Do you want to know more about Aupair World and how it works? In most cases you will find an answer right here. For more specific questions (pocket money, working hours, travel costs, etc.) please look under Au Pair A-Z.

An au pair is a young person aged 18 to 30, unmarried with no children, going abroad for a temporary period of time and living with a host family. Whilst living abroad, the new temporary family member assists his or her host family with childcare and light housework.

Incidentally, the term au pair is French and means "by mutual agreement". Therefore, au pairs receive a pocket money, live free of charge with their host families, just as regular family members, and share meals with the families. The monetary allowance and amount of working hours are defined by the regulations of the respective host country. The main objective of an au pair placement is the mutual cultural exchange – within an informal setting.

As a "big sister" or "big brother", an au pair occasionally takes on the responsibility of looking after the children. By living with a host family, he/she improves his/her language skills and normally attends a language course. He/she gains an insight into the family's life, as well as culture, language and the lifestyle of the host country. The au pair gets to know more about the daily routine of his or her host family, as well as new customs and habits. He/she gains new experiences, impressions and perspectives. All these are advatages – even for their future careers.

As an au pair, you will be living with your host family like a regular family member assuming daily tasks during this period. As a „son or daughter for a determined period of time“, you are primarily in charge of childcare, a task which requires a great sense of responsibility on your part. Apart from this, you will help with minor household tasks related to childcare, such as: 

• preparing the childrens' meals
• washing and ironing laundry and putting it into the wardrobes
• tidying up de childrens' rooms
• taking the chidren to school or their spare time activities and back home
• helping them with their homework and supporting their school development

• You wish to get to know a different culture and explore a foreign country?  
• You intend to improve your language skills in your host country and gain new important experience for your personal and professional future? 
• You love caring for children?

No, as an au pair you will not receive a salary, but pocket money from your host family. The amount of pocket money varies according to the relevant host country and partly depends on your working hours. 

Costs which incur in the home country are to be paid by the au pair. Such costs could be: expenses for visa or medical checks. Furthermore, the au pair pays the travel costs by himself or herself. In most countries, au pairs also bear the costs for the language course. This, however, depends on the relevant host country.

We at Aupair World recommend that host families contribute to the expenses of the language course and return trip.

As an au pair, you always need to stick to the regulations of your host country. You will find the most important regulations concerning your stay as an au pair in our Info Host Countries. Good to know: In our Tips for au pairs you will find useful information regarding your au pair placement to make sure that you will have a great time as an au pair.

Most host families who are registered on Aupair World are from Europe. The most significant host countries are Great Britain, Germany and France. However, there is also a great demand for au pairs in Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

A host family has at least one child under the age of 18 and invites an au pair from a foreign country for a defined period of time to join in family life. Single parents also qualify as host families if their children live with them on a permanent basis. The au pair lives with the host family just as a regular family member and participates in family activities.

The main duty of an au pair living with a host family is looking after the children and helping with light housework. In return, the family provide their au pair with free board and a room of his or her own in the family home. They also pay the au pair an agreed amount of pocket money. (The amount of pocket money and working hours are defined by the regulations of the respective host country). The au pair should have the possibility to improve his/her language skills by attending a language course.

• You would like to have a helping hand with childcare? 
• You have at least one child younger than 18 years living with you? 
• You are prepared to host an au pair, treating the young person as a fully integrated family member for the period of the au pair stay and giving your au pair an idea about the language and culture of your country? 
• You can offer an individual room to your au pair and meet the costs of providing pocket money, board and insurance?

Any family with at least one child aged 18 or younger living in the same household may host an au pair. The same applies for single-parent families. A host family should have an extra room for the au pair to stay in as well as sufficient financial resources to cover costs such as pocket money for their au pair, free board and lodging, as well as taking out necessary insurance. The host family will treat their au pair like a family member for a defined period of the au pair stay and accept the au pair's help with childcare and light household tasks. Furthermore, the family are interested in an intercultural exchange, helping the au pair to improve his or her knowledge of the relevant language. For this purpose, the au pair is given the opportunity to participate in a language course during the au pair stay. The family speak the official language of the host country at home. This is usually not the first language of the au pair. The host family should be open-minded in regard to the au pair's cultural background and allow the au pair to practice his or her religion.

Further requirements for host families vary according to the relevant host country. Host families should consult our section Infos Host Countries and do our Quick Check to find out if they meet all necessary requirements. 

Related links for host families:

Quick Check England
Quick Check France
Quick Check Germany
Quick Check Spain
Quick Check Italy

As a host family, you provide free board and lodging (in the latter case, an individual room) for your au pair plus the specified amount of pocket money usually offered in your country. In some countries, host families also need to pay for an au pair insurance policy.

To prepare for the stay of your au pair in the best possible way, you should gather sufficient information on the regulations of your country governing au pair placements. You should remember that it is always the regulations of the host country which apply to your au pair. Our Info Host Countries section provides detailed information on the number of working hours and the amount of pocket money for different host countries. Additionally, there are practical issues you need to consider, for instance the question of whether you can offer an individual room to your au pair.

You should discuss the future tasks of your au pair beforehand and draw a weekly rota together. Our tip: if possible, take a few days off to help your au pair get used to his or her daily working routine. Should you be a single parent, you should also bear in mind that, in order to be able to host an au pair, at least one of your children should permanently be living in your household.

Aupair World is the world's leading au pair agency on the Internet. By using Aupair World, you have the opportunity to find your au pair or host family directly and independently. 

• Becoming a host family – it's easy and fun!
• Becoming an au pair has never been so easy!
• About Aupair World

You register on Aupair World to find a matching au pair or host family. For this purpose, you create your individual profile free of charge. As soon as you have created the profile, your EasyFind will show you matching profiles according to your search criteria. Furthermore, you can contact every au pair or host family within the secure area of the Aupair World messaging system right after registration. To let an au pair or a host family know that you are interested, you can simply send them a standard message.To exchange personal contact details, one of you can become a Premium Member. It is usually the host families who become Premium Members.

Related links:

• Register as a host family
• Register as an au pair

Au pairs and host families search for a desirable match on Aupair World on their own initiative. For this purpose, they register free of charge and create an individual profile. In the profile, they select certain search criteria, for instance, their preferred host country, their country of residence or their languages. By defining their search criteria, users allow their EasyFind to automatically display matching profiles. Furthermore, Aupair World informs all of its users of matching new registrations by sending a corresponding message, the Daily Update – which is delivered to your designated e-mail address.

As soon as the au pair or the host family have found a matching profile, they can enter into contact with each other. For this purpose, they simply send a Standard Message to their preferred candidate, expressing their interest. If either of the two parties is a Premium Member, they can also begin to exchange personal messages.

In addition to this selection functionality, Aupair World also provides its users with all kinds of useful information and tips concerning the ins and outs of au pair placement – from legal regulations and requirements in different countries, to suggestions for successful au pair contracts, to ideas for how to choose the au pair or host family that will be best for you. The Aupair World Team also gladly answers any further questions you may have by phone and e-mail.

At Aupair World, we do not charge any placement fees as such – as au pairs and host families carry out their own searches and find each other on their own. For this purpose, our users enter into direct contact by exchanging messages. To be able to exchange personal messages, it is necessary that one of the two parties is a Premium Member. For a one-off payment of 39.90 euros, our users can subscribe to a Premium Membership for 6 weeks. Usually, it is the host families who become Premium Members. Premium Members can exchange personal messages with all au pairs or host families listed at Aupair World, even if the other users are no Premium Members.

No, only one of the two parties needs to become a Premium Member. As a Premium Member, you can exchange personal messages with all au pairs or host families, even if they are not Premium Members themselves.

Our members of staff continually check profile data for completeness and plausibility. Furthermore, we ensure that every user only holds one active profile and that all our users respect the basic idea of au pairing. In some cases, we also ask for proofs of identity. Any profiles which do not correspond to the basic idea of au pairing or do not meet our plausability criteria are refused. Profiles which have been inactive for a certain period of time are automatically deleted.

By entering into direct contact (for example by phone, Skype, etc.), the au pair and host family can find out directly for themselves if they get along well with each other and if they meet mutual expectations. Users specify and agree upon all conditions of the au pair placement on their own initiative in direct discussion with each other.

Aupair World offers much useful information on planning and managing an au pair stay on the website. Thus, our users may download a model au pair contract from our site, for instance. The Aupair World Team is also always gladly at your disposal to offer live support should you have any questions or should you be facing any difficulties.

Aupair World does not provide such support. However, our highly experienced team will gladly help you by phone or e-mail should any difficulties arise during an au pair stay. You can reach us from anywhere in the world. Moreover, we provide many answers to questions concerning the au pair placement on our website. 

From our experience, a frank, open-minded conversation generally helps resolve most misunderstandings and conflicts between au pairs and host families. In this context, it is a good idea to ask your friends and family for advice. Thanks to e-mail, Skype and phone service, au pairs can nowadays also easily get in touch with their loved ones. While abroad, they can stay in touch with their friends and relatives without any difficulty and turn to them at any time should a conflict arise. Our team is of course always at your disposal by phone or e-mail as well should you need our help. We offer support in seven different languages.

Sometimes users are interested in seeing how their own profiles are displayed on the website. This can be done in the following ways:

For Families

1) Please log in 
   and start your search right away. The families are listed in the order of their last login.

2) Click on "Find a Family"
    because you need to see the situation from the au pairs' point of
    view

• I live in: Please select one of the countries where the au pair should come from (as indicated in your profile)
• I am: female/male (depending on what you have selected in your profile)
• I would like to be an au pair in: Select the country where you live.

For Au Pairs

1) Please log in
    and start your search right away. The au pairs are listed in the
    order of their last login.

2) Click on "Find an Au Pair"
    because you need to see the situation from the families' point of
    view

• We live in: Select the country where you would like to become an au pair.
• We are looking for an: au pair girl/au pair boy (selct your own sex)
• We are looking for an au pair from: Select the country where you live

Due to the high number of users on Aupair World, it is almost always possible to find a new au pair or host family at short notice. Aupair World believes in a constructive and respectful conflict resolution and offers support via phone and e-mail.

Young persons aged 18-30 can become au pairs. In this context, the au pair should not be married nor have any children. Every person who wishes to work as an au pair should enjoy caring for children and getting to know a different culture and language. The au pair should have a basic knowledge of the official language of his or her host country. It is also important that the au pair can afford the trip as he or she is usually expected to pay for his or her own travel expenses. 

Some of the requirements au pairs must meet vary according to the relevant host country. In our section Infos Host Countries, au pairs can do the Quick Check to find out if they meet all the necessary requirements.

Related links for au pairs:

Quick Check England
Quick Check France
Quick Check Germany
Quick Check Spain
Quick Check Italy

The EasyFind is a feature only offered to registered users on Aupair World. It displays profiles of active au pairs or families who correspond to the search criteria of the respective user. Using EasyFind, au pairs and host families have the opportunity to list their search results according to relevance, registration date or last logins. The EasyFind is thus a key tool that helps users to find and contact a matching au pair or host family easily and quickly.