Au Pairs

Who can legally be an au pair?

An 'au pair' is a single person without dependants. Legally, an au pair must be between 17 and 27 years of age but many families prefer an au pair of 18 years of age or older.

Family Registration for an Au Pair

In order to enter the UK as an au pair, the applicant must be a national from:

a) EU Nationals from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Nationals of EU member countries who joined in May 2004 (except Malta and Cyprus) will need to be registered under the Accession State Worker Registration Scheme if they work for more than 25 hours a week and intend to work for more than 1 month. Once these nationals have been working legally in the UK for 12 months, they will have the full rights of free movement.

Please note that Bulgarian and Romanian nationals need to apply for an 'Accession Worker Card' which will allow the au pair to stay with a specific family and work for up to 5 hours a day for 5 days a week. If the au pair wishes to change the family, she/he will need to apply for a new card. Once a Bulgarian or Romanian au pair has been in the UK for one year with an Accession Worker Card, he/she will be entitled to to work freely in the UK by obtaining a 'registration certificate'.

A Bulgarian or Romanian national can only work for up to 5 hours a day for 5 days a week plus one or two evenings of weekly babysitting. The UK government are currently suggesting that Bulgarian and Romanian nationals be paid weekly pocket money of £55.

b) EEA which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

b) EEA nationals from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

c) Swiss nationals

An EU, EEA or Swiss national can legally work more hours for extra money.

d) Nationals from Andorra, Bosnia, Croatia, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Macedonia, Monaco, San Marino and Turkey.

Nationals of the countries listed under d) will require an au pair visa from the British Embassy in their country before arrival in the UK. In order to obtain a visa, the applicant will need to be sent a letter of invitation from the host family.

A UK Immigration Officer will normally admit an au pair for up to 12 months though he/she can stay longer in an au pair capacity extending the period of stay up to a maximum of 2 years. No working or residence permits are needed.

General Information

The usual length of time for an au pair to stay in this country is 6-12 months and the most popular times for coming over are January, June and September.

Most au pairs will have studied English for a few years at school and will usually be able to speak some English even at a basic level, although several have good enough English to converse quite easily with a family from the day of their arrival.

An au pair works a 5 hour day plus up to 2 evenings a week baby-sitting and has two complete days free each week. He/she should be given time off either in the morning or afternoon to attend English classes or relax and will normally have 5 evenings free each week.

A voluntary contribution towards the cost of English classes is often made by families to assist in the improvement of the au pair’s level of English.

Accommodation

The au pair should be provided with his/her own room and meals at no charge. It is a good idea to give the au pair a television which will help with improving his/her English and the au pair should have a table and chair for studying purposes. In return for working for up to 25 hours a week plus up to two evenings baby-sitting, the au pair is paid pocket money, currently around £65 per week. An au pair applicant from an EU or EEA country, including Switzerland, can legally work more hours for extra pay and these additional hours plus a higher amount of weekly pocket money should be agreed between the family and the au pair and included in the letter of invitation. Please try and appreciate that the girl/boy au pair is not a nanny or a cleaner and will need guidance on carrying out certain duties. Children under 3 years of age should not be left in the sole charge of an au pair during the day.

The au pair is responsible for paying his/her own travel costs to and from the UK as well as any school fees should he/she decide to attend classes. It is helpful if you can arrange English classes for your au pair on arrival and enquire beforehand about relevant English classes available for foreign students in your local town.

You will be asked to complete a registration form. If you decide to invite an au pair to join your family, you should send a short letter of invitation to the au pair via the agency, together with the agency fee. We will then forward the relevant information onto the au pair whom you have chosen to invite. He/she is asked to reply direct to us and we will immediately inform you of the reply. We will also send you the full travel details and on arrival, the au pair should be met at the airport or main bus or train station.

Registration with the Police

Au pairs from Turkey need to register with the Police and where relevant, the au pair will need to show his/her passport, hand over 2 passport sized photos of him/herself and pay a registration fee of £34. It would be appreciated if a family taking such a person would consider making a contribution towards the fee although this could be paid at the end of the initial agreed period of living with the family.

Medical Cover

The au pair should be registered with the host family's doctor within a week of his/her arrival. If the au pair has an accident or needs emergency medical aid, the family should take him/her to a hospital for treatment. Reciprocal health agreements between most European countries allow an au pair to receive emergency hospital treatment under the NHS for any illness contracted whilst in the UK. However, a doctor may at his discretion charge a fee for his services. It is worth checking with your doctor to see if he charges a fee and to note that most dentists will charge for their services.

Driving

We suggest that where an au pair is required to drive, he/she should be given a few professional driving lessons to give him/her confidence with driving on the left side of the road. The host family must ensure that the au pair is fully covered by insurance to drive the relevant car. If the au pair should be involved in an accident, under most comprehensive insurance policies, an excess will apply. If the au pair has been permitted to use the car, the host family must accept full responsibility for all costs and expenses incurred regardless of liability, unless a written agreement to the contrary has been made with the au pair prior to his/her arrival with the family.

Holiday

Under our terms, we inform you that the au pair should receive a week's holiday with pocket money after a 6 month stay with your family. The au pair may want to go home for a week or 10 days at Christmas or Easter or he/she may want to take time off to explore more of the UK.

Telephone/Internet Use

You should make it clear to the au pair that international and long distance calls must not be made from the family's home unless with permission. The au pair's family can always contact him/her and then the au pair can take calls or receive emails without too much unnecessary expense. Local calls are usually permitted on request. The au pair should be told that he/she should not stay on the phone or Internet for too long as this is for shared use and not to be abused by lengthy use.

Some tips for living with an au pair

Remember that your au pair is a long way from home and may be homesick for the first week after his/her arrival with you.

Make the au pair feel welcome by speaking slowly and showing him/her what you would like him/her to do and guide the au pair in slowly. Most au pairs are quick to learn but need guidance and encouragement and a thank you or well done is always appreciated.

The au pair is here to improve his/her English so try and communicate with him/her and treat the au pair as if they were a son or daughter of a friend from abroad and for the time being, part of your family.

We provide au pairs all year round including summer au pairs when there may be a gap between your existing au pair leaving in June or July and a new au pair wanting to arrive in September. Summer au pairs work out very well. They are often keener to fit in and lend a hand as their stay with you will be short but precious to them. Au pairs for the summer are warned that they may not be able to attend English classes for foreign students as several classes are unavailable during the summer. They will therefore be keen to improve their English by talking with you and your children as much as possible.

Every au pair who comes through our agency is sent a Newsletter with information about places of interest to visit, plus names, addresses and telephone numbers of other Delaney International au pairs.

Terms of Business