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Home » Visa & Regulations » UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern I Au Pair & Visa Regulations in the UKIn November 2008 the British Government introduced Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) which replaced the Working Holidaymaker and Au Pair Programme.
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 30 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 Economic Area) and Swiss nationals are not included in Youth Mobility 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 an accession worker card before starting any employment. Information about living and working in the UK is available from the Working in the UK website.“ Nationals of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia need to register under the Worker Registration Scheme. If you are a citizen of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan) or a British Overseas Citizen, British Overseas Territories Citizen or British National (Overseas), you can take part in Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme). 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. How to apply for a Youth Mobility Scheme visa: Under Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) applicants will need to score 50 points awarded for age, being a national of a participating country (including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan) or being a British Overseas Citizen, British Overseas Territories Citizen or British National (Overseas) and meeting the Maintenance Requirement. So applicants will be required to demonstrate that they have sufficient funds in savings to support themselves in the UK. To do so, they must provide documentation demonstrating that a sum of at least £1,600 is held as personal savings in a bank account. Please check this folder (PDF) to find further information on how to apply for this visa. Here you can also find some useful information. 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. 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 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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