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Au Pair Visas and Regulations

Does an Au Pair need a visa or a work permit to work in the United Kindom or Ireland?

Austria	Belgium	Cyprus	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia
Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary	Iceland
Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Liechtenstein	Lithuania	Luxembourg
Malta	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Slovakia
Slovenia	United Kingdom	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland

Au pairs from the above European Union (EU) countries (exludes Bulgaria and Romania), European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland can live and work in the UK and Ireland without needing to apply for permission.

Bulgaria

Romania

Au pairs from Bulgaria and Romania require an accession workers card in the United Kingdom or work permit in Ireland, in order to work for a family in the capacity of an au pair.

United Kingdom

	Australia		Canada		Japan
	New Zealand		Monaco

Au pairs from the above countries can apply for the Youth Mobility Scheme. This scheme is for young people from the above countries who would like to come and experience life in the UK. Your national government will be your sponsor.

British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) can also apply under the scheme, and do not need a sponsor.

Other Countries

If you are not from the above countries or do not qualify for the above scheme, a student visa may be an option and may entitle you to work for a certain number of hours however this should be clarified with your local British Embassy.

For further information on visas and nationalities not covered here please refer to www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/

Ireland

USA

Students from the USA can apply for a US work and travel visa. In order to qualify for this programme participants should be either in post-secondary education or have graduated within the last 12 months.

Other Countries including

Brazil

For Brazil and all other countries not mentioned here, a student visa may be an option and may entitle you to work for a certain number of hours however this should be clarified with your local consular embassy.

You can work part-time (up to 20 hours per week) as an au pair while on a student visa.
The student must be studying a full-time course of at least 25 weeks duration, leading to a recognised qualification.
Recognised courses include English language programmes that are approved by the Department of Education and Science.
A recognised course must consist of a minimum of 15 hours of study per week.
The student must be registered with their local immigration officer.

For more information about student visa requirements please see: www.inis.gov.ie

For all other visa enquiries your consular embassy should be able to help you. Alternatively you can take a look on the Department of Foreign Affairs website: www.dfa.ie.