Au pair in UK

What is an au pair placement?
An au pair placement is an arrangement where a single person between 17 and 27 years of age comes to the UK to learn English. Au pair lives for up to two years as a member of an English-speaking family, with appropriate opportunities for study, and helps in the home for up to five hours a day with at least two full days off a week, in return for a reasonable allowance and their own room.

Au pair conditions
Au pair must meet the following conditions to be eligible:
1. au pair is not married
2. au pair has no dependants
3. does not plan to stay in the UK for more than two years as an au pair
4. can support herself and live without getting any help from public funds
5. intend to leave the UK upon completing the au pair placement

Which countries are included in the au pair scheme?
An au pair must be a national of one of the following countries:
Andorra, Faroe Islands, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greenland, San Marino, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, Croatia and Monaco

Although European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals are not included in the au pair scheme, they are free to come to the UK to take au pair placements.

US citizens can't go to the UK as au pairs. They can obtain a blue card from BUNAC.
Click here for more information.

Members of the commonwealth (Australia, Canada, South Africa, etc...) will need to obtain a "Holidaymaker Work Visa". Click here for more information and forms.

Further information and visa forms are available here.

Other nationalities can find further information regarding their eligibility here.

Do I need a visa?
Nationals of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey must get a visa before they travel to the UK. If au pair does not need an entry clearance when she arrives in the UK, she will have to satisfy the Immigration Officer that she qualifies for entry. They will then give her permission to stay in the UK for six months. To extend her au pair will need to apply for a residence permit at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

How do I apply for a visa?
Au pair will need to fill in a visa application form (VAF 1 – non-settlement). You can download the form by clicking here, or get one free of charge from your nearest British mission overseas where there is a visa section.
You can apply for a visit visa at any full service visa-issuing office. For all other types of visa, you should apply in the country of which you are a national or where you legally live.
You can apply in a number of ways, for example by post, by courier, in person and online. The visa section will tell you about the ways in which you can apply.
Click here to find a British embassy near you.

What will I need to make my application?
1. Application form VAF1 - non-settlement filled in by au pair
2. A passport or travel document
3. A recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm) color photograph of au pair
4. The visa fee
5. Supporting documents relevant to your application

What supporting documents should I include with my application?
You should include all the documents you can to show that you qualify for entry to the UK as an au pair.
A letter of introduction from the family you will be staying with in the UK (the host family), which outlines the main terms and conditions of your employment.

Can I move to another host family?
You can move to another family as long as the new arrangements continue to meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

Can I apply to extend my stay as an au pair?
You can apply to extend your stay as an au pair if:
you were originally given permission to enter the UK as an au pair you have an au pair placement, and an extension would not take your stay beyond two years from the date you first arrived in the UK.