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Home » Visa & Regulations » UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern I Au Pair & Visa Regulations in the UKThe UK highly welcomes young people from EU-countries and from countries that are members of the Commonwealth of nations. Please note: If you want to register as a host family with Aupair World you will need to have at least one minor child living permanently in your household. The au pair should be required to help take care of your child / children.
Au pairsThe au pair scheme: The purpose of the au pair scheme is for a young person to go to an English-speaking host family in the UK to learn the English language and to get acquainted with English culture.Preconditions: An au pair must be single with no dependants. An au pair in the UK must be able to support herself/himself and may not depend on public funds. The au pair may not plan to stay in the UK for longer than 2 years. Purpose: One main purpose of an au pair stay is to study English. In return for board and lodge the au pair looks after the children of the host family and does some light housework. The host family: A host family does not necessarily need to consist of a wife, a husband and children. However, one person living alone cannot be a host family. The family must be resident in the UK and English should be the normal language spoken within the family. Age: From 17 to 27 years Duration of the stay: An au pair stay normally lasts between 6 and 12 months. Young people may not stay in the UK as an au pair for longer than 2 years. Travel costs: The au pair must bear the travel costs herself/himself. 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. Language course: The au pair should have the opportunity of attending a language course. Normally the au pair needs to pay for the language course, but some families like to make a contribution towards the costs. Courses can be found on the internet (e.g. on the pages of the British Council) or in Yellow Pages. Holidays / Free time: There are no uniform regulations about holidays for au pairs. Most families accept 1-2 weeks of holiday for au pairs who stay 12 months. An au pair has 2 days off per week, once a month one free day must be a sunday. Working hours: up to 25 hours per week. Pocket money: A normal au pair gets a weekly pocket money of about 55 £ (some official sources state 40 to 60 £) plus board and lodge. Special arrangements: (This information has not yet been confirmed by official sources.) Au pairs from Non-EU countries may only be normal au pairs. Au pairs from EU countries may also work as au pair plus or mother's help which includes longer working hours: Au pair plus (app. 35 working hours per week) Unfortuntately we have found contradictory information about this subject. Some sources state that an au pair plus earns 60 to 75 £ per week. Some state that an au pair plus is paid like a normal au pair for the first 25 working hours. Then every additional working hour is paid extra. An au pair plus has one and a half days off per week. Allowed countries: Although EEA (European Econimic Area) and Swiss nationals are not included in the au pair scheme, they are free to go to the UK to take au pair placements. They only need a valid passport or identity card to enter the country. Official information from the IND Home Office website: „From 1 January 2007 Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will not require an entry clearance to reside legally in the UK. Bulgarians and Romanians wanting to work in the UK will need to obtain permission to work before starting any employment. Information about living and working in the UK is available from the Working in the UK website.“ Other countries: Andorra, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Macedonia, Monaco, San Marino and Turkey. These countries are included in the au pair scheme. US American passport holders cannot go to the UK as Au pairs. It is very important to check that there is an au pair agreement between your two countries and the au pair is allowed according to law to be an au pair in the UK. For any other arrangements, please check with the British Embassy in your country. How can I find out if I can become an au pair in the UK? Please check this official UK-Visas web site to find out if you can become an au pair in the United Kingdom. As purpose of your visit you should select either 'au pair' or 'working holidaymaker'. Please also check the IND goverment link. Furthermore another link on Au pair and Visas is http://www.londonimmigration.com/au-pair.htm, this also has a section on Refusal & Appeal. Do all au pairs need a visa? No. Au pairs holding a passport of a EU-country and nationals of Switzerland, Norway and Iceland do not need a visa when becoming an au pair in the UK. They only need a valid identity card or passport. Which au pairs need a visa? Nationals of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatioa, Macedonia and Turkey need a visa to become an au pair in the UK. How to apply for a visa: The au pair needs to fill in a visa application form VAF1 - Non-settlement and must apply for a visit visa in the country of which he/she is a national. Besides this form, for the application the au pair needs a passport or travel document, a passport-sized colour photo and the visa fee (we do not know the current amount). He/she should also include a letter of invitation from the host family which includes the main terms and conditions of his/her employment. Registration with authorities: Au pairs who want to stay in the UK for longer than 6 months should contact the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) of the Home Office about 6 – 8 weeks before these first six months are over. If the au pair needs a visa, he/she will normally obtain it for 2 years. Thus they needn't contact the Home Office after six months. If an au pair who needs a visa has to register with the police, this requirement will be stamped in his/her passport. In this case they need to register within seven days of arriving in the United Kingdom. What about au pairs from Commonwealth countries? Nationals of any member country of the Commonwealth of Nations might apply for a working holidaymaker visa. Having such a visa they might take up work in the UK as an au pair. Please read the working holidaymaker visa section below. Health insurance: Au pairs can be registered under the National Health Service NHS . Au pairs are not required to make National Insurance contributions. Emergency treatment is free of charge for all au pairs. For au pairs from EEA countries and from countries with which the UK has a reciprocal agreement, treatment is free of charge, too, if the au pair becomes ill during his/her stay. Citizens from other countries are eligible for emergency NHS treatment, but some General Practitioner surgeries make a small charge. So check first with your local health centre. It is also advisable to check with the au pair's embassy who will know its citizens rights in the UK. The host family should also ask in advance what health insurance the au pair already has. Host family and au pair should also enquire about whether this insurance is also valid in the UK. In some cases private coverage should be arranged before the au pair leaves his/her country. Helpful information for au pairs: Guidance for au pairs by the British government If you are - due to your nationality - not eligible for entry to the United Kingdom under the au pair scheme, you should consider applying for a working holidaymaker visa. Working Holidaymaker VisaA working holiday visa might be an alternative for all those who are not eligible for an au pair visa.Commonwealth citizens, British Overseas Territories citizens, British Overseas citizens or British Nationals (Overseas) may come to the UK as Working Holiday Makers: Commonwealth countries. They can work in the UK for example as nannies or mother's help. These posts involve longer working hours, more responsibilities and childcare experience / training. Preconditions: The main intention of a working holidaymaker must not be to work in the UK, but the holiday. You must not work more than 12 months during your stay in the UK. Working holidaymakers may be single or may be married if the couple plans to take the working holiday together. They must not have dependent children who are five years or older. The children may not even have his/her fifth birthday before the end of the working holiday period. A working holidaymaker must be able to support himself/herself and must not depend on public funds. He/She may not have been a working holidaymaker in the UK before and must intend to leave the country after the end of his/her holiday. To become a working holiday maker, the young person needs a visa. Duration of stay: A working holidaymaker may stay two years from the date he/she is given the permission to enter the UK as a working holidaymaker. Money/costs: A working holidaymaker must be able to bear the travel costs and must have enough money for accomodation and living expenses for the fisrt two months or for the first month if he/she has arranged a job in advance to cover his/her living expenses. Age: 17 to 30 years How to apply for a visa: The working holidaymakers needs to fill in a visa application form VAF1 - Non-settlement and must apply for a visit visa in the country of which he/she is a national. Besides this form, for the application the au pair needs a passport or travel document, a passport-sized colour photo and the visa fee (we do not know the current amount). He/she should also include supporting documents relevant to his/her application. Maybe you will also have to provide documentation about your financial situation and your travel plans. Helpful information for au pairs and working holidaymakers: Guidance for Working holidaymakers by the British government We cannot guarantee that all information we gathered is correct or complete even though we have researched on this subject. We appreciate any comments. Thank you. Au Pair Visa & Regulations in other Countries
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