All about Au Pair in Germany | Au Pair Requirements, Duties

Au Pair in Germany General Information

Au Pairs are young people who are accepted into families in return for limited participation in ongoing family tasks (child care, light household chores). Au pairs share some responsibilities of the host family and also get some allowance in return. The au pair’s job can become very fruitful not only to complete their advanced language skills but also to get their general education through better knowledge of the host city and country.

The “European Agreement on Au pair Employment”, adopted by the Council of Europe in 1969, contains framework provisions on living and working conditions, language teaching, social security, and rights and duties of the host family and au pair. 

However, the Federal Republic of Germany has not been confirmed. This agreement and therefore the Legal status cannot be guaranteed or assumed, but the au pair job in Germany is widely popular and very useful for foreign students. The primary criteria of this agreement are German in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Requirements for Au Pairs

Since you will go to a foreign country, there are bound to be some requirements. The requirements apply to you even more so since you will live as an Au pair. This said the requirements will vary. Depending on whether you are a citizen of the EU (European Union) and  

EFTA (European Free Trade Association) or not. 

If you are from EU and EFTA, then the requirements for you to be an Au pair in Germany are:

• Age between 18 to 30 years 

• Basic Knowledge of the German Language

• Unmarried with no children

• Decent financial status. 

These are not tough requirements to meet, especially if you are from the said countries. However, if you are not from the countries listed within the EU and EFTA, then you will need another set of requirements if you want to stay in Germany as an Au Pairs. These requirements are:

• Age between 18 and 26 years

• A minimum of A1 Level of German Language proficiency 

• Unmarried with no children

• Decent financial status 

• Willingness to work as an Au pair in Germany for six months to a year

• No previous history of being an Au pair

Side note* Although you can apply for Au pair with an A1 level of German Language proficiency, we recommend you to have the language proficiency of B1 if you want your life to be easier in Germany. 

This essentially means that you can only be an Au pair only once and for a maximum duration of a year. After a year, you will need to find your own accommodation. The good news is that Edu Zeit will help you in finding the perfect accommodation services for you even after you have already taken our Au pair service. 

Requirements to be an Au Pair Host Family

The requirements in Au pair services are not just limited to the applicants. Not every family can be a host for international Au pair students. A family living in Germany needs to meet a few specific criteria in order to house an Au pair student. 

Although the requirements to become an Au pair Host Family are not as limiting when compared, not every family can become an Au pair host. To understand this, we must look at the below requirements to become an Au pair Host Family:

• The family must have a minimum of one child under the age of 18.

• One parent must have a German or EU citizenship - although families, where both parents have the said citizenship, are preferred better.

• Au pair Host Family must use German as their primary language of communication.

• The host Family must not be from the same country as the Au pair.

These conditions may seem simple. Not every family can have a child under 18 years of age. Besides this, the rest of the conditions can easily be fulfilled if the said family is from Germany. 

Duration of Au Pair Services in Germany

The minimum duration of an Au pair service is six months. However, it can be extended up to a year. After the year is over, the student must find another form of accommodation by themselves. During these six to twelve months of stay as an Au pair, a student must consider the following things:

Working Hours

An international student may not work over 20 hours per week or 120 hours per year. However, as an Au pair, you will be allowed to work up to 30 hours weekly with a 6-hour shift daily. These working hours will include babysitting for the host family. 

Along with this, according to the rules set by the German Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit), an Au pair must have a minimum of four evenings and a full day free of work. As a side note, Au Pairs from Non-European Union may not have other jobs. They are free to pursue part-time or full-time employment once their Au pair duration ends. 

Salary

As an Au pair, the students will receive 280 Euros (NPR 36964.58) per month as their pocket money. Besides this, a contribution of 600 Euros (NPR 79209.81) will also be contributed as a payment for the language course to the Au pair. 

The host family can pay for the language course as a monthly payment of 50 euros per month or in a lump sum amount. 

Holidays

As we mentioned previously, an Au pair must have one completely free day and four evenings free. Besides this, an Au pair must have one Sunday off per month as well. 

This basically leads to four weeks of leave for a year of Au pair stay or two weeks for six months. 

Language Course

As an Au pair, the students attend a German Language course. The host family should pay for this, however, the budget is limited to 600 euros. Should the language course cost over 600 per year, Au Pay must pay the additional amount for themselves. 

Contract Termination

During an Au pair Stay, several issues may arise if the family is not compatible with the student. Under such circumstances, the contract can be ended by both parties. In order to do this, a notice of contract cancellation must be given two weeks prior.

During these two weeks, the family should find another willing Au pair. If the student cannot find a new host family or doesn’t have the required visa to be accommodated separately, then s/he will need to return. 

This is the reason, although not rare, contract cancellation is certainly uncommon. 

Duties of an Au Pair Host Family

Germany does not provide a specific contract for Au pair’s stay. Rather, the German Employment Agency provides a sample contract. The Host families can download the said contract and personalize them as per their needs. The contract should include:

• Au pair Duties

• Working Hours

• Length of Stay

• Free Time and Holiday

• Pocket Money

• Insurance for the Au pair 

• Language course

Although the host family needs to meet the basic criteria, they have a lot of freedom within their set limitations. As stated in the contract, the Host family or Au pair Service provider must provide the listed facilities. 

Duties of an Au pair Student

The Duties are not just limited to the Host Family. The student has their own set of duties as well. These duties are mostly related to taking care of the family members and doing simple household chores. Because of this, although males apply for Au pairs, it is primarily alluring for the females, since they can simply be themselves and do some simple tasks. 

The duties of an Au pair student include:

• Taking care of the children

• Basic cooking

• Cleaning the Children’s room

• Children’s laundry

• Helping the children with their homework

• Light shopping

• Dish Cleaning

In short, the duty of an Au pair is to act as a nanny for the children. This can be really simple if you are an elder sibling. 

How to register as an Au Pair?

If you are someone who is between the age of 18 and 27, then you will be qualified to apply for the Au pair stay in Germany. In order to do that, you need to follow the following procedures:

• Step 1: Get the Passport 

• Step 2: Find a Host Family and Sign the contract

• Step 3: Download and fill out the application form

• Step 4: Get a German Language Certificate

• Step 5: Write a motivation Letter

• Step 6: Get the Invitation Letter from the Host Family

• Step 7: Acquire Private Health Insurance

Besides this, it would be helpful to know that as an Au pair you will get a visa that will only be valid for 90 days. During these 90 days, you must exchange it for a residence permit. For this, you need to register at a local office first and then at the foreign office

As a side note, it would be useful to remember that you should build your application documents (cover letter, resume) carefully and precisely in German and attach an appealing passport photo on the resume. Many Au Pair agencies also require you to fulfill a questionnaire. 

Note: Regarding being an Au Pair in Germany, candidates are requested to visit the following webpage: http://www.guetegemeinschaft-aupair.de

Best Au Pair Agency in Nepal - EduZeit

The problem with the Au Pair is you cannot just find a Host Family and move to Germany. Although this is “Technically Possible,” the process is extremely hard. This is where German Education Consultancies like Edu Zeit come into play. Since we are the one-stop solution for all your German Education Needs, we act as an Au pair Service Provider as well. 

We are the best Au pair agency in Nepal helping you find a host family to settle in Germany.

Duties of Au pair Service Provider- Consultancy in Nepal

Being an au pair consultancy in Nepal, we, Eduzeit will help you in:

• Finding the Host Family and Setting up the Contract

• Visa Information

• Germany Guide

Finding the Host Family and Setting up the Contract

There are some extremely specific circumstances that an Au pair's Host Family needs to meet. Although the Government of Germany does not have any rules that state the needs of a contract, the Employment agency does. This is to ensure that an Au pair and the Host Family do not come into conflict during their stay. The only catch with this is that the specifications of the contract are loose. 

Besides the basic duties that both parties must fulfill, the host family can add some additional specifications to the contract. Because of this, no one can guarantee that every host family will be suitable for every Au pair. As an Au pair service provider, we connect the Au pairs to the perfect host family and sign the contract.

Visa Information

It is common knowledge that you need a Visa to travel or stay in foreign countries. Regardless of what your reason is unless your country is exempted, a Visa will be required. Germany is no exception to this rule either. Besides a few countries like India, Haiti, Gambia, Pakistan, and a few more, you need a visa to travel to just about every other country. You can apply for a visa at the German Consulate and as an Au pair service provider, we will help you make applying easier.

Germany Guide

Life in Germany as an International Student is not the same as a student life here. The culture, people, and the general lifestyle differ completely from what an Au pair will be used to. To prevent the shock of a sudden change from hampering students, Au pair service providers like us will guide you about proper German etiquette and social norms.