Hi everyone,
Just moved to France and living in 33220 Saint-Avit-Saint-Nazaire. Hope this finds you all well.
My family (my long suffering wife/partner of many many years and our 2 and a half year old) have moved from Walthamstow, East London to start a new life here. Both my wife and I are alternative therapist/practitioners. My wife practices Holistic massage therapies with an ITEC Diploma and I am an Ayurvedic Practitioner with a degree in Ayurveda, member of the Ayurvedic Practitioners Association (UK) and a ITEC Diploma in massage therapy.
Please could we have some advice on requirements to register as practitioners/therapists here in France. We will be working from a home clinic as we did in the UK.
We love Indian food from the west coast (Kerala, Goa, the Konkan coast and Gujarat). Diet and what you eat but more importantly how you digest is important so we also look at a plant based alkaline diet when working with our clients.
Look forward to hearing from you with some help to get us up and running.
Thank you
Imtiaz
A similar post 6 months ago sets out the basics
Also the site linked below is pretty comprehensive for setting up in business. As said on first thread choosing you business structure is quite important, and also now you need to take into account what you need to be sure of meeting the threshold for residence here. Many other threads set out the process but just to remind that you will need to demonstrate a serious and sustainable business with sufficient income earning potential. Do not under-estimate how expensive it is to run a business here.
Found this, which might be of help:
The last paragraph is interesting:
Petit détail qui a son importance
Toutes les formations proposées sont « professionnalisantes », c’est à dire qu’elles permettent ensuite de s’installer comme professionnel. Cependant il n’existe pas en France de reconnaissance officielle de l’Ayurveda et de statut juridique du praticien en Ayurveda. Donc il n’y a pas de diplôme officiel, reconnu par les autorités légales de notre pays. Néanmoins les contenus et durées des formations permettent de commencer une pratique professionnelle. Les formateurs proposent en général des conseils quant à l’installation et au respect du cadre juridique français.
You might also want to ask them about recognition, if any, by their body, of UK qualifications…
Thank you very much. Seems to be a good way forward.
Will have a proper look in a minute. Thank you once again.
Imtiaz
Thank you James.
This looks like a novel and worthwhile venture and I do hope your aspirations are crowned with eventual success. If we lived nearer to St Nazaire my wife and I would almost certainly seek you out. Bon chance!
If you dont live a million miles away we do have every intention of doing home visits, which we used to do when in London and people couldnt get to us.
France is rather larger than London! Most people who provide home services reckon that it’s not economic to go further than 20km, so do be careful! What some alternative people round here do is rent a room in someone else’s clinic one day a week/month.
Yes that’s a good idea. Will give it so.e serious thought. Thank you
Hi there, and nice to see you on here. We’re very sadly heading in the opposite direction and my OH has just gone over to England with one son and our belongings whilst the other son and I are stuck in a hotel in Calais waiting until our dog can travel on the 20th after our vet gave him a one year rabies vaccination instead of the three year one we asked for last year, that meant when we visited a couple of days before we were due to catch the train to get his compulsory worm tablet we were informed the rabies jab was out of date by two weeks so he would have to have another and wait for three weeks to travel.
We have to go back as the process we’d have to go through for my adult disabled sons for us all to stay would cause them too much stress, we’ve been able to avoid it during the last eight years but brexit means we’d have to do it and it just wouldn’t be good for them.
But anyway, good luck with your endeavours, I have several ITEC diplomas in beauty/makeup/hair/holistic therapies, and taught several diplomas, the one thing I would say is that the French system doesn’t adhere to the same international system as most European countries do, they class many of the qualifications as being lower than theirs.
I have a friend with a daughter who trained in beauty at Clermont-Ferrand and from what I saw of the work they were doing/the way they were taught, the quality of the qualifications is quite poor in comparison to those in the UK, things that were taught were things that would have been cause for failing to achieve the qualifications I taught.
There are particular qualifications that must be held to be self employed in these professions and there are regulatory pricing policies too. It’s a bit of a minefield but I’ve no doubt once you get through said minefield your business will flourish as holistic therapies are becoming more and more popular here. I don’t have any of my lists of things needed with me as they’re in boxes in a container at the moment or I’d let you have them.
Patience and time will be your friends when working your way through paperwork 
Thank you for taking the time to write even when you are so busy. Your response has given me food for thought. We came here with a mission to make a life here and will give it our best shot. Wish you and your family the very best and we hope life in the UK will be equally kind to you as your time here in France. Bon voyage and bonne chance!
Thank you once again
Imtiaz
Thank you, we took a huge leap when we decided to take two adult sons with severe learning disabilities from England to France but even though it took about three, nearer to four years to get everything working right, it was so worth the effort. We’ll miss our clients (although we’ll still keep a couple when they’re in England which is lovely), we’ll miss the weather, the amazing array of plants that grow in the heat in the south of France, and a whole host of other things that made living in the south of France so wonderful. Oh, and did I mention we’ll miss the weather? I know my joints will miss it!
Sending you bucket loads of good luck and if you think of it in terms of using the first year to get organised and put plans into place then you can start to work and reap benefits from the start of the second year, although it can and does take longer for some things, just keep looking down the line at what it will be like. Bonne chance
Chateau Madame for having the courage to try something new and having had a brilliant time when making that move a memorable one. UK is a land we all love and a move back is never a bad thing. Hope to keep in touch to get some valuable guidance from you in our journey to make a living in the world of alternative therapies. Good luck and hope to speak soon.
Imtiaz
Registered as Relaxation Ayurvedic with Greffe! Ready to start work!
Hi
I am also an Ayurvedic Degree holder and looking for an opportunity to work in France. I am looking for a lead. I am currently residing at La Defense, IDF with a valid work permit till November 2026.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and advise.
A valid work permit for what? There are many categories. But welcome. Knowing a bit more about you will help tailor advice.
I would love a head and shoulders massage 
I really need to change my desk chair.
Maybe look into standing desks too
Agreed. I work from home so invested in one and it’s been great. I went for a motorised one because I knew I’d get bored of turning the handle to raise and lower the desk, whereas even I’m not too lazy to push a button. Mine’s a FlexiSpot one, they are on Amazon but I got it slightly cheaper by going direct during a Black Friday sale.
I use a gaming chair which is comfortable for long periods sat down… I really wanted but sadly couldn’t afford a Herman Miller Aero chair sadly, so this was a good compromise. It’s ugly like all gaming chairs but I no longer suffer from back or shoulder pain.