Requirements for Au-pair admission.

Before entering into working life many young people wish to gather some experiences abroad, where they are able to get to know the language and the culture of the host country.  The Au-pair program offers an interesting opportunity to achieve this.  Through the combination of work and education, both parties profit from this intercultural exchange program.  An Au-pair has the opportunity to improve his/her knowledge of the language through helping in the household, taking care of the children in the host family and in the language school.  At the same time, through their integration into family life they experience the German way of life.

The host family however does not only profit from the Au-pair program through help with housework and child care but also, through living together, gains experience of the Au-pair's culture and often of his/her language.

An Au-pair is not a cleaner or a child minder.  An Au-pair should be regarded as a member of the family (as an older son or daughter for example).

That means that they work to some extent together, live together in the same house or flat and, when they want to, spend their free time together.  It is very important that the Au-pair has the opportunity to be able to join in with the trips and activities that the family choose to undertake in their free time and that they are not seen as a stranger.  The host family should always make an effort to include the au-pair in family life.  (An Au-pair should not be sent to their room as soon as their work is finished!)

Being an Au-pair means living and working together but it will be expected that the Au-pair adjust to the life-style of their particular host family.

The work of an Au-pair is dependant on the lifestyle and characteristics of the host family.  Thus it is possible for the host family to agree on individual working hours with the Au-pair.  However the weekly working hours must not exceed 30 hrs.  If both host parents work,  there must be someone available for the Au-pair to contact in case of emergency (other people in the family - grandma, grandpa, neighbours .etc).

It is strongly recommended that the absence of the host parents does not result in the Au-pair being burdened with too much work or responsibility.

In cases where absence is necessary, the host family should prepare their children and the Au-pair gradually for this -  encouraging them to spend more time together in order to get used to each other's company.

Examples of looking after children could include any of the following:

Dressing, washing, supervision, going for walks and playing with them, drawing, making things, craftwork, reading out loud, singing, taking them to Kindergarten/to school/ to particular events (for example gymnastics, music lessons), picking them up, putting them to bed, keeping them constructively occupied, being creative . etc.

Examples for work around the house could include any of the following:

Helping with cleaning and tidying the house, hoovering, dusting, doing the washing, ironing, preparing breakfast and simple meals, helping with cooking, tidying the kitchen, looking after the house/the pets, looking after the plants, helping in the garden .etc.

Requirements for the host family:

• The host family must satisfy the accepted definition of family,  i.e. married couples (with or without children) or single parents with children.
• At least one parent must have German nationality or the family must be able to prove that German is spoken as a native language in their family.
• The Au-pair must have their own furnished room in the host house (not a cellar room with air shaft).  A cellar room with a ground level windows is acceptable.
• A separate bath and toilet is not necessary if the Au-pair is allowed to use the family bathroom.

Requirements for Au-pairs:

• Age:  17 with the permission of his/her parents, otherwise 18.  Maximum age 24 years old, at the time of visa application.
• A basic knowledge of German.

Rights and Duties:

• The maximum daily work period is 5 hours (alternatively 30 hours a week) including babysitting.  How these hours are split up can be worked out within the family.
• The host family gives the Au-pair pocket money of no less than €260 per month.
• The host family pays for a monthly public transport pass or arranges transport to and from the language course.  If the language school is a reasonable distance away and can be reached by bike then this is also a possibility.
• The host family pays for a private illness/accident/public liability/pregnancy-birth Insurance.  The agency can recommend an appropriate insurance if asked.
• An Au-pair staying for a year is allowed 4 weeks holiday (24 days, a week consisting of 6 working days) or 2 working days per month.  The Au-pair must discuss with his/her host family when he/she is going to take this holiday.  If the Au-pair goes on holiday with the host family, this period may count as holiday if the Au-pair's work is insignificant and his/her presence not compulsory.
• The Au-pair must pay for the flights there and back him/herself.  In some specific cases the host family may offer to contribute to the costs once the Au-pair is in Germany.
• Each Au-pair must be given the opportunity and the time to take a language course.  The Au-pair generally has to pay for this him/herself.

These terms and conditions are regulated by the European Agreement of 1969 concerning appointment of Au-pairs, and by state employment offices.

Our Agency's Contact Procedures:

After you have registered using our family questionnaire (which you will receive either online from our homepage under 'Host family Registration' or receive as an email attachment from us), we will contact you by phone.  From this conversation you will ascertain that we are able to respond sensitively and quickly to your own individual situation and that we can competently and honestly give you information about what being an Au-pair entails.

As the internet is a very anonymous medium, we try to maintain more personal contact by giving extensive advice over the phone as often as possible.

If you wish we can discuss the applicants in our Aupair Gallery with you and give you tips about individual Au-pairs.  If, before telephone contact is established, you have already looked through our Au-pair Gallery and have found one or two applicants that you are interested in, then you can simply give us their names and ID numbers during our telephone conversation.  After that we will promptly send you by email the full addresses of the suggested candidates.  We will inform the chosen applicants and give them your address so that they can make contact.  Once again we always recommend telephone conversations as we are of the opinion that it is only possible to obtain an objective picture of the applicant by speaking to them.  A primary objective of this conversation between you and the Au-pair should be an assessment of their German and the impression they make on you.

If you are satisfied with the conversation then all further points can be dealt with by email.

If both sides, after extensive contact, decide to spend a year together then you should once more get into contact with us.

After the contract has been signed with our agency we will send you by post all the necessary documents for the visa application.

You can find out about all further actions required, by looking through our guide to bureaucratic procedures and our AGB's (laws) which we will gladly send you separately or which you can read on our homepage.

We wish both sides a pleasant life and working-partnership together.

Your agency,