The 2020 pandemic has affected people worldwide including au pairs and host families around the world. With the onset of the pandemic au pairs were not labeled as essential workers and therefore not granted any special visa access due to the belief that French families could get au pairs, nannies and babysitters from within the EU and "green" countries without a hassle. As the pandemic has gone on the situation on the ground has proven different.

It was not taken into consideration that even before the pandemic families needed to vet and assess whether an au pair is a good fit for their family and children and this often takes weeks and months of constant communication to get to. Oftentimes the au pair that is most suitable isn't from the EU but from a non-EU country where childcare is something youth learn from a young age which many EU citizens may not have the same level of experience with.

Many families after the initial lockdown were left scurrying to look for a new au pair when the one they had anticipated was prohibited from entry into the country. Something else that was not calculated was the large number of au pairs that left France to return to their families as the coronavirus pandemic continued. This left families needing au pairs more than ever but having the supply cut short. Many au pairs within France that decided to stay have reported that they have families constantly and desperately trying to contact them and bribe them with higher pocket money away from their current host family.

Childcare for working parents is noted as a major concern for many families in the best of times but now many families are in desperate situations and don't know what to do. The French government is issuing visas for "passport talent" and "students" but not for au pairs at the moment even though au pairs are I'm high demand by the general population right now.

The reality on the ground is that even if the government starts issuing au pair visas there will still be a shortage in supply as people are still reluctant to travel and relocate during the pandemic but it will ease thr strain and stress of childcare shortage at the moment. Considering that every country in the world is offering comprehensive COVID-19 tests and new entrants into a country are quarantined for a period, there can be no objection to au pairs being given visas. Particularly because the host families will cover medical insurance for the duration of the au pairs stay in the country.

The French government should consider issuing the jeune au pair visa again as au pairs are essential workers in their own right and make postive contributions to the society and not just as cultural exchange students.