UK Qualifications in France: Recognition and School Enrolment for British Families (2026)

Moving to France from the UK raises two questions at once: what happens to the qualifications you hold, and how your children get a place at school. Neither has a single answer. Who decides depends on whether you want to study, work in an ordinary job, work in a regulated profession, or enrol a child at primary or secondary level.

This guide describes the rules as the official pages state them. It does not give legal advice, and it says where the decision belongs to someone else. For the wider picture of the move, see moving to France from the UK and British citizens and the French visa after Brexit.

The French “statement of comparability” for a UK degree

The French national information centre for foreign qualifications is ENIC-NARIC France, run by France Éducation international. It issues a statement of comparability: an official document, valid only on French territory, that links a foreign qualification to the levels of the French and European qualification frameworks. It lists the title, speciality, institution, date and country of issue, official duration and prospects of your qualification, and says where the experts place it.

The centre is clear about what the document is not. It is not mandatory and not legally binding. The final decision on recruitment, on continuing studies or on admission to a competitive exam belongs to the employer, the school or university, or the organisation running the exam. As its own page puts it, the centre does not issue these statements systematically: some files are rejected, for example when the qualification cannot be authenticated or is not recognised by the authorities of the country that issued it.

The centre also lists what it does not assess. That includes qualifications issued by French institutions, short courses under 200 hours, language tests, certain qualifications for regulated professions such as doctor, midwife, dentist or pharmacist, and professional training that does not end in an academic qualification.

When it is useful

The centre says you can use a statement to continue studies, to look for a job, or for any other purpose where it helps. For work, it does not change your job search, but an employer may ask for it to understand your academic background. For study, admission is decided only by the institution, which may or may not ask for the statement, so the centre advises you to make the institution your first contact.

One use has gone. From 1 January 2026, under a decree of 15 July 2025, the statement is no longer valid for naturalisation applications. For French language level in that context you need an officially recognised test, such as the TCF IRN.

How to apply, what it costs and how long it takes

The whole process is online, through the Phoenix platform. The centre states these points:

• Fees: €20 when you submit the request, then €100 at the assessment stage. Refugees, asylum seekers and people with subsidiary or temporary protection are exempt.
• One qualification per file. If you hold two degrees you want assessed, that means two files.
• Documents: both sides of a valid ID, your most recent qualification, and proof of the official duration of your studies (a transcript or Diploma Supplement) issued by the institution. Files are uploaded as PDFs of no more than 2 MB each.
• Translation: a sworn translation into French is required, but not for documents written in German, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese. Your UK documents are in English, so that exemption applies.
• Two stages: after the €20 payment the centre checks that the file is admissible. If it is, an expert assesses it after the €100 payment. Admissibility is not a guarantee that a statement will follow.
• Delay: the average processing time is currently 4 months and can reach 6, depending on complexity and the volume of applications. Incomplete files add delay.
• Result: you receive a PDF statement by email. In some cases you get a letter explaining why none can be issued.

The centre adds that payment is only possible on receipt of an invoice and that no refunds are made. Fees change, so check the Phoenix platform before you pay.

Regulated professions: it depends on the profession

If you work in a profession that is regulated, a French statement of comparability is not the route. The centre states that the statement is not an authorisation to practise a regulated profession.

The UK government’s guidance on recognition of UK professional qualifications in EU member states (published 18 December 2025) sets out the position. Some professions are regulated, meaning the law requires your qualifications or experience to be recognised before you carry out certain activities or use a protected title. Which professions are regulated varies from one EU country to another, and the guidance points to the EU’s Regulated Professions Database to check yours.

The main points of that guidance:

• Since 1 January 2021, the UK can no longer use the EU directive on mutual recognition of professional qualifications, which ended automatic recognition.
• Recognition in an EU member state is now subject to that country’s own laws and rules, unless an agreement under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement or a sector agreement between the UK and an EU state applies.
• If your profession is regulated, the regulator of each country where you want to work has to recognise your qualification, even for temporary or occasional services.
• You do not need to seek recognition again if your qualification was already recognised by the relevant regulator and that recognition has not ended following the UK’s exit.
• You may face fees, requests for original documents, transcripts and references, a language requirement, and different exam or training requirements.
• The time it takes depends on the regulator and your case, so the guidance advises starting before you move or take a job.

The same guidance says no recognition arrangement under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement had been finalised at the time of writing. It lists a small number of bilateral agreements between UK bodies and counterparts in EU states, in architecture, auditing, engineering and snowsports instructing, with Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. None of those entries is with France. It also says that list is not exhaustive and can change, so ask the French regulator for your profession what applies to you.

In practice, the answer for a teacher, nurse, solicitor, architect or engineer is different each time, and it is the French competent authority for that profession that decides. If your profession is not regulated in France, there is no recognition step, and a statement of comparability is an optional tool to help an employer read your degree.

Enrolling a child at a French primary school

The process is the same for all children living in the commune, and the service-public.gouv.fr page on enrolling in élémentaire (checked 10 January 2025) sets it out in two steps.

1. The mairie. You register your child at the town hall. The page says to do so by June before the start of the school year at the latest. Registration often opens in March, and some communes start earlier, so ask early. You provide proof of identity for you and your child (family record book, ID card, passport, birth certificate extract or a sworn statement) and a recent proof of address, for which a sworn statement is accepted. The mairie then issues a registration certificate naming the school your child is assigned to.
2. The school. You go to that school as soon as you have the certificate. The school management completes the enrolment on presentation of the certificate and a document showing that your child has the vaccinations required for their age, or a medical contraindication.

A child must be enrolled in élémentaire from the age of 6, in the calendar year they turn 6. Admission before 6 is possible under conditions. If you want a school outside your catchment area, you need a derogation from the mairie, and it is not automatic.

Enrolling a child at collège

The page on enrolling in collège (checked 20 March 2026) describes a different path. Your child is assigned to the collège of your catchment area, generally the one closest to home, under the school map of your département. The page says that for some situations, such as a child coming from a private school under contract, you contact the Dasen, through the departmental education services where you live, to find the assigned school.

To request another public collège, you apply for a derogation to the Dasen before enrolling your child in the school you want. The request is granted if the school has room, and priorities apply when it does not: disability first, then significant medical needs, scholarship pupils, a sibling already in the school, and a particular course such as a sports section or international class.

Once the assignment is decided, you enrol your child with the collège’s secretariat. The dossier varies by school and can include an enrolment form, ID for parents and child, a family record book copy, proof of address and photos.

Help with French for newly arrived pupils

The Ministry of Education’s éduscol page on welcoming newly arrived non-French-speaking pupils (updated February 2026) states that the duty to take them in is the same as for any other pupil. It describes a bilingual welcome booklet, with an English version, explaining how school works for families.

It also describes teaching of French as a second language. This is done by the teachers who receive the pupils, in the ordinary class or in a dedicated unit called UPE2A, where the school or collège has one. The page does not say that every school has one, so ask your mairie or the school what is available locally.

What this guide leaves out

Two things families often want to know are not covered here, because no official page we read states them. We do not give a mapping of UK school years to French classes, and we do not compare A-levels with the baccalauréat. For secondary or vocational studies, the centre’s page tells people who want to continue in France to contact the local education authorities for their place of residence. For university entry, it says admission is the institution’s own decision.

Related guides for British readers

• Our guide to the S1 form and healthcare for British pensioners explains who can get an S1, how to register with the CPAM, and how PUMA and the GHIC differ.

FAQ

Do I need a statement of comparability to work in France?

No. The centre says the statement does not influence your job search, though an employer may ask for it. For a regulated profession, it is not an authorisation to practise.

Can I get the statement for naturalisation?

No. From 1 January 2026 the statement is no longer valid for naturalisation applications, and the centre stopped accepting applications for that purpose from 1 October 2025.

Is my UK professional qualification recognised automatically in France?

No. The UK government’s guidance says the automatic EU system ended on 1 January 2021 for UK qualifications. For a regulated profession, the French regulator for it decides, under French rules or any agreement that applies to that profession.

When should I register my child at school?

For primary school, the mairie page says by June before the school year, with registration usually opening in March. Ask your mairie early, since some communes start sooner. For the wider picture, see enrolling kids in a French public school and international school vs French public school, both written for American families but covering the French school system.