Prepare your stay

• If the au pair needs a visa, all documents of the au pair will be created by our agency, signed by the inviting family and sent to the au pair candidate. then you can easily apply for an au pair visa.
• In most cases, au pairs must have a national visa to enter the country, which allows them to take up a corresponding job.
• Organize the arrival of the au pair: arrival date, flight or train number and the collection of the au pair.

Apply for a visa for au pairs

In order to enter the country, au pairs must in most cases have a national visa , which allows them to take up a corresponding job.

Depending on the nationality, entry may be easier for au pairs.

Do not need a visa for entry:

• Au pairs who are EU citizens .
• Citizens of EU member states Romania and Bulgaria . However, you will need an EU work permit from the Federal Employment Agency to be able to work until the end of 2013.
• Au pairs who are nationals of the following countries:
  • Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, Republic of Korea, New Zealand and United States of America
  • However, after entering Germany, you must apply for a residence permit at the immigration authorities responsible for your place of residence within 3 months.

Au pairs who are citizens of Switzerland also do not need a visa to enter Switzerland due to the agreement on freedom of movement between the EU member states and Switzerland.

Further information can be found in the process descriptions:

• Apply for a national visa
• Apply for a residence permit for au pairs (non-EU / EEA).

Note: The au pair employment may not last longer than one year.
A stay as an au pair in Germany is not a tourist or visiting stay. A tourist or visiting stay is always limited to a maximum of 3 months in a half-year. During the tourist stay, you are normally not allowed to work, not even as an au pair.

Process flow

First you need to register your primary residence. You can then apply for a certificate of residence permit at the immigration office. The immigration authority is, depending on where you live, the city administration or the district office.

Requirements

The prerequisites for issuing the certificate are:

• For au pairs:
  • You are between 18 and under 27 years old.
    Citizens from the new EU member states (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary) must be at least 17 years old. Minors require a written declaration of consent from their parents or their legal representative.
  • You have a basic knowledge of the German language.
  • Existence of health insurance
  • registered main residence with the host family
• For host families:
  • The host family speaks German as their mother tongue.
    In principle, at least one adult family member must have German citizenship.
    The family can also come from a German-speaking country or a part of the country where German is the mother tongue. Foreign families are exceptionally eligible if German is their colloquial language.
    A family includes married couples with or without children, as well as unmarried couples or single parents with a child in the same household.
• Completed au pair contract

Which documents are required?

• valid passport
• a current passport photo
• Confirmation of registration of the main residence with the host family
• Proof of health insurance
• Au-pair contract