General Questions and answers for AuPairs

At the beginning, find out about the legal framework for au pairs in the country in which you want to work to ensure that your rights are respected. Arab countries in particular have repeatedly drawn unpleasant attention in the past due to abductions, forced labor and exploitation. The safest way to determine that you are in contact with a reputable host family is always personal contact. Meet your host family in person before the start of your stay to get a better feel for their seriousness and personality.

Speak openly about your expectations and concerns and listen carefully to how they respond.
Pay attention to small details in the way the family members deal with each other and with you that indicate respect and appreciation.
If the host family understands your doubts and is willing to work with you, this speaks for their trustworthiness.

If you come from a far away country, the possibility of a personal conversation is of course difficult or even impossible.
In this case, arranging a video chat is the only way to determine the seriousness of your future host family.
While they are talking to you, ask the family about anything that seems dubious to you.

If your host family suggests that you should not live and work with them but with another family, break off contact and inform us immediately!

Last but not least: Listen to your gut feeling and trust that you are the best judge of whether a family is right for you or not.

Many people would like to have their AuPair yesterday.

Unfortunately, when applying for a visa for AuPairs, a large number of documents and documentation must be obtained before the AuPair program is even set up and submitted to the responsible embassy You can apply for a visa.
They are relatively generous with the processing time. It is best to make haste slowly.
From the day of application to the visa being issued, 6-8 weeks or even more can pass.

Planning the needs of an au pair early is definitely advisable.

Your language skills do not have to be perfect. However, you should have basic knowledge of simple communication.

In Germany, for example, an A1 certificate according to the standard of the Goethe Institute is required to apply for a visa.

You are welcome to indicate your wishes on the registration form and we will try to comply with them. However, a specific city should not be a main criterion of your AuPair stay, as this can result in a longer duration of your placement.

If we find a family that suits you but lives in a different city or area, we will still let you know.

Preparation is everything.

Be well informed about the family, their interests and expectations of you as an au pair. This will make you feel more confident during the conversation. Realize that it is normal to be nervous before an important conversation like this. Accept your feelings and try to deal with them positively.

Don't worry about the language. Your host family knows that you only have a basic knowledge of the German language. An A1 certificate, which you need to apply for your visa, is sufficient to communicate with the host family. If you don't feel confident, you can read your German scripts again or contact our local agency.

Make a list of topics that you would like to address in order to be able to have a structured conversation.
Wear comfortable clothes to feel comfortable and relaxed during the phone call. Breathing techniques can help calm you down. Breathe in and out deeply to reduce your nervousness. If you notice your voice shaking, pause for a moment, take a deep breath and speak a little more slowly. This can help to stabilize your voice.
Have a glass of water handy in case your mouth gets dry during the conversation. A few sips can have a calming effect.

After the call, reward yourself in some way for your bravery, even if you don't yet know whether it was successful. It's about being proud of yourself and gaining more confidence for further conversations.

Absolutely not!

The embassies don't like it when people mess around with their appointments. That's why they ask for your passport number when making an appointment. If appointments are booked too often with the same number and then missed or cancelled, this number can be blocked for further bookings.

The embassies carry out the processing of visa procedures in their capacity. This means they check the information provided by the applicant for accuracy.

When an AuPair applies for a visa, this verification procedure is somewhat different than when applying for family reunification, for example. Most of the information provided by the AuPair applicant will be checked during the interview, which will be conducted in the language of the host country.

Through targeted questioning, an attempt is made to find out the truthfulness of the information in the visa application.

The methods used there in some cases would result in disciplinary proceedings for an official in this country in a very short time.

For example, it is very easy to randomly request documents that are not on the list of required documents. If the applicant cannot present these, he will be sent home again with a new appointment. With the sentence. "This list does not claim to be complete." you evade responsibility.

In order to counteract these methods, you should ideally take all the documents that you have or that relate to you with you.

If one of our local agents looks after you, they will prepare you for your visit to the embassy.

No, that's just junk you're carrying around with you!

You can't start with this worthless card. You won't get any discounts and you can't use it to identify yourself anywhere.
As a qualified au pair agency, we can issue you a certificate after your au pair year that you have worked as an au pair in Germany. This means you can prove the year of your stay at any time.

Definitely no unnecessary baggage!

First and foremost, find out about the climate and the current weather in your host country and pack warm clothes. Some people from warm countries underestimate the winter temperatures in Europe. Imagine getting on a plane in sunny 30 degrees and getting off 7 hours later in 3 degrees and rain...
That means you're already guaranteed to catch a cold.

You don't need 10 towels and 5 tubes of toothpaste either... You'll get most of these things from your host family. Everything else is available in any supermarket or drugstore here.

You can find more important recommendations and tips after logging into your personal area on our website.

Apart from the course of your illness, not much will happen.

Your host family will take out health and accident insurance for you, covering you in the event of illness.
If you have an accident during your trip, travel accident insurance will apply. This must be taken out before you start your trip and must be proven to the embassy.

That depends entirely on your future plans. There are many opportunities for you to continue your education, to start an apprenticeship or to learn a profession here. It is important that you contact us early on to write the relevant applications.