide you through the steps you will need to take in France.
COMING WITH
YOUR FAMILY
Early childhood
There are several childcare possibilities available for your child(ren) under 3 years old.
Such services are subject to a fee and rates vary according to your income and the type of facility (municipal, community, private, etc.). Depending on your situation, you may be eligible for assistance from the CAF.
Creches (municipal, community, private, etc.)
Municipal creches are managed by the town hall in your municipality of residence. We strongly recommend that you request a place for your child as early as possible.
Community and private creches should be contacted directly in order to check on availability and enroll your child.
You can go to the “Recherche d’un mode d’accueil” (Look for a reception mode) page on the www.monenfant.fr website to find a collective reception facility near you.
Individual childcare
If you opt for individual childcare by an accredited childminder, we recommend that you consult the lists provided by your département of residence or city hall, or a childminder relay center if there is one near where you live. These early childhood professionals look after between 1 and 4 children under 6 years old either in their own homes or at a childminders’ center.
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/N20383
You can also go to the “Recherche d’un mode d’accueil” (Look for a reception mode) page on the www.monenfant.fr website to find an accredited childminder near you.
Schooling
In France, education is compulsory from 3 to 16 years old, for all children whatever their nationality.
The school system in France
The French school system is organized into several levels in accordance with pupils’ ages:
- Kindergarten (3 to 6 y/o) – pre-primary education
If your children are under 6 years old, you can have them looked after at a drop-in center for a few hours or half-days a week, outside shool time.
- Elementary / Primary school (6 to 11 y/o) – elementary education
- Collège, organized into 4 levels following on from elementary school (11 to 15 y/o) – lower secondary education
- Lycée, for continuing studies in general, technological or vocational fields following on from collège (15 to 18 y/o) – upper secondary education. At the end of their upper secondary studies, pupils take the baccalaureate, a national certificate giving its holders access to higher education.
For further information on the French education system, please consult the France Education International website.
To bear in mind: In France, under certain conditions and with official authorization, it’s possible to home school your child(ren). There’ a distance-learning service on offer from the National Center for Distance Learning (CNED), a public body under the supervision of the Ministry of National Education and Youth.
For further information on “Instruction in the family”, please consult the Public Service website.
Types of institutions
You can chose to enroll your child in a public or private school. Education in a public school is free of charge (except for school canteen, childcare and extracurricular activity fees).
You may be asked to pay a registration fee for enrollment in a private institution.
Whatever type of institution you choose, school curricula are the same, as they’re drawn up by the Ministry of National Education and Youth.
Enrolling in a school in France
You can enroll your child(ren) in a public school at:
- The city hall (for kinderkarten and elementary school)
- At the local collège’s or lycée’s school office
- At the private elementary school, collège or lycée of your choice
If you decide to have your child educated at a public school and change your place of residence (district or city), you will probably have to enroll your child in a new institution. Please contact your new city of residence for any new enrollment.
Important: Children can be enrolled at any time of year, whenever you arrive in France. As choice of school depends on your place of residence, you will only be able to enroll your child(ren) once you’ve arrived in France.
Here are a few examples if you live in one of the following cities: Nancy (54), Vandoeuvre (54), Metz (57), Epinal (88). If you live somewhere else, please consult your city hall’s official website or the Nancy-Metz Education Authority website for further information.
You live in Nancy
If you live in Nancy, you can go to the Nancy City Hall website to enroll your child(ren) at elementary/primary school. Enrollment is a two-step procedure: 1/ pre-enrollment at the City Hall; 2/ enrollment with the local school’s principal, provided with a pre-enrollment certificate.
As a rough guide, the documents you’ll have to provide for pre-enrollment at the City Hall are:
- Your family record book or your child’s birth certificate
- the health record or a medical certificate attesting to the validity of mandatory vaccinations
- 2 proofs of address less than 6 months old (EDF bill, property or housing tax statement, water bill, etc.)
- the former school’s release certificate (if the child has already attended school), except for children transiting from kindergarten to first year of primary school
You live in Vandœuvre
If you live in Vandœuvre, you can go to the Vandoeuvre City Hall website or the Family Portal to enroll your child(ren) at elementary/primary school. Enrollment is a two-step procedure: 1/ pre-enrollment at the City Hall; 2/ enrollment with the local school’s principal, provided with a pre-enrollment certificate.
As a rough guide, the documents you’ll have to provide for pre-enrollment at the City Hall are:
- Copy of the family record book or your child’s birth certificate translated into French (pages for the parents and the child concerned);
- Copy of proof of address less than 3 months old (EDF bill, landline, rent or lease receipt, etc.);
- Copy of the health record (Pages 90 to 93) or medical certificate stating that the child is up to date with the vaccinations required for their age;
- Copy of the CAF family quotient certificate (if access to CAF PRO has been refused) or 2022 tax notice on income for the year 2021;
- Copy of the civil liability insurance certificate;
- If you’re divorced, the divorce or separation decree (the decree assigning custody of the child).
You live in Metz
If you live in Metz, you can go to the Metz City Hall website to enroll your child(ren) at elementary/primary school. Enrollment is a two-step procedure: 1/ pre-enrollment at the City Hall; 2/ enrollment with the local school’s principal, provided with a pre-enrollment certificate.
As a rough guide, the documents you’ll have to provide for pre-enrollment at the City Hall are:
- Family record book or birth certificate;
- Proof of address less than 3 months old;
- Release certificate if the child has already attended school.
You live in Epinal
If you live in Epinal, you can go to the Epinal City Hall website to enroll your child(ren) at elementary/primary school. Enrollment is a two-step procedure: 1/ pre-enrollment at the City Hall; 2/ enrollment with the local school’s principal, provided with a pre-enrollment certificate.
As a rough guide, the documents you’ll have to provide for pre-enrollment at the City Hall are:
- 1 complete photocopy of the family record book (parents and all children),
- 1 photocopy of the health record’s vaccination pages or medical certificate,
- 1 photocopy of proof of address (housing insurance certificate or lease or rent receipt for the month of enrollment),
- 1 stamped envelope with the family’s address,
- For separated parents, a copy of the document attesting to mode of custody (decree, lawyer’s attestation, etc.),
- If no judgement has been passed, an attestation signed by both parents and copies of their Identity Cards,
- In the event of a change of school a release certificate must be provided. Without this document, the enrolment will not be approved,
- In the event of exemption, a letter must be attached justifying the request, which will be examined by the exemption commission in June of the current school year.
AT Collège oR Lycée
In order to enroll your child(ren) at a collège or lycée, you should contact your local institution (depending on where you live) if it is a public school, or the private school of your choice, with no residence criteria.
For further information on the Nancy-Metz Education Authority’s collèges and lycées, please consult the Education Authority’s official website.
Le Document de Circulation pour Étranger Mineur (DCEM)
Document de Circulation pour Etranger Mineur (DCEM)(Travel Document for Foreign Minors)
The parents of a minor child of non-European nationality will need to apply for a Document de Circulation pour Etranger Mineur (DCEM): (Travel Document for Foreign Minors) to travel outside France.
This document allows minor children to return to France or the Schengen area without having to apply for a visa.
It must be presented with the passport. It is issued by the prefecture of the child’s place of residence in France, and is valid for a maximum of 5 years.
European parents living in France for more than 3 months are not required to have a residence permit.
Please note that the procedure is free if at least one of the parents is European and has been living in France for more than 3 months.
To apply, go to the ANEF website : “Je demande un document de voyage”.
For further information, please consult the Service Public website: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2718
The Family Allowance Fund (CAF)
The Family Allowance Fund (CAF)
The Caisse d’Allocations Familiales (CAF – Family Allowance Fund) is a public body that lends support to families and individuals in their everyday lives. It provides financial and other services for less well-off families. Creches and early childhood professionals will ask for your CAF beneficiary number so as to be able to calculate the cost of minding your under 3-year-old child(ren).
In order to be able to benefit from the CAF’s services, you must be legally resident in France and have at least one dependent child. The CAF will assess your family quotient on the basis of your situation.
You can run a simulation on the CAF website here.
For further information, please consult the following pages:
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