Hi (my first post question) 
I’ve had a few sits in UK and France. One sit in France, I was offered the sitters vehicle to drive locally to shops etc. All good no issues.
Another upcoming sit in France and the housesit host offered their car for same local driving to shops etc. They just called me to say that their insurance company would not insure me because I did’nt have a French licence 
I have an Australian and UK licence. Anyone got any advice or solution?
Thanks in anticipation
Stan
Moderator note: Post and replies moved from another discussion and title updated
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If you get an IDP (international driver’s permit) from the UK post office for £5 @stan13 then that might sway their insurers? It’s useful anyway so always worth having one for securing SEA sits etc and you could ask them to ask the insurance company for you? #idpintel
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Thanks, I’ve always had one travelling around Asia, a necessity in Japan. I thought it was basically a translation of your (English) reading licence.
It is being asked of the insurance company right now.
Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll respond when I get an answer.
Stan
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Hi @Stan13,
Welcome to the forum.
I’m glad to see @Cuttlefish was able to help. Have a great time on your upcoming sits and please do come back to the forum if you have any other questions or to share some of your fantastic experiences with other members.
All the best,
To get a French licence you would need to be a resident of France and exchange your U.K. one .
This requirement is likely specific to this host’s insurer .
I have heard of similar issues in U.K. of specific insurers that will only insure people with a U.K. licence .
I hope the IDP suggestion works out - Please update the forum .
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Not sure of your nationality or residency but if you are Australian you can get an international drivers licence through any state motoring association like RACQ, RACV, NRMA. You just need a recent passport size photo and your current D/L, pay the annual fee and they will make it on tbe spot.
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In the US I just went to my local DMV department. The entire process took 10 minutes. They just took my license and checked to see I was in good standing. Then issued me an international driving license. Not sure what country you are from.
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I’m currently using the housesitters car using my Australian licence. Prior to arriving he submitted my licence to his insurer and there was no problem.
My next housesit is in France also with a car BUT the housesitters insurance company would only accept a French license.
So I guess the answer is depending on the insurance company 
I used to have an Australian International license but it expired in April this year
But I do also have recently got a UK licence.
Do you know if I could get the same International licence here in UK, for possible housesit car use in France?
Sorry I have no idea. Maybe one of the UK members might know.
Be sure to confirm that the insurance will cover damage for a sitter from outside the Schengen area. Providing house and pet sitting could be considered illegal employment if you are not authorized to work in the Schengen area, so the rules are different from simply loaning a vehicle to a friend. It wasn’t clear from your post if you have the legal right to work in France.
We travel all over the world house & pet sitting, 30 countries to date. We don’t have work visas to do this, we both work online for income & we also have two very different passports. Am not sure “advising” sitters they need “permission to work” is needed in this mutual exchange lifestyle. We can all decide if the perceived risk is worth it and simply travel as a tourist with some pet sitting stop offs en route as we go. #noscaremongeringplease
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Scaremongering, by definition, involves sharing rumors.
To the best of my knowledge what I shared are facts, which is what this Forum is for. If you have evidence that what I stated is not a fact, I would like very much to read it.
@Stan13 is new to this community. If I were in his shoes I would be grateful that someone made me aware of an aspect of the insurance issue that I might not have been aware of.
You state that you can “simply travel as a tourist with some pet sitting stops”. That is not legal in the Schengen area for those not authorized to work in those countries. Pet and house sitting on a tourist visa is not permitted in the Schengen zone.
I personally would not post in a public forum that I knowingly did this type of activity without an appropriate visa (and for the record, I have never knowingly violated immigration law - just saying that since who knows who is reading this?) Border officials are using AI to search the social media profiles of arriving passengers. It wouldn’t take them long at all to find evidence that, say, a couple without the appropriate visa not only did a housesit in, say Oregon in 2021, but that they also admitted that they did it while knowing they didn’t have the appropriate visa. This could lead to detention, deportation, denial of entry for five years, and denial of future immigration benefits.
That is not scaremongering. That is the law.
For us & 1000s of other sitters on this platform, THS is used as a means to travel the globe slowly. Nothing to do with visas or work. We’re digital nomads and we travel as we wish post covid to anywhere that looks interesting & new. @Stan13 is new to the forum but very well travelled in SEA and Oz and knows what he’s doing (hence our advice of getting an IDP for aiding his French sit). Personally it’s not a work arrangement & we won’t be seeking permission to do so for something that is simply an exchange of services. You can do otherwise but it seems like overkill. We also have no interest in sitting in the USA which helps. #youdoyou
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I didn’t realize you and @stan13 were already connected and that he was familiar with European immigration laws — my apologies if I was explaining something he already knows.
That said, the comment “Personally it’s not a work arrangement” is misleading. Unfortunately, it’s not up to personal interpretation. Immigration law for the Schengen area (as well as many other countries) clearly states that exchanging services for housing is not allowed on a tourist visa — regardless of how sitters perceive it.
I wish it were different; I’d love to sit in the UK or Australia myself. But I’m grateful to those who helped me understand the legal landscape so I can keep doing what I love — without risking deportation.