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1 Au Pair in Austria

The host family needs to notify the Job Service Centre (AMS) two weeks prior to the employment's start. Then the Job Service Centre (AMS) will issue a confirmation of notification.

• Entry regulations:
• Age: 18-28
• Language skills: The au pair needs to have at least basic German language skills and she has to provide evidence of it. It can be a school certificate or other confirmations from universities in English or German. Duration of the stay: 12 months (a confirmation of notification will initially be issued for 6 months and then it can be extended for the next 6 months.)
• The au pair will only get a confirmation of notification, if she didn't work in Austria for longer than a year in the last five years.
• Working hours: max. 20 hours a week
• Pocket money: 357,74 euro gross (Please note that this is the minimum income limit in Austria. If this limit is exceeded the AMS will not issue the confirmation of notification)
• In total au pairs receive 15 payments of pocket money per year (additional: 2 holiday allowances and a Christmas bonus)
• Free time /holidays: Au pairs are entitled to at least 1 day off a week and 30 days off a year.
• Language course: An au pair needs to have the possibility to attend a language course. Half of these costs will be paid by the au pair, the other half by the host family.
• Accommodation: Au pairs need their own, furnished room that can be locked.
• Health insurance: The au pair has to be registered with the social insurance institution.
• The costs of board and lodge, health insurance and 50 % of the language course paid by the host family are not considered as income of the au pair, so the minimum income limit is not exceeded and it is sufficient to register the au pair with the statutory accident insurance
• The host family can take out a health insurance for the au pair with a private health insurance company.
• Residence permit in Austria
• Au Pairs from the EU and EEA don't need a residence permit. But should an au pair from these countries stay longer than 3 months in Austria, she needs to register her residence with the Austrian authorities.
• Au pairs from other countries can get a residence permit at an Austrian embassy or consulate. For this purpose they need to provide a valid confirmation of notification. This document will be used to issue an entry and residence permit.

Au Pair in America

Young people from almost all countries can become an au pair in the USA, except from those countries which have no diplomatic relations with the USA.

• Travel costs and other costs: The travel costs will be paid by the agency to which the host family makes payments for this purpose. The au pair also pays a fee to the agency plus a deposit at some agencies which will be returned at the end of the year. If the au pair leaves before the stipulated time, he/she has to bear the costs for the flight back to his/her home country and will not be returned the deposit.
• Pocket money: 195,75 USD per week
• Duration of stay: The duration of stay is usually 12 months. A 13th month is normally added to travel through the country. There are agencies which offer a Summer Au Pair stay of three months during the US American summer holidays. For further information, please ask your agency.
• Preconditions: The au pair needs a certificate of health, a certificate of good conduct, a driver's license and experience in the field of child care. Age: The au pair should be 18 to 26 years old.
• Working hours: The au pair works up to 45 hours per week and not more than 10 hours per day.
• Holidays / weekends: The au pair is entitled to 1 1/2 days off per week and one weekend off per month (beginning Friday evening and ending Monday morning). During a stay of 12 months, the au pair gets 2 weeks (10 working days) of paid holiday.
• Courses during the stay: The au pair must attend eight training hours on child safety and 24 hours of training on child development before going to the host family. Furthermore, the au pair must take part in further education courses and the family must pay up to $500 per year for this purpose. Some agencies offer language courses to the au pair which might also be mandatory.
• Educational background: The au pair must have good knowledge of the English language and needs a high school diploma or a corresponding education.
• If the au pair is required to look after a child under the age of two, the au pair has to demonstrate that she has at least 200 hours of child care experience with infant children of that age group. If the au pair is required to care for a child younger than 3 months, it is mandatory that a parent or other adult is present during that time. For further information, please contact the twelve licensed au pair agencies.
• Insurance: The host family must pay a health insurance for the au pair. It is advisable that the au pair effects an accident insurance and a third party insurance for the stay.
• Visa: To become a legal au pair in the USA you need to have a J1-Visa. You can only apply for this J1-Visa if you go through one of the twelve federally designated au pair agencies. From these agencies you can get a DS-2019 form with which you can apply for a visa. To get further information, please contact the proper agencies.

Au Pair in Germany

• General information about the au pair program in Germany
• In Germany exists an au pair program for young people aged from 18 to 25 years.
• Au pairs from the following countries may even enter into Germany until the age of 30 years:
• Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), Finland, France ,Greece, Ireland Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden as well as from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and from Switzerland.
• German nationals may not be employed as au pairs in Germany. They must be declared as baby sitters and must be registered under the social security system.
• Hints on safety concerning au pairs from certain countries:
• Please read also our information about au pairs from Cameroon and Morocco.
• Duration of stay: An au pair may work in Germany 12 months at the longest. People who already worked in Germany as an au pair may not work as an au pair in Germany again, no matter how long their first stay was.
• Language skills: Au pairs must have basic knowledge of the German language. The German embassies must decide about whether the au pair's language skills are sufficient. There is no common rule about how much knowledge you need to have to be acknowledged.
• Conditions for host families
• Families with at least 1 child younger than 18 may be host families. Single parents may host an au pair, too. One parent must have the German nationality. In exceptional cases a family with no German nationals among the parents may be a host family if German is mainly spoken within the family.
• Families with 4 or more children may host 2 au pairs at the same time.
• Information about working hours and amount of work, insurance, travel expenses, accommodation, pocket money, holidays, free time and language course
• Child care/house work:30 hour of help with child care and house work per week, including 1-2 evenings of babysitting
• Help with house work does not include:
• -Independent management of the whole household by the au pair,
• -Ironing of complicated clothes (such as shirts or blouses),
• -spring cleaning,
• -doing the whole cooking for the family alone,
• -doing the whole washing for the whole family,
• -the washing of the family's underwear is not the task of an au pair as well as the cleaning of the toilet unless it is exclusively used by the au pair.
• Insurance
• The host family has to take out health insurance and a third party insurance for the au pair (the costs amount to approximately € 23 to 40 per month). If the au pair needs a visa, we recommend to adjust the au pair insurance contract to cover potential expulsion costs.
• For further information we recommend a Google search.
• Travel costs:
• The au pair must bear the travel costs herself/himself. Please make no advance payments. If you as a host family want to bear a part of the costs, please do this after a successful stay of the au pair of at least 50% of the stipulated time.
• Accommodation
• An au pair should have his/her own heatable room which has a window and can be locked, at least 8 sq.m
• The au pair can take part in the family life and in the common meals.
• Pocket money:
• € 260 per month
• The au pair also gets the pocket money during his or her holidays and in case of illness.
• Holidays:
• The au pair is entitled to 2 days of paid holiday per month.
• Spare time:
• The au pair is entitled to at least one day off per week; once per month this should be a Sunday.
• Language course:
• The au pair should have the opportunity of attending a language course. The au pair has to pay for the fees.