New York, Hamptons & Miami · 2026 guide
How to choose a nanny agency in New York and the Hamptons (2026)
Seven things an American family should check before signing with any nanny agency — and how Lumière answers them, especially for the months you spend in Europe.
Tell us what you needFor families · a one-minute enquiry
Tell Hanna and the Lumière team what you need
A private search, never a database.
Every enquiry is read by the team. Reply within 48 hours; shortlist within a week.
- Founded 2025 by Hanna, a career nanny · 100+ placements
- 3-month guarantee, then 2 months on each replacement — up to 3 re-matches
- Long-term nannies, newborn care specialists and private teachers · our terms
- Every contract fully declared
Updated 15 October 2026 · by the Lumière team
Quick answer
Choose a nanny agency in New York, the Hamptons or Miami on seven checks: for a nanny employed in New York City, ask for the agency's licence; confirm every candidate is already eligible to work in the US; see the background checks; know that your family is the employer and needs household payroll; get the fee and replacement terms in writing; and, if you summer in Europe, ask whether the agency has career nannies there employed under local law. Lumière Placements — founded 2025, based in Nice, specialising in long-term nannies, newborn care specialists and private teachers: guarantee three months, then two on each replacement, up to three times; shortlist within a week; 5.0 on Google. Facts checked October 2026.
What to verify before you sign
Every agency describes its candidates as exceptional. These are the things a family in New York, the Hamptons or Miami can actually verify in one call.
The legal and practical basics
- A licence for New York roles. New York City licenses fee-charging employment agencies; for a nanny employed in the city, ask for the licence number.
- Right to work. US citizenship, a green card or valid work authorisation. No agency can sponsor a nanny's visa; au pair programmes are a different product.
- Background checks you can see. Identity, driving record and criminal background through a reputable screening provider, plus references checked by a person.
- Your family is the employer. Household payroll, tax and New York's Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights — usually through a household-employment specialist.
What separates a good agency
- The fee and replacement terms in writing. A percentage of first-year pay or a fixed fee, and exactly what happens if the placement ends early.
- The guarantee, precisely. How long the placed candidate is covered, how many replacements are included, and whether each replacement is covered too.
- Your months in Europe. If you spend the summer on the Riviera, a ski season in the Alps or relocate to Monaco or Geneva, ask who will find and employ a nanny there.
Our answers, in the same order
For your home in the US: Lumière is not a US-licensed agency. We introduce only candidates already eligible to work in the United States, your family employs them with a household-employment specialist, and for a nanny employed in New York City a licensed New York agency is the right counterpart. For your time in Europe: this is our strength — Riviera summers, Monaco and Geneva relocations, Mediterranean charters and travel nannies, with the nanny employed by your family under French or Monaco law and interviewed in person by the Lumière team. Fee: set out in writing before any search, with full terms on our fees page. Guarantee: three months on the placed candidate, then two months on each replacement, up to three replacements. We reply within 48 hours, in your time zone.
Full terms: fees and guarantee · American families in Europe · Hamptons · New York · Nanny cost in the US
See also: Long-term nannies New York
Frequently Asked Questions
Spending part of the year in Europe?
Send us your brief; we reply within 48 hours, in your time zone.
Tell us what you needVetting & compliance
How Lumière nannies are vetted for American families
Lumière Placements is a French Riviera-based agency, not a US-licensed employment agency. For American families we place nannies for Europe — the Riviera, Monaco, Mediterranean charters and the Alps — under French-law contracts, and we introduce only US-eligible candidates (with the right to work in the US) for roles at home. The family is the employer: I-9, payroll and tax are handled with a US household-employment specialist. We do not sponsor US visas.
Where the placement happens
Riviera, Monaco, Alpine and charter placements are performed in France and Monaco under French-law contracts, employed by your family. For roles at home we introduce only US-eligible candidates.
Right to work in the US
US citizenship, green card or valid work authorisation confirmed before any introduction. Lumière does not sponsor US visas.
Payroll and tax
Handled by the family with a US household-employment specialist; we provide a written agreement template and point you to the right provider.
Background checks
US candidates: identity, driving record and criminal background through a reputable US screening provider; European candidates: criminal-record extract and references verified in person.
NDA and discretion
Every candidate signs a non-disclosure agreement before any introduction to a high-profile household.
Travel-ready
Valid passport, ESTA or Schengen eligibility and comfort with frequent travel confirmed before the shortlist.
Declared employment. Every placement is made on a written, declared contract with the family as employer. Lumière does not place undeclared nannies.
The Lumière difference
Founded by a professional nanny, not a recruiter
"I founded Lumière because the families I worked for kept asking the same question: where do we find another nanny like you? I still take private placements. Every nanny I place is one I would work alongside."
Hanna founded Lumière Placements after years inside private households as a career nanny. Lumière is the only French Riviera-based boutique placement agency, placing across Monaco, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Nice, and worldwide, founded and led by a professional nanny.
Why families choose Lumière
- Based
- French Riviera
- Founder
- Hanna, professional nanny
- Approach
- Families understood from the inside, the right nanny for the right family
- Qualifications
- Norland, CACHE, NNEB, Montessori
- Vetting
- References verified, DBS where applicable
- Employment
- Declared, full contracts
- Reach
- 20+ cities · 3 continents
- Specialisms
- Live-in, rota, governess, maternity, yacht, travel
