Apprenticeships and international mobility: applying to a company across the border

You live in Thionville, Annemasse, Lille or Strasbourg, and the best openings you come across are… on the other side of the border. Every year, thousands of young people in border regions ask themselves the same question: can you do your apprenticeship with a company based in Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium or Germany while attending classes at a French CFA (apprentice training centre)? The answer is neither a simple yes nor a flat no.

In short: A French apprenticeship contract can only be signed by an employer established in France: a foreign company therefore cannot be your direct employer under a standard French contract. Three routes nevertheless exist: cross-border apprenticeship, governed by the Act of 21 December 2022 and its implementing texts, which allows a French apprentice to work for an employer in a neighbouring country; long-term mobility provided for by the 2018 "Avenir professionnel" Act (up to one year abroad, with the French contract placed on hold); and apprenticeship under local law (German Ausbildung, Swiss apprenticeship, Luxembourg contract), where you become an apprentice under the host country's rules. Each has consequences for pay, social protection, taxation and recognition of your qualification. Expect to plan 4 to 6 months ahead, with a proactive CFA.

Why border areas change the equation for an apprentice

More than 480,000 cross-border workers travel each day from France to a neighbouring country, according to data from Insee and the Interregional Labour Market Observatory (OIE). Switzerland alone accounts for over 230,000 of them, Luxembourg around 130,000. These employment areas have two features that are directly relevant to a young person in work-study training.

First, pay levels. The Luxembourg minimum wage for an unskilled employee is far above the French SMIC, and Swiss salaries are in a league of their own. Even in apprenticeships, local pay scales pull upwards.

Second, the shortage of technical skills. Industry, logistics, healthcare, construction, banking and insurance: cross-border employers are struggling to recruit and are looking with growing interest at French talent pools, particularly in manual trades and care work.

The downside is administrative. An apprenticeship contract is an employment contract under national law: it is governed by the French Labour Code, registered by a French OPCO (skills operator), and gives entitlement to French funding. A Belgian or Swiss employer is neither affiliated to an OPCO nor subject to the French labour inspectorate. That is the crux of the problem — and precisely what lawmakers have tried to untangle.

What is a cross-border apprenticeship?

This is the most recent and most promising route. The Act of 21 December 2022 on the labour market created a framework allowing an apprentice to complete their practical training in a company located in a border state while following their theoretical training in France — or the reverse, with a foreign apprentice coming to train at a French CFA.

Two configurations are provided for:

• The "outbound" case: you are enrolled at a French CFA and your employer is established in a border country. The contract is then concluded under the law of the employer's country, but the theoretical training remains recognised in France.
• The "inbound" case: you are employed by a French company and follow your training at a centre on the other side of the border, when the specialism does not exist in France.

However, this arrangement only works if a bilateral agreement or a convention between the competent authorities exists. Franco-German cooperation, long-standing and well structured (notably through the Upper Rhine agreement and the work of the Cross-Border Cooperation Committee established by the Aachen Treaty), is the most advanced. Exchanges with Luxembourg and Belgium are progressing; Switzerland — outside the European Union — remains the most complex case.

In practice: before building your project, call the "mobility" or "international relations" department of your CFA and ask explicitly whether a cross-border scheme exists for your qualification and your target country. That is the only piece of information that really matters.

The most active regions

Grand Est, Hauts-de-France, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes fund dedicated programmes, often backed by cross-border employment centres. The organisations to contact first:

How does this differ from Erasmus+ mobility?

Be careful not to confuse two very different logics.

International mobility for apprentices, available since the "Avenir professionnel" Act of 5 September 2018, means going temporarily to work for a foreign employer while you already have a French contract and a French employer. Beyond four weeks, the contract is placed on hold: the host company becomes responsible for working conditions, but your French pay and social cover are maintained. It is a stay abroad, not a change of employer.

Cross-border apprenticeship is structurally different: your employer is foreign for the entire duration of the contract, and you come under that country's labour law. Legally speaking, you are therefore a cross-border apprentice worker.

If your goal is to add international experience to a path already under way, Erasmus+ mobility is far simpler to organise. If your goal is to work long-term on the other side of the border, cross-border apprenticeship is what to aim for. Our article on the 2026 apprenticeship reform also details the recent changes to the national framework that shape these arrangements.

How much does a cross-border apprentice earn?

This is the question that drives the whole process, and the answer is nuanced.

Under a French contract (temporary mobility), you continue to receive your French apprentice pay, calculated as a percentage of the SMIC according to your age and the year of your contract. No direct financial gain: on the other hand, you can obtain Erasmus+ grants and regional support covering travel and accommodation. The site's pay calculator lets you check your starting point.

Under local law, everything changes:

• Germany: the Ausbildungsvergütung is set by sectoral collective agreement, with a statutory minimum indexed each year. It rises significantly from one apprenticeship year to the next and frequently exceeds what a French apprentice of the same age receives.
• Luxembourg: the apprenticeship allowance is set by occupation and by year, with amounts that are often higher, in a country where the cost of living — and especially housing — is high.
• Switzerland: apprentice pay is modest relative to Swiss salaries, but remains higher in absolute terms than French scales. The G (cross-border) permit is mandatory.
• Belgium: arrangements vary considerably between the Walloon, Brussels and Flemish regions.

Three cost items must be factored in before celebrating: daily commuting, the tax regime (bilateral tax treaties determine where you are taxed — the subject is technical and deserves close reading; an up-to-date tax guide for cross-border workers, revised each year, remains the most profitable investment before you sign) and social protection, which in principle falls under the country of employment pursuant to European Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems. An S1 form then allows you to receive healthcare in France: the procedure is described on the Ameli website and on that of CLEISS (Centre des liaisons européennes et internationales de sécurité sociale), the reference public body in this field.

How do you build a credible application across the border?

Applying abroad, even thirty kilometres from home, cannot be improvised. Recruitment conventions differ markedly.

Adapting your CV format

The French CV — dense and on a single page — is not the norm everywhere:

• Germany: the expected file (Bewerbungsmappe) includes a cover letter, a chronological CV, a photo and, above all, copies of school reports and certificates. Missing these documents is often an immediate disqualifier.
• Luxembourg: multilingualism reigns. A CV in French is accepted, but mentioning a working level of German or Luxembourgish makes all the difference in retail and healthcare.
• Switzerland: a complete file too, with detailed work certificates and a very factual cover letter.
• Belgium: a format close to the French one, but Dutch is a considerable asset in Flanders.

Plan on a rigid A4 document folder to carry your original documents to interviews and cross-border job fairs: in German-speaking countries, presenting a crumpled file makes a lastingly bad impression.

Working on the language, seriously

A B1 level is generally the credibility threshold for a technical role, B2 for a customer-facing one. Three months of steady effort are often enough to move up a level, provided you work on trade-specific vocabulary and not just general grammar. A professional German course with audio, studied twenty minutes a day on your commute, produces better results than a weekly class quickly forgotten.

Anticipating daily logistics

The cross-border commute is the silent enemy of these contracts. Many people drop out not because of the work but because of exhaustion: two hours of travel each day, classes at the CFA on the remaining days, and energy collapses in February.

Check before signing:

• whether there is a regional train (TER) or cross-border bus line compatible with your hours;
• subsidised cross-border travel passes (some regions, and Luxembourg — where public transport is free throughout the country — significantly reduce the bill);
• parking on the French side if you are travelling to a station;
• your vehicle's insurance cover abroad.

A noise-cancelling headset turns an endured commute into genuine revision or rest time, and an insulated water bottle avoids daily purchases in transit areas — two trivial details that weigh heavily over a full year.

What pitfalls should you avoid before signing?

Five mistakes come up systematically in applications that fail.

1. Signing without CFA approval. A verbal agreement from a foreign employer counts for nothing if your training centre cannot formalise the arrangement. This is the first step, not the last.
2. Underestimating recognition of the qualification. If you go abroad under local law, check that the qualification obtained is listed in the RNCP or is covered by an equivalence. ENIC-NARIC France is the official body that issues comparability statements.
3. Overlooking tax matters. Depending on the applicable treaty, you may be taxed in the country of employment, in France, or under a sharing rule. Poor planning is paid for the following year.
4. Forgetting health cover. Without an S1 application to your health insurance fund, you risk months of uncertainty over your reimbursements.
5. Assuming the cut in French subsidies is irrelevant. A foreign employer receives no French hiring subsidy: your pitch must therefore rest entirely on your skills and reliability, not on a financial advantage. Our advice on convincing an employer despite the cut in subsidies applies here with even greater force.

Where should you start this autumn?

A realistic timetable, if you are aiming for a contract starting in September 2027:

At the same time, keep monitoring French openings the traditional way: two options are better than a single fragile plan. Searching for apprenticeship offers remains your safety net, and the financial support page lists the schemes you can draw on, including for transport and housing in border areas.

An application tracking notebook, on paper or digital, stops you losing track: on this kind of project you will be juggling contacts in two countries, two languages and two administrative calendars. For each contact, note the date, the person, the language of the exchange and the next follow-up.

Official sources to consult

To check every point before committing, rely exclusively on public sources:

• service-public.fr and the Ministry of Labour for the apprenticeship contract framework and international mobility for apprentices;
• CLEISS for cross-border workers' social security and S1 forms;
• Ameli for your health insurance entitlements;
• the EURES network (the European job mobility portal) and its cross-border partnerships;
• ENIC-NARIC France for the comparability of qualifications;
• the Agence Erasmus+ France / Éducation Formation for mobility grants.

A cross-border apprenticeship is not a shortcut to a better salary: it is a demanding project that requires serious administrative preparation and genuine adaptability. But for young people in the Thionville, Mulhouse, Annecy or Lille areas, it opens up a labour market where French technical skills are in demand — and where two years of experience carries lasting weight on a CV.