‪When arriving in France, at the age at forming a union, sub-Saharan migrants experience highly precarious living conditions. Considering that conjugal dynamics depend on the economic and material resources held by individuals, and in a different way for both sexes, men may have difficulty entering into a union after their arrival in France, while women would be required to quickly couple and access the material resources of their spouse, and thus escape economic instability. This article details the conditions of starting a union by sub-Saharan immigrants after their arrival in France. We use data from the ANRS-Parcours biographical survey conducted in 2012-2013 in Paris area. Men enter less quickly into union than their female counterparts. For sub-Saharan migrant men, pairing seems to be conditioned by having stable employment, personal housing or a permanent residence permit. In addition, the more favorable their living conditions are, the sooner they enter into a union. For women, however, couples do not appear to be dependent on their administrative or professional situation. It would even seem that the fact of entering a union would enable them to improve their living conditions.‪