Hiring household staff in Monaco

As of 18 October 2026

This guide summarises what a private household in Monaco needs to know when it hires household staff or searches through an agency: how the work permit and hiring authorisation work, how the household registers with the social security funds and what it pays, which minimum wage applies and which rules apply on the French side of the border, where many households of the Côte d'Azur employ their staff. Every statement comes from an official page or a legal text and carries its source, all retrieved 18 October 2026. This text is guidance, not legal advice.

At a glance

• Every foreign employee in Monaco needs a work permit; the household applies for it together with the hiring authorisation at the Service de l'Emploi, stamp duty 5 euros.
• For household staff, the position does not have to be advertised; the household submits the form "Embauchage de personnel de maison".
• The household registers as an employer of household staff with the Caisses Sociales; for this it needs a Monegasque residence card or a Monegasque identity card.
• The contribution to the health insurance fund CCSS is 13.40 percent; with one or two household employees working under 254 hours a month, it is calculated on 33 percent of the gross salary. Added to this are CAR pension contributions and unemployment insurance.
• The minimum wage corresponds to the French SMIC of 12.31 euros per hour plus 5 percent, arithmetically around 12.93 euros.
• Every business in Monaco, including an agency, needs an authorisation unless it is run by a Monegasque national in a non-regulated field. The official pages do not mention a separate placement licence.
• In France, the household registers household staff via CESU; placement agencies there need neither a licence nor a declaration.

Hiring and work permit

No foreigner may take up a position in the private sector in Monaco without holding a work permit (Law No. 629, Article 1). The application runs through the employer: anyone hiring for the first time opens a file with the Service de l'Emploi and reports every vacancy there. For hiring there is a combined form, the "Demande d'autorisation d'embauchage et de permis de travail", with a stamp duty of 5 euros. Once all authorisations have been granted, the employee receives the work permit.

When filling a position, a statutory order of priority applies: first Monegasques, then their spouses and children, partners and parents of Monegasque children, then residents of Monaco, and finally residents of the neighbouring communes of Cap d'Ail, La Turbie, Beausoleil and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin who have already worked in Monaco. When a position is advertised, the Service de l'Emploi proposes priority candidates within four full days, on whom the employer must give a reasoned response before being allowed to propose a candidate of their own.

For household staff, advertising is not required: a household may hire household staff without first advertising the position. The official list of roles includes, among others, chauffeur, cook, butler, nanny, bodyguard and governess. The procedure: the household registers with the Caisses Sociales as an employer of household staff, submits the form "Embauchage de personnel de maison" with the employee's identity document to the Service de l'Emploi and then signs the form for the hiring authorisation and work permit that is sent to it, with the fee of 5 euros. Added to this are occupational accident insurance with an insurer licensed in Monaco, the occupational health examination through the Office de la Médecine du Travail and a new form if duties or working hours change.

Registration and social contributions

Registration as an employer of household staff with the Caisses Sociales requires a Monegasque residence card or a Monegasque identity card. The contributions, as of 1 October 2026:

• Health insurance fund CCSS: 13.40 percent. If the household employs one or two household employees for less than 254 hours a month, the assessment basis is 33 percent of the gross salary, otherwise the full salary; the contribution ceiling is 10,000 euros a month.
• Pension fund CAR: 8.39 percent employer share and 6.85 percent employee share, ceiling 6,276 euros a month.
• Unemployment insurance: 6.45 percent in total.

The salary declaration and payment are each due on the 10th of the following month, online through the Caisses Sociales service. The payslip and the salary must be handed over by the end of the month. A simplified procedure like the French CESU does not exist in Monaco; the concessions for households are the reduced assessment basis and online declaration.

Minimum wage

Monaco adopts the French SMIC and increases minimum wages by an exceptional supplement of 5 percent. The SMIC has been 12.31 euros gross per hour since 1 June 2026; with the supplement, this gives an arithmetical minimum wage of around 12.93 euros per hour. We have not found a separate collective agreement for household staff in Monaco in the official sources.

Agencies

The Service de l'Emploi receives job offers, proposes priority candidates and issues work permits. Private agencies place staff alongside it; many of them serve households in Monaco and on the Côte d'Azur together. Every commercial activity in Monaco requires an authorisation unless it is non-regulated and carried out by a person of Monegasque nationality (Law No. 1.573 of 8 April 2025); the statutory processing period is 45 days. The official pages do not mention a separate licence for placement agents such as Switzerland and the Emirates have; accordingly, there is no public register of placement agencies. For agencies in Monaco, Luxury.me shows whether their website names an authorisation; most name none. Which agencies publish their fees is shown on the register's fees page.

Staff from non-EU countries

The work permit requirement applies to all foreigners. Candidates from non-EU countries who do not hold a French residence card with a work permit from the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture are referred to the management of the Service de l'Emploi. Anyone who wants to live in Monaco as a non-EEA citizen first needs a French long-stay visa, issued by the French authorities; the documents include an employment contract for foreign workers stamped by the Service de l'Emploi.

Surroundings: France and the Côte d'Azur

Many households in the region employ their staff on French soil, from Cap d'Ail to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. French law applies there, set out in full in the guide to France:

• A private household registers household staff through the CESU déclaratif: it declares the salary, Urssaf calculates and collects the contributions and issues the employee a document that counts as a payslip.
• Household staff are covered by the collective agreement for private employers and home employment (IDCC 3239) of 15 March 2021, generally binding since 6 October 2021 and in force since 1 January 2022. It contains minimum wages by level, depending on qualification.
• Placement agencies in France need neither a licence nor registration: placement may be carried out commercially (Code du travail, L5321-1), and the former obligation of prior declaration was abolished in 2010.
• Providers of household-related services (services à la personne) may declare themselves voluntarily, which gives the client tax advantages; an approval (agrément) is compulsory only for the care of children under three.
• For employees from non-EU countries, the employer applies for the work permit online before hiring; as a rule, the position must have been advertised for three weeks, unless the occupation is on the list of shortage occupations.

Sources

All sources retrieved 18 October 2026.

1. Tribunal Suprême de Monaco, decision TS 2021-14 of 7 October 2022, quoting Article 1 of Law No. 629, tribunal-supreme.mc
2. Monentreprise, How to recruit staff, as of 16 March 2026, monentreprise.gouv.mc
3. Monservicepublic, How to hire domestic staff, as of 29 August 2024, monservicepublic.gouv.mc
4. Caisses Sociales de Monaco, Procédures, Gens de maison (brochure), caisses-sociales.mc
5. Caisses Sociales de Monaco, Employer of household employees, Contributions, caisses-sociales.mc
6. Caisses Sociales de Monaco, Lettre d'information aux employeurs, caisses-sociales.mc
7. Caisses Sociales de Monaco, Circulaire n° 2018-1 relative au SMIC, caisses-sociales.mc
8. Service-public.gouv.fr, Salaire minimum: le Smic augmente au 1er juin 2026, 18 May 2026, entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr
9. Monservicepublic, Department of Employment, monservicepublic.gouv.mc
10. Monentreprise, Monaco Business Office, Frequently asked questions, as of 3 July 2025, monentreprise.gouv.mc
11. Embassy of Monaco, S'installer à Monaco, ambassade-en-inde.gouv.mc; France-Visas, Monaco, france-visas.gouv.fr
12. Service-public.gouv.fr, Chèque emploi service universel (Cesu) déclaratif, verified on 6 February 2026, service-public.gouv.fr; Ministère du Travail, Le Cesu déclaratif, code.travail.gouv.fr
13. Code du travail numérique, Convention collective 3239 Particuliers employeurs et emploi à domicile, code.travail.gouv.fr; Quel est le salaire minimum, as of 1 June 2026, code.travail.gouv.fr
14. Code du travail, Article L5321-1, code.travail.gouv.fr; Sénat, Séance du 10 juin 2010, Article 14, senat.fr
15. Service-public.gouv.fr, Services à la personne: déclaration, agrément, autorisation, verified on 1 January 2025, entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr
16. Service-public.gouv.fr, Autorisation de travail d'un étranger, verified on 18 June 2026, service-public.gouv.fr